2011 NBA MVP: Deconstructing the League's Most Coveted Award

With half the season in the books, everyone is issuing their midseason awards. Most notable among them is the Maurice Podoloff Trophy given to the player chosen as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player for the regular season. But what is an MVP? What does it constitute? How do we chose?

Looking at it closer, there seems to be a few distinct rules of how the decision is made.

The most direct way of determining an MVP is simply finding “The Best Player”. In this case, you would decide statically who the best player is and award him the MVP. This is probably the most anti-climatic train of thought because the best player is typically the best player for an extended period of time.

For example, LeBron James is widely considered the best player in the NBA. Kobe is, by most accounts, number two and Durant trails behind them. So logically, only the top two or three players should really have a chance. LeBron could very well win the award again win the award. His numbers (25.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 7apg) certainly support him as much as anyone this year.

So why is he not the clear front runner for a third-straight Podoloff trophy? LeBron is definitely not a worse player than last season. Some point to the fact that he has other talented teammates. But is it logical to exclude a player from consideration because his team is too good?

Another line of thinking is “The Best Player on The Best Team” theory. Another straight forward way of thinking—find the team with the best record, identify the player having the best season on that team and you have your MVP. As of January 27th, San Antonio is 39-7 with a slim chance to win 70 games. Boston stands four games back at 34-10. So under this theory, Tony Parker is your MVP leader.

Parker is having a fine season, averaging 17.5 ppg on 52 percent shooting. The team has morphed from the methodical half-court team they were with Tim Duncan at the lead into a high-octane offensive machine that pushes the ball at every opportunity. That change is largely attributed to Parker’s style of play.

Is 17 and 7 an MVP’s stat line? It would be refreshing to see a player with those numbers honored with such a coveted award. But it would be unprecedented, and unless the Spurs eclipse the single season wins record, it would also be highly unlikely.

An interesting theory is an MVP “Changes the Culture” of his team. This rationale would require you to take into account how the team performed before the player arrived and analyze what affect said player has on the overall mindset of the team. With this theory, two names immediately come to mind: Amar'e Stoudemire and Blake Griffin.

Both the Knicks and the Clippers have been NBA doormats for much of the last decade. The misery is magnified by the fact that the teams reside in major markets and in big basketball cities.

Amar'e Stoudemire came to New York with high expectations. He took the responsibility of making the Knicks relevant, to this point, has held up his part of the bargain. “Stat” is currently second in the league in scoring at 26 ppg and 9 rpg and is the unquestioned leader of the new Knicks regime.

Blake Griffin completely energized L.A.’s other team and has the Clippers looking like there is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Currently, the 6’10” rookie is averaging 22.6 ppg and snagging 12.8 rpg, good for fourth in the league.

Both players seem to have their teams expecting to win games. As elementary is it may sound, franchise executives often say the most difficult thing to do is change a culture of losing into a culture of winning and that it take a special talent to achieve it. However, neither team is currently championship-caliber. Can a player from a team that shows vast improvement but has little chance to compete for a championship be the most valuable player in a given year?

The final MVP rationale seems to be “The Best Story” line of thinking. We can never forget that writers vote for MVPs, and writers love a good story. For example, it was obvious that when Dirk Nowitzki won his MVP in ’07, Steve Nash’s two MVPs in previous years was on their minds. Two best friends who had played together for years had finally gone their separate ways and are now finding success leading their own teams…that’s a GREAT story!

So what are the great stories this year? Here’s one…how about two young stars ascendance to super-stardom?

Kevin Durant was pegged before the season to be an early MVP candidate. He certainly has not disappointed thus far. Leading the league in scoring, “Durantula” is pouring in over 28 points a night and at only age 22, is in line for his second scoring title. But his story was already written.

Derrick Rose’s story was less obvious coming into the season. Everyone knew Rose was an excellent talent that would most likely lead to multiple All-Star appearances. His bid for MVP honors, however, seemed to take everyone off guard. Carrying averages of 24.6 ppg and 8 apg, Rose has probably been the most consistent of all MVP candidates the season. The work on his shooting seems to have paid off, as Rose is hitting a very respectable 38 percent from behind the arc.

Both have the statistics to back up their claims to the MVP. Are either of these stories compelling enough to push the meter in either star’s favor? Or is there another story that capturesthe imagination and the vote?

Whichever school of thinking you may use, one thing remains crystal clear: there are many worthy candidates that could lay claim to this year’s MVP. Let’s just hope these great players continue to push the pace and have as fantastic a second half as the first.