It feels like a golden era for great players spread across the NBA.

So much talent, so many game winners, and an almost endless amount of possibilities as the stars prepare to get the new season under way.

Despite this, the MVP award has been sealed off by Nikola Jokic for the past two seasons, so the rest will have to step up and take it from the Serbian this time around.

We all have our favourites, and anything can happen in the NBA, but ahead of the new campaign, three members of the Stats Perform team have made their picks for who they think can challenge Jokic in 2022-23.

Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers - Liam Phillips

After finishing second in MVP voting two years in a row, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid is in prime position to get over the hump this time around.

Embiid, 28, has been denied the past two awards due to historic seasons frotem Denver Nuggets talisman Jokic, where he established himself as arguably the greatest playmaking center in the history of the league.

Winning the MVP in back-to-back years is not as uncommon as one would think, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, LeBron James (twice), Steve Nash and Tim Duncan all achieving the feat this century.

However, Larry Bird is the only man to three in a row, from 1984 to 1986, since Wilt Chamberlain's three-peat between 1966-68.

Take into account that Jokic now has his two top team-mates returning to the line-up after Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr were sidelined for the entire season, and his numbers will almost have to take a dip to accommodate them.

With Jokic facing a big ask to land the gong again this upcoming season for those reasons, Embiid should be the favourite, as he just needs to emulate his performance from the past two seasons and voters will be clamouring to reward the seven-foot-two superstar.

His biggest opposition will likely come from the Mavericks' Luka Doncic, who finished sixth in 2021 and fifth in 2022, and is still only 23 years old.

A slightly better Mavericks team this season, combined with a small step forward in Doncic's shooting percentages, will have him right near the top of the voting by default.

But the difference is the 76ers could finish as the top team in the Eastern Conference, and the Mavericks have almost no chance of claiming the Western Conference one seed – and voters are suckers for a great record.

Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks - Ben Spratt

If voters rewarded Jokic for carrying the Nuggets, would they not do the same for Doncic? Already clearly the main man in Dallas, Jalen Brunson's departure will only give the Slovenian further opportunity to impress.

Doncic (28.4 points per game) was the Mavericks' leading scorer last season. With Brunson (16.3) following Kristaps Porzingis (19.2 before a trade to the Washington Wizards) through the exit door, they have lost numbers two and three on that list.

Rather than source a like-for-like replacement for Brunson, the Mavs will presumably just ask Doncic to do more. His usage rate was already the highest in the NBA.

Doncic is one of the few players in the league with the ability to beat teams on his own – Jokic obviously being one of the others.

In the absence of his injured team-mates, Jokic improved on an MVP season in terms of points and rebounds, even allowing for a small dip in assists without Murray to give the ball to, and was not punished by voters for a decrease in win percentage.

If Doncic takes the same path, he is looking at averaging a 30-point double-double for the season. That will be very difficult to ignore.

Not that Doncic is readily ignored. He heads into the season as the MVP favourite yet again, having seen previous campaigns derailed by early-season struggles.

After playing in the Olympics last year, Doncic acknowledged he "relaxed a little bit", "maybe too much", and needed "to do better", drawing criticism from Reggie Miller for "plodding up and down the court".

Now, though, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd says Doncic is "taking his body serious", returning in top physical condition for – surely – a genuine MVP charge.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks - David Segar

The man who was denied the chance to win three on the bounce by Jokic in 2020-21 has a big job on his talented hands to lead the Bucks this year.

The 2021 champions are among the favourites to mount a strong challenge for the title, but have had a fruitless preseason, losing all five warm-up games in the past few weeks.

However, in Antetokounmpo, they have a man who is capable of dragging any team to success, and despite no longer being considered the league's leading player as he was in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the Greek's output has not really subsided.

In the first season he was awarded MVP, Antetokounmpo averaged 27.7 points per game in the regular season, with 12.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists, before recording 29.5 points per game, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists the following year.

Despite ultimately winning a championship, he was behind Jokic in the voting in 2020-21, though averaged 28.1 points per game, 11.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists.

Last season was the best of his career for average points from the 27-year-old, with his 29.9 per game only bettered by Embiid (30.6) and James (30.3), while he also averaged 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists.

It would be easy to argue that Antetokounmpo is a better player now than he was when he won his previous two MVPs, and like on those occasions, maybe he does not need to go all the way with the Bucks to reclaim his crown.

Though Greece were eliminated from EuroBasket by Germany at the quarter-final stage, Antetokounmpo still made the team of the tournament, and looks to be in good form heading into the season, even if his team-mates might need a little longer to get going.

It is a long campaign, though, which will give Antetokounmpo ample time to show that he has what it takes to become just the ninth player in history to win three MVP awards.

Former Milan and Italy head coach Arrigo Sacchi believes Napoli are capable of reaching the Champions League semi-finals following their blistering start to the season.

Luciano Spalletti's side have raced to the Serie A summit with 23 points from their opening nine matches, scoring a league-high 22 goals along the way.

The Partenopei have also netted 17 times on the way to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages with two games to spare for the first time in their history.

Napoli lifted the UEFA Cup in the 1988-89 season and reached the 2014-15 Europa League semi-finals, but are yet to progress beyond the last 16 of Europe's premier club competition.

However, Sacchi, who won successive European Cups with Milan in 1989 and 1990, is confident Spalletti's men can advance into unchartered territory this term should their campaign continue in the same fashion.

"Beautiful team; they play modern football, they attack as 11 and defend as 11. Sometimes, it seems like they can be on the pitch with their eyes closed," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"They come together with incredible ease and this is the result of the generosity, cooperation and synergy that exists in the squad. Bravo to Spalletti, because here you can see, and a lot, the hand of the coach.

"If they don't fall into the success trap - and I really hope not - if everyone remains humble and doesn't stop running, I think they can go a long way [in the Champions League]. 

"Who knows, maybe even in the semi-finals if the draws are not too bad? In any case, so far the work of Spalletti's guys is a 10 out of 10.”

Napoli welcome Bologna to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium in Serie A on Sunday, when they will be aiming to stretch their winning streak across all competitions to 10 matches.

Rickie Fowler heads into the final round of the Zozo Championship with a one-stroke lead as he seeks to end his long wait for a 10th professional title.

Fowler has not tasted victory since his win at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix in 2019.

But he is tantalisingly close to experiencing the winning feeling once more after carding a four-under 66 in Chiba.

That took him to 14 under, with Keegan Bradley his closest challenger at 13 under and Andrew Putnam one stroke further back.

Viktor Hovland carded a 64 to move to 11 under, his six-under effort matched by Maverick McNealy, Cameron Champ and Hayden Buckley, who are all 10 under.

Sahith Theegala enjoyed the best round of the day, producing a 63 to move into contention at nine under.

"It’s been a while since I’ve been in this situation,” said Fowler.

"There hasn’t been much the last few years. Obviously remember being in the situations before. It’ll be tough tomorrow but also fun, I’m looking forward to the challenge. I’m going to have to play well and continue doing what I’ve been doing the last three days.

"There’s plenty of guys within a few shots, I’m out front, in control, but that can change if I don’t execute like I have been."

Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts knows their remarkable regular season counts for nothing as they face elimination in the National League Division Series with the San Diego Padres.

The Padres took a 2-1 lead in the five-game series on Friday with a 2-1 win at Petco Park.

San Diego can clinch a place in the National League Championship Series with victory at the same venue on Saturday.

While the Padres had to come through a Wild Card series with the New York Mets, the Dodgers won the NL West and led the majors with 111 wins.

Asked about the contrast from dominating in the regular season to facing elimination, Roberts said: "It's where we're at. It was a very good regular season, but as we said before, none of that matters.

"We're in a five-game series against a very good ballclub that we're familiar with, and the team that plays the best baseball is going to win the series. And up to this point, they've played better than we have.

"I don't think the mentality changes [on Saturday]. It's certainly a game we have to win, win or go home. We're going to do everything we can to try to win a baseball game.

"So all hands on deck. And the core of this group has been in this position before, and we're going to approach it like it's the way it is.

"It's win or go home. We've got to play better baseball. When we do have opportunities to cash in, we've got to take advantage of them."

Padres manager Bob Melvin, meanwhile, is understandably desperate for his team to finish the job on Saturday and avoid having to play a series decider in Los Angeles.

"Pretty badly," Melvin said when asked how much he wanted to end the series in four games.

"I mean, you saw it out there. It was a pretty good atmosphere to play in. They had a big say in what went on today, too. It felt like the last couple innings there was so much momentum in the place that it was hard not to get it done.

"Obviously pitching was unbelievable tonight, but pretty much inspired the whole game. A lot of fun tonight. Be pretty similar probably tomorrow night, as well."

Trent Grisham's home run at the bottom of the fourth inning proved the decisive blow, the outfielder hitting his third homer of the postseason.

"I feel like hitting him in fourth, but he's doing well where he is, bottom of our order, is having a lot of production. We want to try to keep some consistency throughout. But he has the ability to do these things," Melvin said of Grisham.

"I think the thing that really is incredible is where he's gone to at the end of the season to where he is right now in the postseason.

"This is kind of who he is as a player, but it was a tough road getting there."

Rhys Hoskins admits emotion took over when he spiked his bat after his drought-ending three-run home run in Friday's 9-1 win for the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLDS.

Hoskins was none-for-17 in the postseason until that point, while the Braves had elected to walk Kyle Schwarber to first base before him.

But the long-time Phillies first baseman blasted a 93mph Spencer Strider fastball over the fence at left field to put his side up 4-0, before iconically spiking his bat amid the wild celebrations at Citizens Bank Park.

"I didn't know what I did until a couple innings later, really," Hoskins told reporters about the bat flip. "It's just something that came out, just raw. But God, it was fun."

Hoskins' blast was part of a six-run third inning that blew the game open for the Phillies, who claimed a 2-1 NLDS lead ahead of another home game on Saturday.

"We knew the crowd was going to be a factor, a huge factor," Hoskins said. "We heard about it. And like Bryce [Harper] said, it blew expectations.

"It was a huge part, I think, of the victory because as stuff starts to snowball and they get louder, then more good things happen and they get louder. We'll see if we can continue that tomorrow."

Strider was making his return from injury for the Braves, having not pitched since September 18. After two solid innings, he began to tire in the third which proved costly for the 2021 world champions.

"We wanted him to go four, originally," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "And then I thought if he could get out of that third then that's going to be it. But it didn't happen."

With the Braves facing elimination, Snitker added: "We've got to go out and win one in a row. That's what we have to do."

Two-time All-Star Charlie Morton looms large as the Braves likely starting pitcher for Saturday's game.

Russell Westbrook was forced out of the Los Angeles Lakers final preseason early due to a hamstring injury which head coach Darvin Ham says will be re-evaluated on Saturday.

Westbrook exited with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter of the 133-86 loss to the Sacramento Kings with a left hamstring concern.

The 2017 NBA MVP had started from the bench in the game as part of a potential new role, but he did not last beyond the opening period, playing five minutes with no points and one assist.

"He told me he thought he'd be fine," Ham told reporters after the game. "But we'll be re-evaluating him in the morning."

Ham had insisted pre-game Westbrook's role off the bench was "not a demotion", rather a "realignment" following the Lakers' poor 2021-22 season where they missed the playoffs.

The Lakers will open their 2022-23 NBA season against reigning champions, the Golden State Warriors, on Tuesday.

Anthony Davis was absent for Friday's preseason finale for precautionary reasons due to lower back tightness.

The record-setting Los Angeles Dodgers are on the brink of elimination from the MLB postseason after going down 2-1 to the San Diego Padres in Game 3 of the NLDS on Friday.

Jake Cronenworth's first-inning RBI and Trent Grisham's fourth-inning blast, his third of the playoffs, guided the Padres to a 2-1 series lead.

Josh Hader closed it out in the first postseason game with fans at Petco Park since 2006, striking out Chris Taylor and Trayce Thompson in the ninth inning to get the win.

The Dodgers finished the regular season with a franchise-best 111 wins, which was also the fourth-most wins in MLB history and the most by a National League (NL) team since 1906.

But Dave Roberts' side will need to stave off elimination in two games to progress to the NLCS, starting on Saturday at a likely rocking Petco Park.

The Padres went ahead early with Cronenworth's center-field base hit driving in Juan Soto, before some Manny Machado brilliance at third base closed out the third inning.

Grisham, who is hitting at .389 in the playoffs, blasted a solo shot over right field at the bottom of the fourth inning from Andrew Heaney to double the lead.

Thompson halved the deficit from Mookie Betts' sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, but the Padres bullpen got the job done again, with 39 outs for the series.

Hoskins and Harper blasts lead Phillies rout

The Philadelphia Phillies moved within one win of the NLCS after crushing world champions, the Atlanta Braves 9-1, fueled by third-inning blasts from Rhys Hoskins and Bryce Harper in their first home playoff game in 11 years.

The Phillies piled on six runs in the third inning, headlined by Hoskins ending his rut with a shot over left field, before Harper added two more with a homer over right-center field.

Harper, who is six-for-11 in this series, added an RBI double in the seventh inning before Nick Castellanos stayed hot at the next at-bat, driving in two more.

In-form Aaron Nola was exceptional on the mound for the Phillies, striking out six while giving up five hits and two walks in six-plus innings.

Bloops help Guardians down Yankees

The Cleveland Guardians squared up the ALDS with a 4-2 win in the 10th inning against the New York Yankees after back-to-back bloop hits.

Giancarlo Stanton had blasted a first-inning two-run homer but the Guardians rallied back with Amed Rosario's fifth-inning solo shot tying the game.

In the 10th inning, Jose Ramirez showed hustle to get to third base on a bloop into left-field, before getting home from Oscar Gonzalez's go-ahead single bloop to right-field. Josh Naylor's RBI double padded the lead.

The Guardians blunted Aaron Judge, who went none-for-five and was booed by the ruthless Yankees crowd, with starting pitcher Shane Bieber having seven K's across five-and-two-third innings.

World number one Iga Swiatek thrashed Coco Gauff to clinch a third straight WTA Tour semi-finals berth after moving into the San Diego Open final four on Friday.

Swiatek was irrepressible against the 18-year-old American, extending her head-to-head dominance to 4-0 with a 6-0 6-3 victory in 66 minutes.

The Pole won the first eight games of the match and always appeared in control with her reliable forehand a key feature.

Swiatek laced 13 winners with only nine unforced errors, breaking Gauff five times. The American committed 26 unforced errors for the match.

The victory is Swiatek's 62nd of the season, moving her closer to Angelique Kerber's 2016 mark of 63.

Swiatek will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula in the semi-finals as the Pole aims for her eighth WTA title of the season.

Pegula secured her berth in the final four with a 6-4 7-5 victory over compatriot Madison Keys in their first-ever meeting in one hour and 34 minutes.

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka was a surprise casualty as Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic continued her excellent week with a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 in two hours and 37 minutes.

World number 77 Vekic has beaten former world number three Maria Sakkari and two-time major finalist Karolina Pliskova this week.

Second seed Paula Badosa was also bundled out by American Danielle Collins 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. Collins will meet Vekic in the last four.

Aaron Judge says he needs to re-discover his timing after grabbing an unwanted slice of MLB history having been struck out four times in Friday's 4-2 ALDS loss to the Cleveland Guardians.

Judge may have blasted an American League record 62 regular-season home runs but he copped some boos in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium after tallying his fourth four-strikeout playoff game, which is the most by an player in MLB history.

The Yankees slugger went none-for-five as the Guardians leveled the series at 1-1, aided by back-to-back bloop hits in the 10th inning.

But the Guardians also employed a game-changing plan against Judge, targeting him with breaking balls down and away on the outer half of the plate to which he had no response. Judge is now none-for-eight with seven strikeouts in the two games played in the ALDS.

"The timing's a little off, you're going to be swinging at pitches you don't normally swing at, and the ones you can hit, you're just a tick late or tick out in front a little bit," Judge said. "Just work on that timing and I think it'll be good to go.

"There's nothing I can do. I gotta play better. That's what it comes down to. Didn't do the job tonight."

Judge's struggles came after a nine-day break between the regular season and playoffs, but also after homering only twice in his final 14 regular season games as he approached Roger Maris' AL record.

"I've had two bad games in my career multiple times," Judge said. "It's part of it. You just got to learn from it, learn from mistakes and you're ready for the next one because, guess what, there's no breaks right now."

Guardians starting pitcher Shane Bieber had seven strikeouts across five-and-two-third innings, while Trevor Stephan struck out four.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona was reluctant to divulge much about their plans for Judge, nor get carried away with their two-game success against him.

"I don't mean to be rude, but if I did, I'm not sure I'd really want to share it," Francona said. "It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think sometimes hitters can't hit a button, and as good as guys are, sometimes guys take none-fors.

"Until you get through a series successfully, I don't think anybody if going to stand up here and pound our chest. He's too dangerous. We know that."

Aaron Rodgers is off the Green Bay Packers injury report and expected to play on Sunday against the New York Giants although he may need to tape his right thumb.

Rodgers missed practice earlier in the week after injuring the thumb on his throwing hand on the final play of Sunday's 27-22 defeat to the New York Giants at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The four-time NFL MVP was a full participant in practice on Thursday and Friday however, and the Packers removed him from their injury report on Friday.

"He threw the ball really well yesterday, so he's confident," Packers head coach Matt LaFleur told reporters on Friday.

The 38-year-old quarterback practiced with tape wrapped on his thumb on Friday, raising concerns it may impact his ability to make throws.

When asked if Rodgers will wear tape on the thumb in Sunday's game, LeFleur replied: "No idea."

Rodgers has made 114 of 168 attempts with a 67.9 per cent completion rate for 1157 yards and eight touchdowns with three interceptions this season.

The Packers, who are 3-2 and second in the NFC North, have ruled out rookie receiver Christian Watson and linebacker Tipa Galeai due to hamstring injuries.

Linebacker Rashan Gary, who has had five sacks this season, was listed as questionable on the injury report with a toe concern.

"It's the next man up and the standard doesn't change, but let's face it, the guy is pretty impactful I'd say when he's out on the grass," LaFleur said about Gary.

"Certainly he's a guy that we definitely want in there. When he's not in there I think you can feel the effects of that."

Ivan Toney is a "perfect fit" for England, so says Thomas Frank, as the Brentford striker backed up his claim for a World Cup call.

Toney has been in superb form for Brentford this season and moved onto eight league goals for the season with a double in Friday's 2-0 defeat of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Having marked his 100th Premier League appearance for Brentford with a deft backheel to put them ahead in the first half, Toney coolly converted a spot-kick after the break to seal the points.

Toney has scored all 20 of his penalties for Brentford (excluding shoot-outs), including eight in the Premier League, putting him behind only Dimitar Berbatov (9/9) and Yaya Toure (11/11) when it comes to players with a 100 per cent record from the spot in the competition.

The 26-year-old, who also netted from 12 yards in last week's defeat to Newcastle United and last month's thrashing of Leeds United, received his maiden England call-up for the Nations League matches against Italy and Germany in September.

While he did not make his international debut, only Erling Haaland (15) has scored more goals than Toney in the Premier League this season, and Frank thinks Toney – who he reiterated is the finest penalty taker in the game – must be part of Gareth Southgate's squad.

"I know I say it every time and he’s starting to back me up a bit – the best penalty taker in the world. It’s not only because of his coolness, his technique, strategy and he practices," Frank told Sky Sports.

"We spoke about when he got the call, if he could get the first cap that would be amazing. It would be the first time in, I don't know, 80 years [that a Brentford player played for England] and we keep breaking records these days.

"But for Ivan it would be amazing and I think – I respect Gareth so much, he knows the bigger picture more than me – but I think he's a perfect fit for the squad if you want that flexibility in strikers."

Frank's sentiment was echoed by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who said: "I think he has to go. We know Harry Kane is our number one but after that it feels as though a lot of the strikers are in the same sort of category in terms of quality. Ivan Toney, right now, is at the top of that list and I don't see how he doesn't go."

Fellow pundit Gary Neville says Toney – who joked he "thinks of being on the beach with a cocktail" when he takes his penalties, could prove a difference maker in a penalty shoot-out.

England have won only one of their last eight shoot-outs at major tournaments – against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup. Indeed, they lost last year's Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties.

Neville said: "I went to eight tournaments, five of those got knocked out on penalties. The fact is it's about having confident players who do it regularly – and England have got a lot of those in the squad.

"Those big moments will be determined by penalties and free-kicks, to not have him there would be a big risk."

For his part, Toney said of his England experience: "I didn't feel out of place. I felt like I was ready for that step.

"I'm ready to take my opportunity. I always see myself as the best player on the pitch and you've always got to have that mentality, no matter who you come up against."

Andy Dalton is set to meet his former team the Cincinnati Bengals for a third successive season, and he could join a historic club.

Quarterback Dalton left the Bengals in 2020 after spending nine years with the team. He is Cincinnati's all-time passing touchdown leader (204).

The 34-year-old spent the 2020 season with the Dallas Cowboys before heading to Chicago and the Bears last year. He is now at the New Orleans Saints, and with Jameis Winston questionable due to back and ankle injuries, is expected to start in the Week 6 clash against his old team.

Having helped the Cowboys and the Bears to wins over the Bengals over the past two seasons, Dalton could become the fourth QB since 1950 to go 3-0 or better against the team he was drafted by.

Joe Burrow replaced Dalton in Cincinnati and was the key to their charge to the Super Bowl last season.

Burrow has completed at least 60 per cent of his passes in 22 successive regular-season games, which ties him level with Steve Young for the second-longest streak in NFL history behind Drew Brees, who went 31 straight between 2018 and 2020.

The Bengals are 4-2 all-time on the road against the Saints, their second-best road record against a single opponent, yet in Taysom Hill they face a player who made history last week. 

In New Orleans' 39-32 win over the Seattle Seahawks, Hill became the first player in the league to rush for 100+ yards on 10+ yards per carry, rush for three or more touchdowns and also throw a TD pass in the same game.

Cam Akers will miss the Los Angeles Rams' Week 6 clash against the Carolina Panthers for personal reasons.

Rams coach Sean McVay revealed running back Akers will play no part when the Panthers visit SoFi Stadium on Sunday.

McKay stated that the situation is "uncharted territory" for Akers and the Rams (2-3) amid reports he could be traded.

Asked about Akers' future with Los Angeles, he replied: "We're working through some different things right now, so hopefully you guys understand and respect that."

Akers missed the majority of last season due to an Achilles injury.

The 23-year-old has made only 151 yards from 51 carries in five games in 2022, scoring just one touchdown. 

McKay will be looking for a big contribution from Darrell Henderson in the absence of Akers this weekend, while Malcolm Brown is also on the active roster.