Who Gets to Vote for NBA MVP?

The NBA MVP Award is given to the best player in the National Basketball Association during the regular season. It is the most prestigious individual award in the NBA. The award is voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters

The Basics

The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until his retirement in 1963.

What is the NBA?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is an American professional basketball league. It was founded in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America (BAA).[5] The league adopted the name National Basketball Association on August 3, 1949, after combining with the rival National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB),[6] which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States.

What is the MVP?

Voting for the most valuable player began in the 1955-56 season. A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout the United States and Canada vote for the player they feel is most deserving of the award. To be eligible to vote, a voter must have covered at least 10 NBA games during the regular season. The media panel votes for first, second and third place selections, with five points awarded for a first place vote, three points awarded for a second place vote and one point awarded for a third place vote. The player with the highest point total wins the award.

The Voting Process

The National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player Award is given to the player who is deemed to be the most valuable to his team. The award has been given out since the 1955-1956 season and has been given to some of the greatest players to ever play the game. The process for voting has changed over the years, but the basics remain the same.

How is the MVP voted on?

The NBA MVP is voted on by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from across the country. Each voter selects their top five players and awards them points based on how they rank them. The player with the most points wins the MVP award.

Who gets to vote?

NBA Media Voting Process: The award is given to the player who receives the most points, with points being awarded on a 5-7-9-10-8-6-5-3-1 basis. Media members across the country submit their ballots at the end of the regular season and those with the most points win the award.

There are 124 voters (including one fan vote) for this year’s MVP award. Of those 124 voters, 100 come from select members of the media. The other 24 votes come from current NBA players and head coaches.

The Controversy

The National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player Award is an annual award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until his death in 1963. Until the 1979–80 season, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. There has been controversy surrounding who gets to vote for the MVP in recent years.

Why is there controversy?

The controversy surrounding who gets to vote for NBA MVP is twofold. Some say that only members of the media should be allowed to vote, while others believe that fans should also have a say.

On one hand, some argue that allowing fans to vote would create a popularity contest, rather than honoring the player who is truly the most valuable to his team. They argue that fans are not as informed as members of the media and are therefore not qualified to make such an important decision.

On the other hand, others argue that fans are the ones who actually watch the games and know which players are truly deserving of the award. They argue that members of the media often have their own agendas and are not as objective as they should be when it comes to voting.

What are the arguments for and against?

The National Basketball Association’s Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best performing player in the regular season. The voting process for this award has been a source of controversy in recent years.

The arguments for allowing only players to vote for MVP are that they are the ones who know the game best and can identify the most valuable player on the court. Other awards, such as Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, use a similar system of player-only voting and it has been successful. Allowing only players to vote would also eliminate any potential bias that could come from media members or fans.

The arguments against allowing only players to vote for MVP are that it would create a self-perpetuating cycle in which only the best players would win the award. This would exclude players who are not part of the league’s “superstar” class, regardless of how well they performed during the regular season. Allowing fans and media members to vote would help to mitigate this issue and make sure that the MVP award is given to the most deserving player.

The Outcome

The National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1955–56 season to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 1963. Since its inception, the award has been given to 41 players. voting for the award is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five, fourth-place is worth three and fifth-place is worth one. Starting from the 2010–11 season, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award. As of the 2019–20 season, the most recent recipient is Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Who won the MVP?

The National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual national basketball association (NBA) award given to the best performing player of the regular season. The winner receives the Maurice Podoloff Trophy, which is named in honor of the first commissioner (then president) of the NBA, who served from 1946 until 1963. Since its inception, the award has been given to 41 players. The most recent recipient is Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won in 2019.

Until 1980, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players. Since 1981, it has been selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first to fifth place selections. Each first-place vote is worth 10 points; each second-place vote is worth seven; each third-place vote is worth five; each fourth-place vote is worth three; and each fifth-place vote is worth one. Ballots are due at the end of the regular season, and the winner is announced at the NBA Awards ceremony during the playoffs.

In 1984–85, Karl Malone became only the second player in NBA history—after Wilt Chamberlain—to be unanimously selected as MVP by all 124 voters. In 2009–10 LeBron James became only the third player to receive 120+ outvoting points with 122 from all 124 voters that year after Michael Jordan in 1988–89 and Malone in 1999–00 received 123 and 121 points respectively. In 2012–13, Kevin Durant became only fourth player since 1981 to receive 100% (119 out 119) points with Russell Westbrook joining him as co-recipient that season as well making it two teammates being unanimously voted in same year after Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were both voted unanimously alongside each other in 1987–88.[26] One voter chose not to submit a ballot that year.[27] Tim Duncan was also unanimously selected twice previously with 1999–2000 being his first season where he led all voters while receiving 117 out 119 possible points followed by 2003–04 where he again led all voters while receiving 120 our 122 possible points.[28][29]

In 2017–18 James Harden became only fifth player to receive 100% of available first place votes with 2018 MVP Russell Westbrook joining him as well-recipient that season making it two teammates being unanimously voted in same year after Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar were both voted unanimously alongside each other in 1987–88[30] One voter chose not to submit a ballot that year.[31] Westbrook became only third player since 1981 to receive 100% (129 out 129) points with Stephen Curry joining him as co-recipient that season[32]

How did the vote go?

The final vote for this season’s NBA MVP was close, but Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors ultimately came out on top. He received 49 first-place votes and 7 second-place votes, edging out Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 48 first-place votes and 11 second-place votes. Leonard is the first Raptors player to ever win the award.