Scottie Thompson may prefer to shy away from talks of being the possible winner of the PBA’s Most Valuable Player, but being a candidate alone has given the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel a confidence boost entering the league’s 47th season.
Thompson could emerge as a possible winner of the league’s most prestigious individual accolade which will be announced during the Leo Awards Sunday, June 5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Many see Thompson or TNT’s Mikey Williams as having the strongest odds at the MVP plum given their performances in the 2021-22 campaign, though Magnolia’s Calvin Abueva and NorthPort’s Robert Bolick are also in the running.
Whether he ends up going home with the trophy or not, Thompson feels that being considered has already given him a huge boost.
“Yung MVP naman kung ibibigay sa akin, thankful ako kay God,” Thompson said. “But like I said (before), sobrang saya ko na nakasama sa pinagpipilian.
“Malaking bagay, nakakaboost ng confidence kahit makuha ko o hindi. Kahit hindi ko makuha, sobrang taas ng confidence ko coming into this conference,” he added.
The Ginebra cager is coming off perhaps the best season of his career in the big league, helping the league’s most popular ballclub capture the season-ending Governors’ Cup title last April.
That conference also saw Thompson bag the Best Player of the Conference award while also being hailed as the MVP of the Finals.
Those accolades are some of his advantages in the MVP race, apart from his averages of 13.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 33 games during Season 46.
Expectations are high that Thompson will raise his level higher as he enters the new season as one of the players to watch.
Nothing changes, however, as far as Thompson is concerned, opting to stress the importance of team goals.
“Yung mindset ko lang is yung makakuha ng madaming panalo sa abot ng aming makakakaya. And of course, yung main focus is to win championships,” Thompson said. “But start muna kami sa one-game-at-a-time sa eliminations.”