The complexity of the NBA MVP award

The MVP race is shaping up to be one of epic proportions this season, with Nikola Jokić, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Dončić, Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant all in the conversation.

(Devin Booker is also a candidate, but given that it will be at least four weeks away due to a groin injury, let’s put that aside for now.)

It’s a tremendous crop of talent vying for the award, which means the narratives will run wild later in the season for every voter to justify their selection.

Historically, the prize has been flexible, accommodating certain storylines, sometimes prioritizing winning, other times arbitrary stat lines, and has even been the result of actual popularity contests.

Now, perhaps more than ever, is the time to get some straight lines from the NBA regarding how the award should be presented. With so many players fighting for position, it’s only fair that voters vote on a shared bedrock of ideologies.

Dončić, for example, is one of the most statistically impressive players in the league, posting over 33 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. If the award were to be taken literally, he would undoubtedly fall into the “Most Valuable” part, given the questionable roster surrounding him, which remains one area Dallas continues to disappoint him.

The Mavericks are just over .500, but it’s fair to argue that they would be among, if not the worst team in the league without Dončić’s presence.

Going the winning route instead would effectively rule out Dončić, although it could be argued strongly that he is the most impressive individual currently in the NBA.

If instead victory took center stage, one element would be needed to separate all of the aforementioned candidates, minus Dončić. How do you pit Embiid and Tatum, for example, against each other? For starters, you should use numbers, while also looking at the quality level of teammates to get an idea of ​​how much work each guy does and who plays the most vital role.

Only, doesn’t that bring us directly back to the conversation with Dončić?

And this is where the problem arises. Impossible not to take everything into consideration. Prioritizing how you, as a voter, evaluate the field is fine, but it would be an incredible insult to ignore any of these entirely field-based talents.

Williamson’s Pelicans occupy first place in the Western Conference. However, Williamson is statistically clearly inferior to many of the other candidates. But the best player on the best team in the West has to be in the conversation, right?

We could also include playoff pedigree, which has also been used as an argument in the past. Some players, who have been successful in the playoffs, will sometimes also be included in the debate for winning a title or going far on several occasions. There’s a reason Chauncey Billups has been popping up his name in MVP conversations for a few years, even though he’s never gotten to square off against other candidates individually.

There are therefore multiple avenues to go in this debate, and while that offers a level of excitement, it also offers frustration. What are the guidelines? Should the “Valuable” part of the award be removed, if it is not to be taken literally anyway? Conversely, should winning matter if we all stubbornly took the prize at face value?

Let’s be clear about something, though. While there’s a desire for the award to become more substantial, it’s in the NBA’s best interest to keep it vague to streamline online debate. Thousands of conversations happen every single day on the candidate field, and that makes the league a talking point. The more people discuss certain players, the more they tune in to follow them.

Fans are often emotionally engaged, and therefore further motivated to watch, if the national speech includes a star from their favorite team.

As such, we may have to face the facts and simply accept that the premium will always change, and altering voter motivation on an annual basis will ensure that we get new narratives to read and hear.

It’s a shame, however, that missing guidelines could cost a worthy candidate the award. The MVP is not something you as a player can realistically wave around as an award that you can just get for years down the line. The annual competition is absolutely fierce, the league’s talent level is growing, and the team’s success will always play some kind of role, meaning you have to win to even have one go. A few bad years and you could find yourself out of the picture forever, with no chance of re-entering, you’re at the peak of your career.

It would be nice to see the league set just a few benchmarks for voters to follow and take baby steps away from the wilderness of the wild west it is now.

Doing so, while maintaining flexibility and honoring the premium, should be possible.

Unless otherwise stated, all stats on NBA.com, PBP statistics, Glass cleaning or Reference for basketball. All salary information via Spotter. All odds away FanDuel Sports Betting.