Why the NBA’s MVP Didn’t Make the Playoffs

The NBA’s Most Valuable Player doesn’t always make the playoffs. In fact, it’s quite rare. Here’s a look at why that is and why it might not be such a bad thing.

The NBA’s MVP is a regular season award

The NBA’s MVP is a regular season award, given to the player who is considered to be the most valuable to his team during the Regular Season The MVP does not automatically mean that the player’s team will make the playoffs, or even have a successful season In fact, this season’s MVP, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder did not even make the playoffs.

So why doesn’t the MVP guarantee a spot in the playoffs? There are a few reasons. First, the MVP is based on regular season performance only. It doesn’t take into account what a player does in the playoffs, which is often when players step up their game even further. Second, the award is based on individual performance, not team success. This means that a player can win the MVP even if his team doesn’t have a great season.

So while the MVP is a great individual honor, it doesn’t mean that the player’s team will be successful in the playoffs.

The MVP doesn’t guarantee a playoff berth

The MVP is one of the most prestigious awards in the NBA. Given to the player who is deemed to be the most valuable to his team, the award has been handed out since 1955-56. In that time, there have been 61 different MVPs. Of those 61 MVPs, only 46 have made it to the playoffs that season. That’s just over 75%.

So why does this happen? There are a few reasons. Firstly, the award is given to the player who is most valuable to his team, not necessarily the best player in the league. This means that sometimes, the best players are on teams that just aren’t good enough to make the playoffs. Secondly, even if the MVP is one of the best players in the league, his team might not have enough good players around him to make a playoff push.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear that being named MVP doesn’t guarantee a spot in the playoffs.

The MVP is voted on by media members

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) 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. Until 2011, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA Media members; since then, players and basketball experts have been given equal weight in determining the winner.[1][2] Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for first to fifth place selections.[3] 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 three and fifth-place is one. Starting from 2010, one ballot bank consisting of media members from around the United States and Canada tabulates the votes.

The player with the highest point total wins the award. As of 2018, no Defending NBA champions have had a MVP.[4] Currently Voting takes place at the end of regular season

The MVP Award is based on individual performance

The MVP award is based on individual performance. It’s awarded to the player who has the best statistical season. It doesn’t matter if that player’s team didn’t make the playoffs. For example, in the 18-19 season Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder won the MVP Award His team didn’t make the playoffs, but Westbrook had an incredible statistical season.

The MVP doesn’t take team success into account

In the National Basketball Association (NBA), the most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual award given to the player who is deemed to be the “most valuable” during 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. Voting 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 7 points; each third-place vote is worth 5 points; each fourth-place vote is worth 3 points; and each fifth-place vote is worth 1 point. Starting from 2010, one ballot was cast by fans through online voting. The player with the highest point total wins the award. As of May 2020, the current holder of the title is Giannis Antetokounmpo who has won it two consecutive years.

But what does it really take to be considered Most Valuable Player? There seems to be an underlying assumption that in order to win MVP, success must also be team success. Team success, however, does not seem to matter when it comes to winning MVP. In fact, out of 69 winners dating back to when Bob Pettit won in 1956, only 27 of those players have led their team to an NBA Championship that same year they won MVP (39%).

So what separates MVP seasons from other great seasons? It can often come down to intangibles such as leadership and will to win. These are qualities that don’t necessarily translate into team success, but can be vital nonetheless. For example, Julius Erving won MVP in 1981 despite his Philadelphia 76ers only winning 46 games – 12 games worse than their record the previous year. His individual statistical numbers were nearly identical across both seasons: 24.2 points per game 8 rebounds per game 4 assists per game in 1981 compared to 26 points per game 8 rebounds per game and 4 assists per game in 1980. So how did he win MVP? Dr J was widely acknowledged as one of – if not THE – best player in basketball at that time and he carried his team on his back throughout the season en route to leading them all the way to Eastern Conference Finals where they narrowly lost Game 7 by 2 points against eventual champions Boston Celtics (led by another MVP: Larry Bird). Had Erving’s Sixers squeezed out a couple more regular season wins or made it passed Celtics into NBA Finals there’s a good chance he would have won both awards that year – individual and team success.

It’s also important to keep in mind that voters are humans too and sometimes make emotional decisions when casting their ballot for MVP instead of basing it strictly on numbers and analytics like they probably should. This might explain some head-scratching choices over the years like Derrick Rose winning over Lebron James in 2011 or Steve Nash beating out Kobe Bryant twice (in 2005 and 2006) when Bryant was arguably in his prime and carrying inferior teams on his back night after night

The MVP is often given to the best player on the best team

The MVP is often given to the best player on the best team, but that doesn’t mean that the best player always comes from a playoff team. In fact, in the past ten years, there have been five occasions where the MVP hasn’t come from a playoff team. Here are those five players:

--Allen Iverson 2001
--Steve Nash 2005 and 2006
--Derrick Rose 2011
--Russell Westbrook 2017
--James Harden 2018 and 2019

There are a variety of reasons why the MVP might not come from a playoff team. Maybe the players on that team are injured and they can’t make a deep run in the playoffs. Maybe the player is so good that he carries a bad team to respectability, but they’re just not good enough to make the playoffs. Or maybe, as is the case with Harden this year, the player’s team is just barely good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to win the MVP.

Whatever the reason, it’s clear that being on a playoff team isn’t a requirement for winning MVP.

The MVP doesn’t always go to the best player in the league

There are a lot of factors that go into winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award This season, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks was the clear-cut favorite for the award. He led his team to the best record in the league and was dominant on both ends of the court. However, there are instances where the MVP doesn’t go to the best player in the league. In fact, this has happened quite a few times in recent years

The most notable instance of this happening was in 2007, when Dirk Nowitzki won the MVP award over Kobe Bryant At the time, Bryant was widely considered to be the best player in the world. He had just led his team to an NBA Finals appearance and was averaging 31 points per game However, Nowitzki was deemed more valuable to his team thanks to his all-around game. He averaged 24 points and 8 rebounds per game while leading his team to the best record in the league.

In 2010, Lebron James won his first MVP award over Dwight Howard This was seen as a controversial decision at the time, as Howard was coming off a season where he averaged 20 points and 14 rebounds per game while leading his team to the playoffs. However, James had just come off a season where he averaged 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists per game while leading his team to an NBA Finals appearance.

More recently, Russell Westbrook won MVP honors in 2017 over James Harden This was seen as a controversial decision by many, as Harden was coming off a season where he averaged 29 points and 11 assists per game while leading his team to the playoffs. Westbrook, on the other hand, averaged a triple-double for the season (31 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) but didn’t lead his team to as much success.

So why does this happen? The answer is simple: value is relative. MVP voters look at how valuable a player is to their team’s success and not necessarily how good they are compared to everyone else in the league. In some cases (like Nowitzki in 2007), this can lead to a deserving player winning MVP honors. In other cases (like Westbrook in 2017), it can lead to controversy.

There have been some Great players who have never won the MVP

The NBA’s Most Valuable Player award is one of the most prestigious honors in basketball. Every year, the best players in the league are considered for the award, and only one can come out on top. But sometimes, even the best players in the league can have an off year. And sometimes, the MVP just doesn’t make the playoffs.

That’s what happened this year, when Houston Rockets guard James Harden won the MVP award but his team failed to make the playoffs. It’s not uncommon for MVPs to not make the playoffs; in fact, it’s happened quite a few times over the years. Here are some of the most notable MVPs who failed to make the playoffs:

The MVP is a prestigious award

The Most Valuable Player (MVP) 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 his retirement in 1963. Until 2011, the MVP was selected by a vote of NBA players Since 2012, it has been awarded by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

In 1982–83, Oscar Robertson became the only player in NBA history to average a triple-double for a season. The following twelve players have won the MVP Award while playing for the team that had the best record in their respective conference that year. Wilt Chamberlain did it three times, all while with Philadelphia.Bob Petit did it twice with St. Louis, as did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with Milwaukee. Moses Malone accomplished it twice, once with Houston and once with Philadelphia. Julius Erving did it twice with Philadelphia as well. Lebron James is the only player to do it four times, all consecutively with Miami from 2012 to 2015. Tim Duncan did it twice while on the San Antonio Spurs’ dynasty which won five championships in nine seasons from 1999 to 2007: he won in 2002 and 2003 when they had identical 62–20 records before winning again in 2005 when they went 59–23; he was not eligible to win in 2001 due to not having sufficient playing time after signing midseason (he played only 23 games). In 2017–18 James Harden became first player in NBA history to win MVP while being on team that didn’t have best record in either conference; his Houston Rockets went 65–17 but lost Western Conference Finals to Golden State Warriors who went 58–24 but had league’s best record due to being defending champions and having Kevin Durant joining them that off-season.”

Winning the MVP is an honor

Winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor that has been bestowed upon some of the greatest basketball players of all time. But in recent years it seems as though the MVP and a berth in the playoffs have become mutually exclusive. In fact, since the turn of the century, only four MVPs have gone on to win the NBA Finals that same season: Kobe Bryant in 2000 and 2002, Shaquille O’Neal in 2000, Tim Duncan in 2003, and Lebron James in 2012 and 2013. So what gives?

There are a few factors that can explain this phenomenon. First and foremost, the MVP Race has become increasingly competitive over the last few years. In the 1990s, there were only two players who won multiple MVPs: Michael Jordan and Karl Malone But since 2000, eight different players have been named MVP on multiple occasions. This increase in parity makes it harder for any one player to stand out from the pack and be considered a true MVP candidate.

Secondly, the increased importance of team success in determining MVP voting might be playing a role. In previous decades, individual statistics were often enough to earn a player MVP honors. But nowadays, voters seem to be more focused on how well a player’s team is doing when making their decision. This has led to a situation where some of the best players in the league are being passed over for MVP because their teams are not winning enough games.

So while winning MVP is still an incredible accomplishment, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a player will also be headed to the playoffs.