The more you look at it, the more desperate it becomes? Who can become the next American MVP: Huazi? Tatum? Flag?

Translator's note: This article was originally published from CBS, and the author is Jasmyn Wimbish. The data in the article are as of the original article as of May 23, local time. The views in the article have nothing to do with the translator and the platform.

Alexander was awarded the NBA regular season MVP this week, marking the seventh consecutive year that international players won the award. The last American-born player who won this highest honor can be traced back to James Harden in 2018. The MVP list of international players continue to dominate (Alexander comes from Canada) not only demonstrates the continuous expansion of the NBA's global influence, but also reflects the increasing emergence of basketball talents outside the United States.

This phenomenon has certainly become a marketing tool that comes with the league, but it also raises an intriguing question: When will American players break this monopoly and win the regular season MVP again? Although it is difficult to accurately predict which local American player can win this award, it is not difficult to sort out potential candidates in the next few years.

Based on this, we have sorted out five local American players who are expected to win the MVP trophy in the near future and ranked them based on their winning probability.

1. Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves, has now been closely linked to the title of "League Facade" many times, and all signs clearly indicate that LeBron James will be pushed to this position once he retires. In this way, Edwards' future development will bring a natural narrative advantage. If he can lead the Timberwolves to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder and enter the NBA Finals for the first time in team history (although it is a bit difficult now), then he is very likely to become the biggest favorite of the MVP next season.

Edwards, who is just 23 years old this year, undoubtedly has the longest MVP pursuit path, because he has not yet reached the peak of his career, which makes it extremely likely that he will usher in his own MVP season in the next few years. Although he never made it to the top seven in the MVP vote, it was more because the competitive landscape was too fierce than his personal performance. This season, he averaged a career-high 27.6 points per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was close to 40%, setting a career-best performance. Towns' departure forced Edwards to undertake more outside shooting tasks, and not only did he almost double the number of three-point shots without fear, but he also improved his shooting efficiency and showed amazing adaptability.

We have seen Edwards improve his game every season, and the Timberwolves' roster construction is also designed to highlight his offensive talent, which makes his reason for the MVP clearer. He ranks fifth in the league in scoring this season, second only to three final MVP candidates and Luka Doncic, another player who is often put into MVP discussions. It can be said that if the Timberwolves ranked higher than sixth in the West, Edwards might have received more hot discussions about MVP awards this year.

2. Cooper Flag, to be determined (unofficial news is expected to join the Dallas Mavericks)

Flag is recognized as a favorite for the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft in June. He is regarded as an epoch-making genius player by the outside world, and usually, when a player is given such an evaluation, the outside world's expectations for him to win the MVP also follow. Although Flagg has not been officially selected by the NBA team, his career will begin in Dallas unless unexpected changes occur.

For Flag, this will be a very different career start to a career that is from most No. 1 picks. He is not in an environment where he needs to be the core of the offense and gain plenty of time to grow at his own pace in rebuilding the team. The Mavericks now have three players who will be destined to be selected for the Hall of Fame in the future. If it weren't for Kyrie Irving's ACL injury, the team would probably not miss the playoffs this year.

Frager is about to join a mature team that is already competitive in the playoffs, and at least in the short term he needs to learn how to integrate into the existing system. There is a possibility that Flag surpassed the already high expectations of the outside world in his rookie season, prompting the Mavericks to decide to adjust the direction of the team building and build a lineup around him. If this happens, his process of becoming an MVP will be greatly accelerated, perhaps in just a few short years.

We already know his outstanding defensive ability. He was able to defend multiple positions and with his outstanding athleticism, he flew to the basket from a seemingly impossible angle. His career is destined to be selected for the best defensive team multiple times and may even win the award for Best Defensive Player. But if his offensive ability can develop as expected by the outside world and become an all-round offense and defense player with three-point threat, mid-range killing, ending at the basket, organizational connection and rebounding, he will become the league's most reliable local MVP competitor in the long run.

3. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons, just finished their most brilliant season so far: all the numbers hit career highs, were selected for the All-Star for the first time, and led the Pistons to return to the playoffs after six years. He is just 23 years old this year, just like Edwards, has only touched the tip of the iceberg of his own potential. If he could deliver such a report card at this time, his growth level in three or four years would be even more confusing. If Cningham can continue his current development trajectory and the Pistons' lineup configuration around him can be improved, then he will undoubtedly join the MVP competition and may even eventually win the trophy.

However, several conditions need to be met to achieve this goal. Perhaps the most important thing is that the Pistons need to surpass sixth place in the Eastern Conference rankings. Now the overall strength of the Eastern Conference is gradually weakening, and this goal may be expected to be achieved through the natural growth of the lineup, but it may also be necessary to build a lineup around Cningham by introducing top stars. They will welcome Jaden Ivy back next season. If Ivy can establish himself as the second star around Cningham in the future, it may be enough to help Detroit rise in the East. By then, Cningham will surely become a strong contender for MVP in the near future.

4. Jason Tatum, Boston Celtics

Before Tatum suffered a major Achilles tendon injury, he was almost recognized as the next American player with the most hope of winning the MVP. He has been in the top five in the MVP votes twice in the past three seasons. His Celtics are ranked among the top in the Eastern Conference for many years, and he himself is one of the most efficient and attending players in the league.

However, the problem is that he is likely to miss most of next season, and may even be reimbursed throughout the season, and no one can guarantee that he will be able to recover from his injury level before he gets hurt. In addition, the team he faces when he returns from injury may also change dramatically, as Boston is expected to adjust the roster this summer to cut the growing salary costs.

Ju Holiday and Porzingis are the two most mentioned names in the trading market, but who can assert that Boston would not consider putting Jaylen Brown on the shelves and rebuilding around Tatum? If so, Tatum would be the core of Boston's offensive system - a major obstacle to his impact on MVP, because the Celtics' lineup was too strong before.

If this happens and Tatum can continue his outstanding performance before his injury after he recovers from injury, he will have the narrative advantage of "overcoming major injuries and leading the Celtics to the top of the East", which will undoubtedly help him attack the MVP.

5. Jaylen Brunson, the New York Knicks, who just won the Key Player Award and is leading the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years, has not been mentioned too much as the next American player to win the MVP, which is really surprising. Although he ranked fifth in the MVP vote last season, and this season's statistics are close to last season, he is only tied for tenth. The Knicks ranked third in the Eastern Conference this season, down from second last season, but this is still a remarkable result.

The Knicks performed poorly against the East and West teams in the regular season, and only achieved a record of 15 wins and 23 losses against teams with a winning rate of more than 50%. Therefore, there is a saying outside that "the Knicks are just defeating weak teams this season." However, Brunson has always been the mainstay of the Knicks, and he often takes on the team at critical moments in the game - this performance continues in the playoffs - so his name cannot be ignored in future MVP discussions.

28-year-old Brunson is at the peak of his career. Regardless of the final direction of this season, there is a possibility that the Eastern Conference pattern next season may be tilted towards the Knicks due to the loss of the Celtics lineup and the continued downturn in the Cavaliers. If Brunson can maintain his current competitive level in the next few years and the Knicks can continue to stay at the forefront of the Eastern Conference, there is no reason to think that he will definitely not be able to win the MVP trophy.