The Timberwolves won’t have the NBA’s Most Valuable Player winner on their roster this season, but the team’s early success has at least pushed a couple of their stars into the conversation.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps released his first edition of the 2023-24 MVP straw poll, in which NBA award voters send their current picks to the national writer.

One hundred voters submitted ballots ranking the top five choices for the league’s top individual honor. Anthony Edwards made his first appearance on the straw ballot, garnering three third-place votes and two fifth-place votes, putting him in a tie with Kevin Durant for eighth place in total voting points, while center Rudy Gobert received one fifth-place vote.

Those voting results came with Minnesota (20-6) a half-game behind the Celtics (21-6) for the best record in the NBA, so there doesn’t seem to be a path for either Gobert or Edwards to truly enter the MVP conversation.

Gobert has been the best defensive player in the NBA this season. He’s the front-runner to win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year honor at this point. But that honor likely won’t coincide with serious MVP consideration.

Perhaps Edwards — who’s played the biggest role in driving success this season for the team — could go on a massive scoring spree, but frankly Minnesota is likely too talented and well-rounded to generate an MVP candidate this season.

But the MVP voters are the same folks who vote on All-NBA honors. So Edwards and Gobert receiving any MVP consideration suggests they are strong candidates to be among the top 15 players who earn All-NBA honors.

MAYBE NEXT TIME

It’s not surprising LeBron James missed Thursday’s game. It was calculable given the Lakers’ schedule. Los Angeles played Wednesday in Chicago.

James, who was listed out against the Timberwolves with an ankle injury, turns 39 years old in nine days. Veterans in that age range rarely play both ends of a back-to-back.

It’s much more likely that James plays at Target Center when the two teams meet again Dec. 30 — James’ birthday.

But James missing Thursday’s bout was disappointing for those in attendance. Timberwolves chief operating officer Ryan Tanke recently told local television station Fox 9 that Thursday’s game was the franchise’s highest-grossing home game of all time. It’s a good bet the presence of James — potentially the greatest player of all time — helped drive up those prices.

Thursday’s game also was included in Minnesota’s “all-star” 10-game ticket package available for fans to purchase at the season’s outset. Major stars from the opposing team have been out of commission in two of the first three games in that package, with Zion Williamson sitting out when New Orleans came to town Nov. 8.