The NBA MVP award is the most important in sports. Check it out: every single winner is either a Hall of Famer or on his way. No other sport can say that about their most outstanding player award – both the NFL and MLB are dotted with winners that make you go, huh?
Not so for the Maurice Podoloff winners. From Bob Pettit on to reigning MVP LeBron James, each winner has been elite. It’s one of the best predictors of enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, and for that reason it is incredibly important and fun to handicap, which I will be doing at points throughout the season. So who’s got the inside track on this year’s award?
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LeBron James
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Tony Parker
Someone has to take credit for the Spurs recent success, and with Tim Duncan in the twilight of his career, that falls to Tony Parker. The Frenchman averaged better than 18 points and 7 assists last season for a team that won 50 games in a strike-shortened season. If the Spurs replicate that kind of season, voters will have to look hard at Parker.
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Chris Paul
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Ultimately, the MVP is going to stay in South Beach. LeBron’s biggest enemy this year will be the increased expectations of repeating, and perhaps voter fatigue. LeBron has been the best player in the game for a minute, but missed out on the MVP in 2011 because he had alienated voters thanks to “The Decision” and caused everyone to take his incredible ability for granted. Derrick Rose should send LeBron a thank-you card every time he signs a new endorsement off that MVP award.
But this year, James takes his second in a row and his fourth overall, putting him in rarified company of four-time winners or better: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and – of course – Michael Jordan. Move over guys. Bron Bron is here.