MVP thoughts (Patreon)

My latest video asks the question: Is Giannis Antetokounmpo now the best player in basketball? 

I'm not entirely sure yet, and I always find it tricky to pinpoint emerging players without a larger sample (and, at the least, the playoffs). But I am pretty sure he's one of the three best players this year, and I think he's better than co-MVP frontrunner James Harden. (I'll get into why in the future -- it has a lot to do with defense.)

Even so, Harden is a perfectly fine MVP choice. He wouldn't be my choice, because I tend to default to the better player, but the idea of Harden winning MVP isn't offensive to me. I mean, it's entirely based on offense, but it doesn't offend the senses.

I never put too much stock in MVP results, not because the poll is meaningless, but mainly because it's not well defined. I've seen people defend this, saying "it's left open to interpretation to spark interest and discussion." But when people are speaking to different ideas -- "what do you value in an MVP?" -- the discussion isn't about basketball, it's about semantics. 

This has always rung hollow to me. The league could create a clearer definition and the debate would still be furious. But what I'd really like to see is an Offensive Player of the Year award, which, ironically, I believe would shine a brighter light on the value of defense. Acknowledging the best offensive with a high profile award might allow us as to acknowledge that the best players aren't synonymous with the best offensive players.

As of right now, there's a lot of uncertainty about what an MVP is. Is it...

• best player?
• best player on a competing team?
• player who helps team most?
• player who helps a team most near the top of the standings?
• player who you will remember in 5 years? (Wouldn't it be Most Memorable Player then?)

Despite some ambiguities, media voters have historically viewed the MVP with a similar narrative-driven rubric: Is a star player having a better year than expected? Has he won recently? Has he ever won? 

If the answers are "yes," "no," and "no," then the last step is to check his team record. If the team is at the top of the standings, this is probably the MVP! Especially if another MVP-worthy player has won recently.

Personally, I take the award with a grain of salt and appreciate all of the MVP-level players in a season -- heck, some of the very best individual seasons in league history didn't win MVP because of the above rubric! (see: 1990, Michael Jordan) For me, I'd have Giannis as the 2019 MVP and Harden as the OPOY (Offensive Player of the Year) and start sketching out my All-Postseason team and Playoff MVP. 

At least we have those, right?