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I was having a discussion with someone earlier this week. This person was going on about what a great President Hillary Clinton would make and couldn’t wait to vote for her. Never wanting to get into a political conversation with anyone for the most part, I just nodded, asked this person about a few issues (knowing where Clinton stood on them) and this person had the exact opposite views of Clinton’s stances but couldn’t wait to vote for her.
I laughed inside.
Voting is weird. We all vote based on something entirely different, whether it’s a core issue, set of issues, the looks of a person, our perceived honesty of them, or more often than not … what personal gain/feeling we have. While on a lesser scale, it’s not that different in sports than politics, it just doesn’t mean that much.
So how do you quantify an MVP award? Is it the best overall player regardless of what team he’s on or what their record is? Probably not, but some vote that way. Is it about how much a guy means to a team? Some will say it is, but do they vote that way? Heck, if you do that, Paul George of Indiana or Kobe Bryant of Los Angeles are in your top three, are they not? Only way you can quantify “how much worse they’d be without Player X” is if Player X isn’t around for a significant period of time.
More likely, your card stock media guy will say it’s a “combination of things,” which is the great “I can’t answer that” commentary. There’s no real “right” way to vote for anyone or anything. There are “wrong” ways. See the example above for starters. So the NBA MVP race can go a lot of ways if you’re honest with yourself, and I’ll try and be as honest as one can be here. Understanding that MVP awards don’t mean a ton to a lot of guys until contract negotiation time.
1. Lebron James, Cleveland: Look, Lebron falls into the category of “fatigue, because he could win it every year.” I don’t know if that’s true, but he’s in the running. People talk about Cleveland’s slow start, as if the emotion of going back and playing with new teammates doesn’t factor in at all. Folks talk about the cantankerous locker room and two-week injury break he took, and the Cavs went 1-8 during that time. But the reality is that he’s unquestionably the best player in the game, and Cleveland was just flat out horrible as a franchise before he decided to come back. He doesn’t come back, Kevin Love isn’t there. Kyrie Irving might not be there (I know he signed before the Lebron news broke, but the folks that needed to know did ahead of time). And the Cavs would look pretty much how they have since he left for Miami … which is basically the Minnesota Timberwolves. James is the best player in the league and one of its best GM’s. The NBA isn’t like other leagues. The money is mostly the same, and it’s more about who do you want to play with. Everyone wants to play with Lebron. And the Cavs are going from top pick in the draft to Eastern Conference favorite because of one guy. Period. Hard to be more valuable than that.
2. Stephen Curry, Golden State: I’m not totally convinced the Warriors wouldn’t be halfway decent without him, but with him, they’ve had a historic season. Curry is just an amazing talent, not overwhelmingly athletic or large in stature but still able to get any shot he wants when he wants it and light up night after night while doing the important thing … which is leading his team to wins. Curry isn’t the defender nor is he the Front Office Free Agent Skeleton Key James is, but it shouldn’t diminish what he does on the court and how well he does it. The Warriors have put together one of the 10 best regular seasons of all time with him as their leader, and that should count for something.
3. Anthony Davis, New Orleans: Of all of the MVP candidates, Davis probably has the meekest roster surrounding him. I’m not a stats guy, nor am I a Player Efficiency Rating guy rather than a “go watch it” guy. What’s most amazing about Davis is his desire and ability to expand his game. He’s a totally different basketball player than he was at Kentucky and he’s made it work at the NBA level. That’s hard to do. New Orleans may or may not make the playoffs, but this is a 20-win team without him. You hope he always stays healthy enough to see his full potential, which, if he keeps expanding his skill set, will finish at an astronomical place.
4. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City: Westbrook has had just a stupid season, and his ability to carry the team on the court in lieu of Kevin Durant dealing with a myriad of injury things (questionable clothing choices not included, in part because that would hurt Westbrook too) to the brink of a possible playoff berth shows his ascent into the truly elite of the NBA. Where Westbrook gets popped down a peg is the fact that he still has growth to make, as evidenced by accruing a would-be fatal technical foul against Indiana a day before a game that could have eliminated them from the playoffs against Portland because of the volume he’d already been whistled for this season. There’s still growth to be done in that area, which is putting your head down and realizing the team needs you in the long run more than a foul call reversal that won’t happen anyway.
Other guys you want me to mention
John Wall, Washington: He won’t get a single vote for anything, but it’s hard to fathom how far the Wiz have come since he was drafted. They’re now a fixture in contending in the East for the next decade since Wall has come into his own, and he’s been a good franchise face and leader for that organization. Invaluable.
James Harden, Houston: His defense has … cough … improved, but c’mon … going to the media and calling yourself the most valuable player? Even if you want to love it as “self confidence” or “honesty,” there’s really no sense in that stuff as part of a team.
Jimmy Butler, Chicago: This is sort of a personal one. The Bulls are like the “Fast and Furious” series, which I really stopped caring about after Movie 2 because I hit an age you can rent a vehicle legally, but it’s the same thing over and over again with the injuries and the grittiness, but this year add the subplot of front office issues with the coaching staff. Butler, though he might not hit 70 games played, is probably the guy most responsible for keeping that outfit successful again.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto: Again, another one no one will have, but it deserves some merit. Guy’s gone from a journeyman who was in every other post on Hoops Hype as a possible throw in on a trade to the leader of a dangerous Toronto team that seems to follow his attitude and lead.
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas: Outside the box thinking here, but he’s probably one of the three most unguardable players in the league when he’s playing at a high level and if he comes even close to commanding the money he could, Dallas is a lottery team. He doesn’t, so they’re in the playoffs and have a shot.
