Kyle Kuzma sparked controversy last week when he argued his teammates LeBron James "should have been the MVP at least eight, nine, 10 times. Everybody knows that." James himself responded that he thinks he should have won more MVPs than the four he has, but avoided specifically mentioning which years he believes he should've won it. He went on to say "a lot of the greatest that played this game feel like they should have more as well, if you ask any one of those guys." There's definitely some credence to this: as great of a player Steve Nash was, should he really be a two-time MVP winner when both Shaq and Kobe only won one MVP apiece?
(Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images)
While LeBron has learned to be less incendiary with his comments ever following the backlash he received from NBA legends upon declaring himself the greatest player of all time, leave it to ardent LeBron supporter Nick Wright to call out the years LeBron should've won MVP and the players he should've won it over.
Before I respond to this, we have to recognize that the MVP award doesn't go to the best player every year. Otherwise, MJ would have way more than five MVPs. It goes to the player who had the best season. "External" factors like team record, teammates, and historical significance, can affect player's chances to win just as much as their individual statlines. Because this award is voted on by members of the NBA media, the qualitative narrative surrounding a players' season can boost one candidate over another. You may argue that narrative shouldn't be a factor, but the alternative where players vote would be an unmitigated disaster, if All-Star voting is any indication.
The media votes by the following rules: "Voting was done by a nationwide panel of sports writers and broadcasters...[each of whom ranked five MVP candidates] Players were awarded 10 points for first, seven points for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth." (ESPN.com)
2014-15
Voting Results
Stat-Lines
Curry: 23.8pts, 7.7ast, 4.3reb, 2.0stl, 0.2blk 48.7 FG%, 44.3 3P%, 91.4 FT%
Harden: 27.4pts, 7.0ast, 5.7reb, 1.9stl, 0.7blk 44.0 FG%, 37.5 3P%, 86.8 FT%James: 25.3pts, 7.4ast, 6.0reb, 1.6stl, 0.7blk 48.8 FG%, 35.4 3P%, 71.0 FT%
Even though Curry's game by game numbers are slightly lagging behind the two other candidates, he led his team to a 67-15 record, 11 games clear of Harden's Rockets and 14 games clear of LeBron's Cavaliers. The Warriors were just so dominant during this season, that Steph often didn't even play in fourth-quarter blowouts. Normalizing for playing time, Steph averaged 26.2 points per 36 minutes, right behind Harden's 26.8 and ahead of LeBron's 25.2.
To further put the nail in the coffin, Steph and Harden played 80 and 81 games respectively while LeBron only played 69 games. Combine that with his odd two-week break in the middle of the season, and it was a two-man race between Steph and Harden all the way.
2010-11
Voting Results
1. Derrick Rose: 113 1st Place Votes 1182/1210 Total Points2. Dwight Howard: 3 1st Place Votes 643/1210 Total Points3. LeBron James: 4 1st Place Votes 522/1210 Total Points
Stat-Lines
Rose: 25.0pts, 7.7ast, 4.1reb, 1.0stl, 0.6blk 44.5 FG%, 33.2 3P%, 85.8 FT%Howard: 22.9pts, 1.4ast, 14.1reb, 1.4stl, 2.4blk 59.3 FG%, 0 3P%, 59.6 FT%James: 26.7pts, 7.0ast, 7.5reb, 1.6stl, 0.6blk 51.0 FG%, 33.0 3P%, 75.9 FT%
Like the previous example, Rose led his team to the best record of the bunch: 62-20. That's 10 games over Dwight's Magic and 4 games over LeBron's Heat. The key sticking difference between Rose and James: their teammates. Derrick Rose was playing alongside Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, and Joakim Noah. Boozer was the only one who had an All-Star appearance in his career and it was three seasons prior. On the contrary, LeBron was playing with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, 6-time and 5-time All-Stars respectively at that point in their careers. Wade had even already won a championship and Finals MVP in the 2006 season. In the same conference with unquestionably inferior teammates, Rose had led his team to a better record.
The prior offseason, LeBron elected to leave his hometown Cavaliers, an organization that had done next to nothing to surround him with adequate help, by announcing his decision live during a primetime ESPN special, called The Decision. This left a sour taste with fans and members of the media, who thought the move lacked class. (Just scroll to the bottom of this scathing Bleacher Report article).
2005-06
Voting Results
1. Steve Nash: 57 1st Place Votes 924/1250 Total Points2. LeBron James: 16 1st Place Votes 688/1250 Total Points
Stat-Lines
Nash: 18.8pts, 10.5ast, 4.2reb, 0.8stl, 0.2blk 51.2 FG%, 43.9 3P%, 92.1 FT%James: 31.4pts, 6.6ast, 7.0reb, 1.6stl, 0.8blk 59.3 FG%, 33.5 3P%, 73.8 FT%
Statistically, there's no contest here. By basic box score numbers and even advanced metrics like VORP, BPM, WS, WS/48, LeBron outpaced Nsah by a decent amount. Nash, however, was the most efficient scorer/shooter in the league posting a 50-40-90 season (50% from the field, 40% from three, 90% from the free-throw line). This was only the 5th ever season recorded at the time (Nash would go on to do it thrice more from 2008-2010).
This award unlike the other two was extremely narrative-driven. Having just won MVP the season prior in a close race versus Shaq, Nash lost his main co-star and Suns' leading scorer Amar'e Stoudemire to nagging knee issues. Many analysts and members of the media, expected the Suns to fall to the rest of the pack. Yet, Nash led the league in assists, posted career-highs in rebounds and points, and playmaked at an elite level such that six of his teammates also posted career-highs in scoring.
In the much tougher Western Conference, Nash led his team to a 54-28 record, 4 games better than LeBron's Cavaliers who went 50-32.
Looking at these three seasons, 2015 and 2011 are unquestionably not years LeBron had a legitimate case. The 2006 season is the only season for which you can make a reasonable argument that LeBron was the most deserving. The MVP race as a who was much more wide open than usual. Three players in addition to Nash and LeBron received more than 10 1st place votes and 400 total points: Dirk Nowitzki, Chauncy Billups, and Kobe Bryant. The first two put up MVP caliber statistics and were both on teams that won 60 and 64 games, while Kobe averaged a career-high of 35.4ppg (though his Lakers went 45-37). In a world where we aren't considering Nash, these other players have cases as good as, if not better than, LeBron's for the trophy.
Though LeBron is unquestionably greater than all the players he lost MVP to in these years, he should not have won "eight, nine, or 10 times" as Kuzma declared, nor should he have won seven times as Nick Wright argued, I'd argue LeBron deserved exactly the four MVPs he won. The max I'm willing to go is five.
All stats, win totals, and MVP voting returns courtesy of Basketball-Reference.
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