NBA MVP: Team Success Is Crucial

Averages:                            1.38          1.88       8.27    3.31

*Steve Nash was still on the Mavericks when the Suns failed to make the playoffs in 2003. Nash helped lead the Mavericks through a successful playoff run that ended in the Western Conference Semifinals. 

**Moses Malone was traded to the 76ers after the '81-'82 season, so he did not play a part in their winning of the Eastern Conference Finals. His previous team, the Rockets lost in the first round of the 1982 playoffs.

As you can see, the vast majority of season MVPs, 20 out of 26, came from a team that had the best record in their respective conference, if not the entire NBA. It's obvious that team success in the regular season is a major factor when considering a player for MVP. This trend could prove favorable for players like Chris Paul or Kevin Garnett whose teams are likely to end up at or near the top of their conference standings.

What's the next most important statistic?

Basically, it's efficiency. MVPs of the past ranked highly in PER even though this statistic has been commonly used for less than a decade. Even the MVPs whose team did not lead the conference standings ranked higher in PER than they did in scoring.

The few times that the season scoring leader became the season MVP appears merely coincidental. Judging from these numbers, the emphasis on scoring averages has declined. The same could be said for efficiency as well.

A vast majority of these MVPs also competed on teams that had some degree of success in the playoffs the year prior to them being named. This may also be somewhat of a coincidental factor, though.

So based on the trends demonstrated here, who has the best shot at winning the MVP race this year? Let's compare the top names in consideration by the same numbers.

                        Team         Team    Indv.   Indv.    Playoff

                      Standing   Standing Rank    Rank     Result

Player            (Conference) (NBA)   (PPG)  (PER) (Prev. Yr.)

Kobe Bryant        3rd             5th       2nd      5th    Lost 1st rnd.

LeBron James      4th            13th      1st       1st     East Chmps

Chris Paul            1st            3rd       21st      3rd        DNP

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