The MVP Award Lost Its Playoff Luster

There have been many debates over the MVP award over the last few years -- from Kobe v. LeBron to the merits of Steve Nash's back-to-back awards. You can debate all you want about who should have won each year's MVP, but it is clear that a particular season's MVP is no longer likely to have playoff success.

With LeBron James' elimination at the hands of the Orlando Magic, this season marks the eighth time this decade that the MVP hasn't won the championship, and the sixth time that the MVP hasn't even made it to the NBA Finals. Compare those numbers to the 1990s, when the winner of the MVP award made the NBA Finals seven times and the won the championship five times.
The award has definitely fallen on tough times. I mean we've actually seen a regular season MVP (Dirk and the Mavs in '07) get eliminated in the first round! Could you imagine that happening in the 1990s? Yeah, it almost happened to the Barkley in '93, but you know what I'm saying.

Partially due to the poor performance of recent regular season MVPs, the Finals MVP trophy has been less dominated by the greats in recent years. This decade, guys like Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker and Paul Pierce have been able to secure the Finals MVP awards. Billups, Parker and Pierce are All-Star level players, but they have not and likely never will win the regular season MVP.

In the '90s, regular season MVP winners such as Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan dominated the Finals MVP trophy. That decade, Isiah Thomas was the only Finals MVP award winner to not secure a regular season MVP at some point in his career. And Isiah was an infinitely better player than Billups, Parker, and Pierce.

I don't know exactly what all of this means, but I found it quite interesting to compare the playoff success of this decade's MVPs with those of the last generation.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-01-2009 @ 4:22AM

Sinful Lust said...

so what was the point of the article then? look all i have to say is that the reason there are stars is because they dont have anything else shining right next to them. individual athletes dont win championships. teams do. the reason they are famous and thought of as great is because they are in bad teams. period. noone will give a reg season mvp to a team that people say yeah but he got this guy and that guy so thats the reason they are good... get my point?

6-01-2009 @ 4:26AM

hdattach said...

They should have given the award to the refs because they are the ones who earned it for him. If Lebron had to play by the same rules as the rest of the players in the league. He wouldn't have stood out as much.

6-01-2009 @ 4:33AM

I think your article says some good things towards the end. It shows that just because a player is a media darling doesn't mean they are the best Player.

I don't like your comments about Tony Parker and Chauncey Billups though. They are two of the most dominant players of the last 10 years. The Pistons and Spurs have absolutely ruled the NBA and those 2 players are the reason why. Kobe wasn't nearly the player either of these 2 have been, but he is always in the spot light.

I don't like that. I think they should promote players for thier accomplishments.

The same is true of Lebron. He's not the best player. Not Even Close.

6-01-2009 @ 7:02AM

hilryshaves said...

All I know is that up until the time he stomped off the court like Danica Patrick, I thought LeBron had the total package. Not so sure now..

6-01-2009 @ 9:41AM

Glenn20 said...

LeBron did the exact same thing last year in Boston after the infamous Game 7, in which LeBron had 45 points, but was generally outplayed by Paul Pierce who had 41 points and led the Celtics to the win. LeBron left the court in a huff, without any handshakes, etc. It was talked about a lot after that game.

Poor sportsmanship is a pattern for LeBron. Here is a recent description on ESPN of last year's incident:

"Head down, eyes trained on his Nikes, James stormed off the court in Boston last year. No congratulatory handshakes or good-luck hugs. No words."
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=nba&id=4125600

By contrast, after the Lakers were eliminated by Boston in a 39-point blowout, Kobe Bryant did all the right things. Kobe was a MAN -- LeBron was a BOY (and I am NOT a Kobe fan). Does LeBron really think that his competitiveness is greater than Kobe's?

People might be willing to forgive LeBron for the first occurrence, but when he does it two years in a row, it gives a true indication of his lack of character. He is like a selfish little kid who leaves the playground and takes the ball with him so that no one else can play.

He disrespected the Celtics, he disrespected the Magic, and he disrespected the fans. He also disrespects his own teammates when he refers to them as "supporting cast" and "complementary players". How does he expect to ever get any decent players around him when he has such a demeaning view of teammates? Can you imagine how a guy like Carmello Anthony or Paul Pierce would feel if they were called a "supporting cast"? I'll bet that there aren't ANY superstars in the NBA who would want to play on this guy's team.

6-01-2009 @ 8:25AM

daveenlakwood said...

Look out sports franchises in Cleveland..... fans have had about enough of the 45 year old tease.... Money will not be flowing like in the past to loser owners (Randy Lerner and Larry Dolan two of the biggest losers in Pro sports) Dan Gilbert's fate has yet to be determined... The problem in Cleveland usually stems from a poor GM....Mark Shapiro is a classic case of this.... he went around with a standard line that he had a blank check to sign anyone he wanted with Dolans name on it..... well, tickle me silly.... the check never got signed as he continues to sign old washed up veterans like Dave Delucci.... Phil Savage was the same mold.... handing out guaranteed bonus money like christmas in March to bribe lazy free agents to sign in Cleveland, so many the team was saddled near the salary cap, that it might've been a good thing that Mangini was forced to sign football players instead of big ticket lazy free agents that come to Cleveland near the end of their career for their career retirement contracts, ie: Willie Mcguiness, Ted Johnson, Romeo Crennell, Shaun Smith, Donte Stallworth.... and then there's the coaches we sign.... Marty Schottenheimer, Romeo Crennell, Eric Wedge, Butch Davis,all rookies learning on the job and then destroying good teams with prevent offensive and defense designs to prevent champions..... Refs in all three major sports have flags ready to throw at Cleveland teams because of the tag that the city is nothing but 1 big loser.....and they litter the field with their caution flags, and they also under hidden names bet their farms on the outcome.... congress outta investigate this weird 45 year drought of missed calls, weird endings, and blind officials..... they outta just put the NBA. NFL and MlB on trial to prove their legit...furthermore, then you got all those free agents who seek to exploit the Cleveland fans and then give no effort on game days.....Crennells assembled team was probably the most blanant team of these disgusting athletes..... more then half the team was loaded with these entitlement types who think fans here don't deserve an honest buck..... and how bout the fans flipping the bill for stadiums and getting absolutely nothing in return for such loyality.... The owners in Cleveland think that an almost team is a championship in this city.... you heard Mike Brown say it.... we had an unbelievable season.... he is just another clone of Marty Schottenheimer sent to destroy championships we should win with the best NBA player in the league.... The Cavs ran ad after ad stating no excuses, nothing short of a championship.... in the end.... they used the biggest excuse of all.... matchup problems.... the coach was inept.... great coaches find ways to overcome better teams or equal teams.... Mike Brown like Scottenheimer was handed the best team in the NBA, and just like his chance against the Spurs, he blew it..... The Lakers are saying what they are gonna do.... they are going right after Howard with the ball to create fouls, because they no the outside game depends on the beast.... when fans like myself can see this is the problem, why can't the coach and GM identify it....but Brown will get to ruin another Lebron season, and then he will be let go just like Scottenheimer.... 3 teams 3 strikeouts..... Lebron didnt speak because he probably realizes this being from the area.... but here's the dangerous trend that fans are talking out at water coolers..... no more free bucks.... no more believing.... they are saying show us a championship and then we will believe in a team from the area..... This Cavs team was the last straw to break the backs of fans in Cleveland.... we will hope absolutely, but it will take a miracle to ever believe that we will see a trophy raised in our city or lifetime.

6-01-2009 @ 12:11PM

ucsbcub said...

"It's hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them," he said. "I'm a winner. It's not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you're not going to congratulate them. That doesn't make sense to me. I'm a competitor. That's what I do. It doesn't make sense for me to go over and shake somebody's hand."

Lebron what have you won! High school championships dont count!!

6-01-2009 @ 12:26PM

eternalremix07 said...

Good stuff. I think the awards voters have tried to keep up the trend of picking an MVP from a likely championship contender*, we've just seen a lot more flukes and champions-by-committee lately than in the past.

*except for the worst MVP of all time, possibly in any sport, Nash '06. D'Antoni ball = performance enhancing drugs, and our sportswriters let us down in both cases.

6-01-2009 @ 12:54PM

Ed Fielding said...

to hdattach, Kobe not the same quality as Billups or Parker??? What are you smoking? Nobody in their right mind would agree with that assessment. Both Billups and Parker are superb athletes, to be sure, but guys Like Kobe, Jordan, Bird, Lebron, and Magic Johnson are a cut above. Bill Russell was great, maybe Wilt Chamberlain, as well, while Tim Duncan was a superb player, but not great. Kobe will most likely go down in history as one of the greats, not unlike Jerry West.

6-01-2009 @ 12:57PM

In any given year, it is impossible to single out one MVP to the exclusion of all others. Too many factors involved.

6-01-2009 @ 2:20PM

jzz3skys said...

Is Finals MVP ever awarded to a player on the losing team? No, because it's award after the fact and so almost by definition it assumes that the recipient has made a contribution toward his team winning the championship, no matter how great the contribution of any player on the losing team might be.

The Finals MVP is (supposed to be) awarded on actual achievement within a contracted time period, i.e. the post-season, no matter the nature of that player's contribution or lack thereof during the regular season. The apparent fact that the big stars or franchise players are no an automatic lock for the award may mean it's becoming more democratic. The apparent fact that Isiah was a better player or bigger star than Billups and the other doesn't contradict that.

The regular season MVP on the other hand, seems to represent an ideal of leadership. It's more of an elite award and its qualifications are liable to change over time. It may not be enough anymore to be the most talented or even the most dominant player in the league; I've noticed that some of the professional sports journalists who blog here have a standard for greatness in basketball that assumes that ONLY ONE player on a team is responsible for that team winning the championship. If that's the standard, then the "regular season" MVP should also be awarded after the playoffs.

6-01-2009 @ 2:41PM

rayjingrina said...

"...this season marks the eighth time this decade that the MVP hasn't won the championship, and the seventh time that the MVP hasn't even made it to the NBA Finals."

For all the statisticians out there...the comment above would appear that LeBron should have not won the MVP to begin with. In fact, Kobe should have won the MVP for the 2nd straight year. Then this would make it 6 times rather than 7 times that an individual has not made it to the NBA finals.

My perception to Lebron winning the MVP was all media driven; hence, winning majority of the votes. Has he surpassed Kobe? Jerry West was mistaken by his statement...if that was the case, then where is Lebron's (3) NBA championship rings? Granted Kobe won it with Shaq but the point of the matter is he has (3) rings vs. (0) for Lebron.

At any rate, GO LAKERS!!!

6-01-2009 @ 5:19PM

Grer The Sarcastic Bastard said...

Coolest thing about NBA MVP's is you could take the six that have never won a ring & play a helluva pickup game (two helluva's in one day, I'm over my quota!):

PG - Steve Nash
SG - Allen Iverson
SF - LeBron James
PF - Charles Barkley
C - Karl Malone

6th Man - Dirk Nowitzki