[The Athletic] The Athletic’s NBA MVP Poll: A clash of the titans at the top

I believe it was on one of The Ringer nba podcasts last week, but they were talking MVP...

And they said something along the lines of... “ well he won the MVP last year and is even better this year, so that seems like good enough reason to give Giannis the MVP again”

Yet the exact same thing was true last year for Harden.....

 

Giannis should very obviously be #1. It's really not close. LeBron should probably be #2, but I wouldn't criticize anybody with Harden or Luka above him.

I have no problem with this. Rockets have had far less success than the Bucks and Lakers.

 

Agreed. I think he’s destined for 2nd again.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/mvp.html

 

We NeverBearders can't stop won't stop until the evil that is Osama Bin Harden is expunged at last once and for all from the the face of the court, with chalklines drawn at both the 3pt and FT lines, where he has trespassed with his reign of terror for so many moons. And may he resume bleeding out Lucifer from his left eye again. And reminiscing on Tony Kornheiser's sagacious revelation to punch this wretched malefactor in the teeth, we hereby nominate glorious patriot and mensch, Comrade Dejounte Murray!

 

It's a narrative-driven award, especially in this decade.

2010-2011: Derrick Rose led his team to the best record in the NBA and also, F LeBron for going to Miami even though he averaged 27/8/7 on 51% shooting lol
2011-2013: It's okay to love LeBron again!
2013-2014: We could give this to LeBron buuuut this Durant fella in OKC did just average 32ppg
2014-2015: We could give this to Harden but did you see that YouTube video of his defense? lol Plus Curry looks like a good church going guy
2015-2016: The year no one showed up except for Curry
2016-2017: Russell Westbrook just did something no one has done in 2+ decades because for some reason it matters more to look at inflated stats now that really don't translate to winning or the success of the team. Oh Harden was just 2 rebounds a night away from also averaging a triple double? lol sucks to be him!
2017-2018: Fine.
2018-2019: Sorry James we, the media, went all in on Giannis at the end of the 2017/2018 and anointed him as our next lord and savior. It's poor form to NOT award him the MVP
2019-2020: lol Harden is trying too hard. almost averaging 40 a night? have you seen that Slovenian kid? He might average a triple double this year.

 

I don’t care if James wins mvp

I think James is the best player in the nba , win a ring and prove it. Let anyone who hates look like a fool .

I do think the rockets have been guilty of pushing harden for mvp narrative over maybe resting him during the regular season to better set themselves up for postseason success

 

James Harden is going to finish in 4-5th place.

The Rockets could make a deal at the deadline, get healthy down the stretch and have the best record in the 2nd half........ be the #2 seed and he still would be lucky to be 3rd place.

It is a crap award........ Babe Ruth won a single MVP......... Michael Jordan should have won the award a dozen times in his career and crap like Karl Malone. LeBron lost the MVP to an inferior player and team in 2011 just because.

These same idiots had Blake Griffin and Joakim Noah 3rd and 4th in the MVP voting not too long ago.

He can average 39/7/7/2/1 and his ass is going to be behind Giannis, LeBron, Doncic and whoever the hell else the media decides to prop up.

 

Why?

Giannis has half of the VORP he had last year, is shooting a lower TS% despite shooting 5 3’s a game, but has increased his usage from 32% to 38%. His WS/48 is about the same.

The only thing that’s obvious is that Giannis is about as good as he was last year (or slightly worse), in terms of how he impacts the game. That’s hardly a compelling case for a repeat MVP, if we’re being unbiased and using the fairly random criteria the media employs.

What’s the obvious case for a Giannis MVP? I’m definitely not seeing it.

 

Yes this year so far, Giannis deserves the MVP up to date. It can all change if they starts slipping games or if Harden keeps his stats and we end up at the worst 2nd place in the conference.

 

lol when KD joined Warriors, media says KD and Curry cancel each other's votes out because they're both all-stars but now that Lebron is on the Lakers the media voters conveniently forgets that.

Also, last time I checked Giannis plays alongside another all-star in Middleton. Pretty sure Russ won't make the All-star team this year in the west but ofcourse if we're talking about if Harden will win MVP, we all know that ain't happening ever again.

Even if the Rockets end up having the best record in the league by the end of the season, the voters will find a way to give it to Lebron or Giannis.

 

Giannis playing with middleton doesn't help harden's case. harden has a "mvp" next to him even though it wasn't deserving. but hey that's the nba's fault for awarding it to him in the first place for the two extra rebs a game.

 

it's very simple. he's not james harden

 

Yeah, but he plays in the Eastern Conference (something you'd only hear if James Harden was in it)

 

It's essentially the same case as last year. Historically great per-minute box score numbers (possibly best ever), excellent defensive player, best regular season record. Tough to beat that combination. The counter-argument against him is he doesn't play enough minutes per game and his team is still quite good without him on the floor.

By the usual criteria used for MVP voting, I'd say he is the clear cut favorite.

 

Once again no one in the East should be allowed to win MVP. They only have 2 teams with a remote shot at winning the title barring every star in the west gets hurt in the finals like last year.

 

the west is essentially the same way. it has contenders then teams that are competitive