This year the MVP award seems to be a 3 horse race with Dirk Nowitzki holding a slight advantage over Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant.
I really think the MVP is the most misunderstood and wrongly applied award in sports.
First it's Most VALUABLE player not best player in the league, or as has so often been the case best player on the team with the best reguar season record. If it's the best player in the league award, Kobe wins in a landslide.
I also think it's unfair for the players to be judged for having won the award previously. If the guy was the MVP last year and he's the MVP this year too, then good for him. That's why I think that Nash's case is the strongest of any of the years he won simply based on how much better he has played this year than the last two. I also think that it says more bad about the NBA that Steve Nash might win 3 straight MVPs, putting him in the same class as Russell, Chamberlain, and Bird, then it says about how great he is as a player. But if you look at the stats and the winning streaks, Nash has been better this year than the last 2. He's averaging career highs in assists and 3 pt shooting. He also completely took over the win over The Lakers on Sun.
But is he more valuable to the Suns than say Tim Duncan is to the Spurs? I'd say no. You take Nash off the Suns and replace him with a top 20 point guard like Stephon Marbury, and they will still make the playoffs, though they wouldn't be a 2 seed or have a prayer in hell of winning anything. You put Chauncey Billups on that team and they might be sitting CLOSE to the same spot. Whereas if you were to replace Duncan with a top 20 guy from the 4 spot (as outside of Shaq and Yao EVERY center sucks) like Al Jefferson whose numbers are comparable to the Dunk's and that team also is not a contender and may struggle to be a 7 or 8 seed. So you have to really look at who could be replaced with a similar payer and influence the team's success the most.
Take Dirk off the mavs and they still make the playoffs. Take Kobe off the Lakers and they make the lottery. Kobe is simply more valuable to his team than ANY other player is to theirs. And I am NOT a Kobe fan or admirer. I think he's robotic, sociopathic and ruthless. I also think that he should get the MVP this year. This year he managed to use his scoring to help his team end a huge losing streak, while keeping them in the playoffs and the higher seed bracketing most of the season.
Need more proof of Bryant's value? Let's compare the supporting casts of the big 3. Nowitzki's supporting cast includes Devin Harris, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse(off the bench) Josh Howard(an all-star), Erick Dampier, and more. Nash has Amare(An all-star) Marion(An all-star), Leandro Barbosa(should be 6th man of the year), Raja Bell, Boris Diaw... Kobe has Lamar Odom,Smush Parker(The worst Starting PG of all time), Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, etc... Kobe does not get the same kind of help, when he passes to an open teammate you gotta bet the defense isn't that worried.
I think that Nowitzki will end up winning it, and he has been great this year and last, but he isn't the most valuable player. The MVP should be the guy who without him, you wouldn't have a team, and that's Kobe Bryant.
S
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But I think you fall into the same trap as everyone else.
Valuable.... but to who?
It doesn't say MVP of your team.
It could be of your league, your own value as self worth overall compared to others.
Valuable to me means what value does he have compared to other players if him and the other player was switched.
It is the same reason why Home Runs and RBIs are extremely valuable in MVP for baseball. Because those two stats have a value if put on any team.
If you put Kobe on the Mavs they have less wins in my opinion than a Dirk led Mavs.
Just like if you give a gold coin to Donald Trump and a silver coin to a kid in a 3rd world country.
It would LOOK like the silver coin is more valuable as it creates more change for who has it. But in fact the Gold coin is more "valuable" because its worth is higher, no matter the situation it's in
Basketball is a TEAM GAME. The Suns and Spurs are at the top of the conference and the Lakers are at the lower end of the playoff bracket. At the end of the day, if your team doesn't do well (with or without you) then fuck your stats or your impact on the game.
The NBA shouldn't reward great players on loser teams. MVPs represent excellence... an excellence that takes into account that basketball is a team game and no one person deserves to be recognized without a nod to his team and their success.
Give the MVP to Kobe when his team starts winning. Until then, he is only as valuable as the team he is playing on. And tell Jerry West to get his shit together.
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