Legitimacy of the NBA MVP

David Powis

As is the case with every major award announcement in the world of sports, the news of the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry being the 2015 NBA MVP came with, “It should have been [insert player here]” comments from the public. In all honesty, there is usually at least one other player that could also warrant strong consideration for the award. James Harden is the only player that can really have an argument made for this year.

Supporters of Stephen Curry will make the argument that he is an overall player, whereas Harden is a “scorer”. It is true that Harden was more of a scorer compared to Curry, averaging 27.4 PPG (to Curry’s 23.8). The problem with this lame argument is the idea that Harden is not a complete player; he also averaged 7 APG and 5.3 RPG (Curry: 7.7 and 4.3, respectively). The next thing a Curry supporter will argue, “He plays better defense. Harden doesn’t know what defense even is”. Okay, let’s actually look at more than just the Vines of Harden blowing an assignment. Harden’s defense has been suspect at times, but this year is all that matters for the award’s consideration. With that being said, he’s been right there with Curry all season. As a matter of fact, according to basketballreference.com, Harden places ahead of Curry in Defensive Win Shares (and has the highest percentage among guards). If you want to look at a more tangible stat, say steals, which is after all a clearer indicator on how a player’s defense affects a game. Harden: 1.9 SPG- Curry: 2.0…what a huge difference, am I right? Harden’s defense has quietly improved, and it’s time to turn the page on the idea that James Harden does not have defensive ability.

We could sit here all day and talk specific stats where Curry edges out Harden by 1 or 2 tenths of a point and vice versa, but the point is, it’s the MVP award. I’m not sure if it’s changed, but last I checked that means Most Valuable Player. Below are the most frequent starting lineups used by each team:

Rockets	POS	PPG	RPG	APG
P. Beverly	PG	10.1	4.2	3.4
J. Harden	SG	27.4	5.7	7
T. Ariza	SF	12.8	5.6	2.5
D. Motiejunas	PF	12	5.9	1.8
D. Howard	C	15.8	10.5	1.2
Warriors	POS	PPG	RPG	APG
S. Curry	PG	23.8	4.3	7.7
K. Thompson	SG	21.7	3.2	2.9
D. Green	SF	11.7	8.2	3.7
H. Barnes	PF	10.1	5.5	1.4
A. Bogut	C	6.3	8.1	2.7

Without diving into the statistics and specifics, it looks as if the starting 5 for the Rockets is actually much better; every player averages double digit points, all but the PG averaging more than 5 rebounds, and Dwight Howard is averaging a double-double.

What you don’t see in this, is the fact that this lineup for the Rockets played together only 15 times. Their MOST frequent lineup played together only 15 times all season. The most frequent Warriors lineup? They played together 56 times. I don’t have to start explaining what that means for team chemistry right? Also, while the numbers for this group of Rockets isn’t half bad, the remaining players’ stats are quite atrocious. You begin to see players like Pablo Prigioni, Nick Johnson, and Joey Dorsey. These aren’t the 10, 11, 12 guys either, these are the next in line guys; they are actually getting playing time, and decent minutes at that. Basketballreference.com has James Harden leading the league with 16.4 added wins. Hypothetically, let’s just say Harden suffered a season-ending injury early in the season, and let’s assume that Houston holds on to half of those 16 added wins without him, they would drop to 48-34 and be 7th in the West. Say the same for Curry’s Warriors. Take half of Curry’s 15 added wins away, and the Warriors are still a 60 win team, first in the West. Harden was the most valuable player to his specific team, it isn’t the “Best Player on the Best Team” award, it’s the “Most Valuable Player” award.

Despite all of this, Curry was awarded the MVP award. Look, I’m not saying Curry isn’t worthy, he’s been incredible. I’m saying that Harden has been more incredible for his team. I’m also not saying Harden is an easy choice either, the competition between the two was really close, and even at the end of the regular season, there was no clear cut favorite for the award. Yet Curry wins, and it was a bit of a runaway, with Curry getting 100 out of the 130 votes. Why?

Marketability.

Stephen Curry is fun to watch, no denying that. It’s a show when he touches the ball. Nobody is allowed to just drop Chris Paul the way Curry did, or beat three defenders and hit a fade away three from 28 feet. He’s exciting, and he plays on the best, most exciting team in the NBA. That means more than just he’s successful, the Warriors are constantly popping up on primetime, making him even more appealing to the casual fan. The NBA is looking to get money from the most casual fan; the diehards are going to spend the money for their team regardless. The NBA needs to cash in on the low-end fans. They need to convince those fans that the NBA is worth the money for apparel. Curry has the second most sold jersey in the league, behind LeBron. The public is crazed over Stephen Curry, if I were at the helm of the NBA, I would ride the Stephen Curry wave for as long and as far as it would take me. Players who have the perfect storm of public appeal and talent, which Curry does, don’t come very often. The NBA would be stupid to not take advantage and cash in on one of its most exciting players.

Not only does his game feed into the crazy, shoot happy, run fast play style of this generation, but he doesn’t look the part. His nickname “the baby-faced assassin” fits him as an undersized, kid-like player. How does he get the ball in the basket among these massive bodies? He looks so out of place, but this makes him so much more fitting and appealing to the fans at home. He can be marketed this way, as an improbable story of a kid who was always too small to play with the big boys. From his time at Mid-major Davidson until his being drafted by Golden State, he’s always been too small and lacking the killer instinct.

This doesn’t change the fact that giving Curry the MVP award is simply misguided. Do you want to market Curry? Make up some award that allows you to market Curry as the greatest thing to happen to the NBA since the invention of the basketball. It would be simply irresponsible for the NBA to take an award away from a worthy recipient. But that’s precisely what the NBA has done; they’ve taken the most important award of the regular season and turned it into a business decision. Harden deserved the award, but he’s on a fairly non-descript team from a city that is not known for their sports culture. The Rockets play basketball, good basketball, but simple, plain basketball. The Warriors are a spectacle, a spectacle that the NBA is going to continue to market to the best of their ability, with Stephen Curry in the forefront.