Players that SHOULD have won the MVP

[jlauber]

Thanks to a question by ShaqAttack, I think this topic would be an interesting discussion...

Players who SHOULD have won the MVP in a year in which they did not...

There are probably many good ones, but I'll start it with Wilt's 68-69 season. Why? Wes Unseld won the award that year (as well as ROY.) He led the Bullets to their best-ever record, at 57-25...so that was probably a good reason, but as ShaqAttack pointed out, his teammate Earl Monroe averaged 25 ppg that year as well. In any case, Unseld averaged 13.8 ppg, 18.2 rpg, 2.6 apg, and shot .476 from the floor.

Meanwhile, MY "impartial" pick for the MVP that year was Wilt. He led the Lakers to their best-ever record (in LA) at 55-27. He did finish third in scoring on his own team, behind West and Baylor...but he averaged 20.5 ppg. He also led the NBA in rebounding at 21.1 rpg, as well as leading the league in FG% at .583. In addition, he averaged 4.5 apg. On top of that, he abused Unseld H2H, including one game in which he put up a 25-38 game to Unseld's 9-15 (or something close to that.)

BTW, while Unseld won the MVP award that year...Chamberlain did not even finish in the top-10!

[Yung D-Will]

In before someone says 08 Chris Paul.


Yea but Jordan should have taken Malone's mvp

[brantonli]

To me, it seems weird how Nash and LeBron both have 2 MVPs, and guys like Shaq, Bryant, Garnett have one each. I guess in a sense it shows that MVP is really a regular season award.

[jlauber]

To me, it seems weird how Nash and LeBron both have 2 MVPs, and guys like Shaq, Bryant, Garnett have one each. I guess in a sense it shows that MVP is really a regular season award.

EXCELLENT post. IMHO, Shaq in 00-01 and Kobe in 05-06.

[Sarcastic]

Michael Jordan deserved it in 1988-89, but lost to Magic. He also deserved it in 1996-97, but lost to Malone.

Olajuwon deserved it in 1994-95, but lost to David Robinson. They both had dominant years, but I think Olajuwon was the better player that year.

[allball]

Dr. J - 80

[Disaprine]

To me, it seems weird how Nash and LeBron both have 2 MVPs, and guys like Shaq, Bryant, Garnett have one each. I guess in a sense it shows that MVP is really a regular season award.

[jlauber]

Michael Jordan deserved it in 1988-89, but lost to Magic. He also deserved it in 1996-97, but lost to Malone.

Olajuwon deserved it in 1994-95, but lost to David Robinson. They both had dominant years, but I think Olajuwon was the better player that year.

If they included the post-season, Hakeem would definitely have won it.

Speaking of Magic...he should have won it in 81-82. 18.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 9.5 apg, and .537 from the floor. A near triple-double season, and the closest anyone has come to Oscar's mark (other than Oscar himself.)

[ShaqAttack3234]

Jordan in 1990
Shaq in 2001

Those come to mind instantly.

[no pun intended]

1996-2010 Kobe Bryant

[jlauber]

Jordan in 1990
Shaq in 2001

Those come to mind instantly.

Jordan certainly had much better stats...but Magic led that Laker team to a 63-19 record...and Kareem had retired the season before. Once again, I believe Magic made his teammates much better than they would have been without him. His stats, like Russell's and even Duncan's, don't always tell the whole story.

[PowerGlove]

What a surprise ShaqAttack.

Anyways, MVP is a completely subjective award and I don't how many times I have to stress that to people over and over again. It's not just about statistics, teammates, wins/losses,etc. I dont get what is so hard to understand about that.

[jlauber]

What a surprise ShaqAttack.

Anyways, MVP is a completely subjective award and I don't how many times I have to stress that to people over and over again. It's not just about statistics, teammates, wins/losses,etc. I dont get what is so hard to understand about that.

I agree with your basic premise (that is why I believe Magic's value went way beyond his own stats), and I also believe that that Philly team over-achieved, and I'll give AI credit for that...but still...Shaq's numbers and efficiency were just spectacular.

[PHILA]

Barkley 1990
Shaq 2005

[BoogieWoogieMan]

Jason Kidd 2001-02