The MVP Award Is A JOKE

#nba

Those are the statements of actual MVP voters and trust me, I wish I was wrong. Every year the NBA season ends and we’re left with one question. Who’s going to win the MVP award? Some years, it’s an easy choice. Other years not so much and this is one of those years.

But the past few years have been really eye opening on just how flawed this process is, not just for MVP, but all awards. When you realize that there is actually no criteria for awards and that now more than ever, narratives seem to be dominating the conversation.

The MVP race has boiled down to Jokic, SGA, and Luka, but for most of the season Luka wasn’t in the conversation, it was Giannis. But as you can see, in about Week 22, something changed. The reason? Because the Mavericks went on a 9-1 run and became the 4th seed. Jokic was predominantly #1 because the Nuggets were the #1 seed in the tough west and Jokic was clearly the leader averaging a near triple double.

Being a player putting up great numbers is a prerequisite, but to be MVP, those numbers need to mean something, they need to lead to winning. ****You hear the phrase, best player on the best team.

Just 10. 10 players in almost 70 years, meaning 80% of MVPs have been 2 seed and up. But for example Julius Erving in 1981 was the third seed despite winning 62 games. So let’s go even deeper. Only 4 players have been under a 4th seed.

Now all MVP candidates also have to play a sizeable portion of games. Last year was rough

so somewhere in the 75-80% range. and all the candidates thanks to the rule change have played more than 65 games. Sorry Embiid.

But what is interesting is that in all this is what is the acceptable trade off of production and winning? **That hasn’t fully been answered.** We will get into ho’s the MVP based on this criteria, but because none of these criteria are set, it’s not consistent and leaves room for bias, but more than that, the system actually encourages it.

To fix this system, we need to have categories with standardized weight and then with that system I’ll dive into who should be MVP.

So based on this, who’s the MVP of this season.

Luka leads the entire NBA in points and second assists. I think it’s really easy to give him the top spot, but it’s also not that easy if he isn’t necessarily the most efficient. Between Jokic and SGA, that’s a bit tough because both players run their offense and are pretty efficient. Jokic has the highest PER at 31, Giannis at 29.9, SGA 29.3, Luka 28.1. Giannis is averaging more points and assists than SGA while shooting better and it’s actually quite crazy how their box plus minus and VORP are that close. In fact Giannis is the only person in NBA history to average over 30 points a game on 60% from the field and he’s averaging 11 board sa game. If we’re talking purely from a production standpoint, Giannis has been insane, even if we normalize it and no one talks about it.

**At this point, I think it’s fair to go either way and in the event of a tie breaker, we go to number of games played** and going by that, Jokic is MVP. .5 of a difference is insane.

But ok let’s get to the one everyone’s been waiting for, Luka.

The bias in me was rooting for SGA or Luka to be MVP purely off vibes, but that’s why I wanted to be objective and see who’s MVP and it’s Jokic. Man is just too good.

Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

[mjkallday]

Who's your NBA MVP? And what's your system? I'm going to read through and reply to as many people as possible

[A.Sharif.]

Kendrick Perkins making the MVP a racially motivated decision was as disgraceful as the robbery to Jokic itself

[chuck]

Not sure how you gave jokic less point in the intangibles than anyone…he basically coaches the team and he makes everyone around him better…he reads the other teams plays before they happen and tells his team what to expect…and turns anyone anywhere into a threat…also his defense is underrated…if there is anything jokic is excellent at it falls in the intangible category

[vintsh]

Just give it to Jokic it's rightfully his. Casuals don't want to see the same guy win MVP over and over again but it is what it is. He's the best player in the league and it's not even close. Catering to casuals will result in the core fans losing interest and ultimately leave for a better sport.

[gerdanbombales]

I love the he explained how flawed the MVP award is just to proceed in his flawed criteria lmao.

[noz]

Should be Jokic imo. He's the best player in the league. I'm not a Nuggets fan but I find myself watching most of their games.

[poppatheegoat]

Jokic is the mvp, imma be real, it’s a lot of Black voter don’t want to admit a white guy is the best player in the nba, don’t remember the last a white guy was the best player. He is the best and it’s not close I love the game of basketball but making this a race thing really make me hate what it has come to . Look at stats and advance jokic clear shai and every category.

I wanna know after y’all look at stats and advance stats what make shai mvp

Yes he score more, average less assists and rebounds, had less blocks, jokic had better per, better defensive rating, less usage rate, had a better record, jokic was 2nd in triple double, 2nd double doubles, jokic stats in the clutch was better

Look at jokic vs shai on and off the court see the difference. It’s not really a close as people trying to make it

[theofficialgreenkane]

*MVP voting should be 3 parts-* ‼️
1. Media 33%
2. Players 33%
3. Fans 33%

Media gets ballots. Players get ballots. Fans vote online. Popular vote wins each sector. Winner needs 2/3 sectors to win MVP. This evenly distributes the power similar to the Government (judicial branch, legislative branch, & executive)

[TwiceDoomed]

the fact embid was mvp last year and knocked out first round playoffs while jokic took the ship. dont do it to him twice hes mvp

[Billabongbabalog]

The Nuggets are by far the best team and it's not because they have the best players. They don't. This is a very rare phenomenon we're seeing. An *ACTUAL TEAM* ! Enjoy seeing this beautiful work while you can!

[hrsh-zfmj]

Giving Jokic a 8.5 in team load is horrendous. The difference in the +/- of Nuggets with him on and off the court is the highest in the entire league. And also giving these ratings to each player is subjective as well. Someone give Jokic a 10 in everything and someone doesn't.

[UndercoverNormie]

I am fed up with the NBA. Period. Thank God for YouTube videos.

[marvininer]

Imagine if the class valedictorian is determined by voting. That is just plain stupid.

[scoa]

Jokic in team load and intagibles should be much higher than you have. Even if jokic isnt getting the point or the assist, almost every point is pretty much directly connected to what he does. That sounds like a 10 team load. And i dont think there is anyone that makes his teammates better, that should make his intangibles about as high as it can get.

[JoeCnNd]

Aaron Gordon went from mid 40's fg percentage in Orlando to mid 50's in Denver. That's what Joker can do, finding his players at the perfect time.

[LLPOF]

Look, it's very simple. Name one team in this year's league, that if you swapped Jokic for their best player, wouldn't be a better team? You can't name one. I don't think that could be said for any other player.

[JonNuclear]

Dinging Jokic because of team load and rewarding Luka is actually backwards to me. I think Jokic has a much larger impact on his team and them winning than Luka does, Luka just demands the ball. In fact Lukas usage rate is why his stats are so high and also why that doesnt really mean as much. Put the ball in any players hand for that long and theyre going to have crazy numbers, Jokic pulls those numbers while not NEEDING the ball. And the way he plays in other ways like his assists, floor control, and screens shows how hes impacting the game way more without having to rip the ball out of his teammates hand like Luka. Sure you can argue its because Luka doesnt have teammates he trusts, but i dont think that changes the fact of the rest of it

[jameslh]

Standard!

Well done on this video MJ! Great analysis of a tough topic.

[metalmaster]

Respect. I knew you were on the SGA bandwagon this year ( I don't recall hearing it from you) and watched the video expecting that. I do believe Jokic is the MVP this year and was impressed by your admission and the need to establish criteria.

[leoncallero]

I am Uruguayan, a clearly soccer country, but the second most important sport is basketball. Including two bronze medals in the Olympic Games, and the basketball heritage is not born in the USA, it is born in the YMCA