Mr. Friscus
Diamond Member
- Dec 28, 2020
- 5,070
- 5,294
People who follow NBA history know that MVP fatigue is a thing. Each player has unique circumstances, and only a handful of players run into the phenomenon because they win so many. That list includes Lebron, MJ, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem, Wilt, Bill Russell, and the most recent example being Jokic (although it was primarily his race)
In some discussions, Lebron is said to "only" have 4 MVP's. Most NBA fans have known that Lebron was the best player in the league from roughly the mid 2000's until the mid 2010's. As for the MVP award, it's always been tough to truly define. Does it go to the best player? The best player on the best regular season team? The player who means the most to his team even if the team is average? There are examples of all 3 throughout history.
However, in regards to Lebron, he ought to be a 6 time MVP. Here's the 2 that were taken from him. I'll be looking at stats (including win shares), team success, team support, etc.
If you're unfamiliar with Win Shares, Win Shares is a player statistic which attempts to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team, calculated using player, team and league-wide statistics and the sum of player win shares on a given team will be roughly equal to that team’s win total for the season. Kareem had the highest win-share of all time during his 1971-72 season at 25.4.
But anyways, back to looking at the 2 years Lebron was snubbed as MVP.
1. 2010-2011
Winner: Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.
Stats:
Rose: 25ppg, 4.1 rebounds ,7.7 assists, 13.1 win shares
Lebron: 26.7ppg, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 15.6 Win shares
Teams:
Bulls (62-20): PG Rose, SG Kyle Korver, SF Luol Deng, PF Carlos Boozer, C Kurt Thomas
Heat (58-24): PG Arroyo, SG Wade, SF James, PF Bosh, C Ilgauskus
Additional: The Bulls had the #1 D in the NBA which Rose had little to do with, as they were only 2.7 points per possession per 100 worse with Rose on the Bench. Their offense was 11th. This was largely a blowblack against Lebron for his "Decision" to "take his talents to south beach". He deserved the award, but like so many times in sports history, sensitive, dramatic sports writers got emotional and voted against someone rather than objectively selecting the most deserving player. One could say Lebron had a lot of help in Wade and Bosh, and in other years there may have been someone who could buck him. However, this year there really wasn't a viable alternative, maybe Dwight Howard but not really.
2007-2008
Winner: Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers
Stats:
Kobe: 28.3 PPG, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 13.8 win shares
Lebron: 30ppg, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 15.2 win shares
Teams:
Lakers (57-25) PG Fisher, SG Bryant, SF Ariza, PF Odom, C Bynum
Cavs (45-37) PG James, SG Hughes, SF Pavlovic, PF Gooden, C Ilgauskus
Additional: James won the scoring title, had an inferior cast, better efficiency numbers. The Lakers were 8.6 points per 100 possessions worse without Bryant, the Cavs 10.9 points per 100 worse without James. The Lakers won more games, but they also had all-star quality players such as Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, both better than anything Cleveland had.
In some discussions, Lebron is said to "only" have 4 MVP's. Most NBA fans have known that Lebron was the best player in the league from roughly the mid 2000's until the mid 2010's. As for the MVP award, it's always been tough to truly define. Does it go to the best player? The best player on the best regular season team? The player who means the most to his team even if the team is average? There are examples of all 3 throughout history.
However, in regards to Lebron, he ought to be a 6 time MVP. Here's the 2 that were taken from him. I'll be looking at stats (including win shares), team success, team support, etc.
If you're unfamiliar with Win Shares, Win Shares is a player statistic which attempts to divvy up credit for team success to the individuals on the team, calculated using player, team and league-wide statistics and the sum of player win shares on a given team will be roughly equal to that team’s win total for the season. Kareem had the highest win-share of all time during his 1971-72 season at 25.4.
But anyways, back to looking at the 2 years Lebron was snubbed as MVP.
1. 2010-2011
Winner: Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls.
Stats:
Rose: 25ppg, 4.1 rebounds ,7.7 assists, 13.1 win shares
Lebron: 26.7ppg, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 15.6 Win shares
Teams:
Bulls (62-20): PG Rose, SG Kyle Korver, SF Luol Deng, PF Carlos Boozer, C Kurt Thomas
Heat (58-24): PG Arroyo, SG Wade, SF James, PF Bosh, C Ilgauskus
Additional: The Bulls had the #1 D in the NBA which Rose had little to do with, as they were only 2.7 points per possession per 100 worse with Rose on the Bench. Their offense was 11th. This was largely a blowblack against Lebron for his "Decision" to "take his talents to south beach". He deserved the award, but like so many times in sports history, sensitive, dramatic sports writers got emotional and voted against someone rather than objectively selecting the most deserving player. One could say Lebron had a lot of help in Wade and Bosh, and in other years there may have been someone who could buck him. However, this year there really wasn't a viable alternative, maybe Dwight Howard but not really.
2007-2008
Winner: Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers
Stats:
Kobe: 28.3 PPG, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 13.8 win shares
Lebron: 30ppg, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 15.2 win shares
Teams:
Lakers (57-25) PG Fisher, SG Bryant, SF Ariza, PF Odom, C Bynum
Cavs (45-37) PG James, SG Hughes, SF Pavlovic, PF Gooden, C Ilgauskus
Additional: James won the scoring title, had an inferior cast, better efficiency numbers. The Lakers were 8.6 points per 100 possessions worse without Bryant, the Cavs 10.9 points per 100 worse without James. The Lakers won more games, but they also had all-star quality players such as Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, both better than anything Cleveland had.
