duncan228
03-27-2009, 12:46 PM
Taking next step up in MVP race takes time as well as talent (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=nba_com-mvprace-nba-20090327&prov=nba_com&type=lgns)
By Rob Peterson
It took Magic Johnson eight seasons. It took Charles Barkley nine and Hakeem Olajuwon 10. And then there are Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone, who won their first NBA Most Valuable Player trophies in their 12th NBA seasons.
For some, the excellence is there, but taking that next step to MVP status has taken time. This season, the top three candidates—LeBron James, Bryant and Dwyane Wade—have a combined 24 years of NBA service and only one MVP among them.
One of the reasons it takes time is that the best players often are drafted by the worst teams. And while the individual numbers tend to be great, the team's records are lacking. The Cavs were 35-47 in LeBron's first season. Wade's Heat were 42-20. Bryant's Lakers were 56-26, but he was a raw 18-year-old who averaged only 7.6 points in 15.5 minutes per game in 71 games.
Considering NBA newbies already have an award—Rookie of the Year—precociousness seems to be a hindrance to winning the MVP award.
Only two players have come into the NBA and staked their claim as the league's best player: Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld.
Chamberlain made the competition seem Lilliputian. He averaged 37.6 points and 26.96 rebounds per game in his 1959-60 rookie season—both NBA records at the time. No one had seen anyone like Wilt. Given that the league had only eight teams and nearly every team these days has 7-footers, we may never see the likes of Wilt again.
As for Unseld, the numbers for his MVP season in 1968-69 season (13.8 points per game, 18.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists on .476 shooting) more than likely wouldn't even get him into this season's Top 10. But one number did stand out—57. The Bullets finished with a league-best 57-25 record, a 21-game improvement from the previous season.
Unseld was the biggest addition to that Bullets' squad and the players, who voted for MVP back then, rewarded him with the league's highest individual honor. In terms of MVP voting, that season would be Unseld's best. He never finished higher than ninth in any other year.
Earlier this week in our Race to the MVP Daily, we examined the candidacies of Dwight Howard and Chris Paul and tried to piece together why these bright, young stars sit outside of the top three.
There are three other candidates in the Top 10 who have the potential to be future MVPs. We'll put Tim Duncan and Chauncey Billups on the shelf for right now. Duncan is already a two-time MVP and Billups, who has helped lead the Nuggets to the top of the Northwest Division and has a Finals MVP, is 32 years old. Only Malone, at 33, was older than Billups when he won his first MVP.
So that leaves Utah's Deron Williams, Portland's Brandon Roy and Houston's Yao Ming. What do they need to do throw themselves into the thick of the MVP race?
Let's take a look.
Deron Williams
Along with Paul, Williams is one of the top point guards in the NBA. As a matter of fact, we had him at No. 10 in our first rankings this season.
He's perfect for the Jazz's high-side pick-and-roll offense and, in four seasons, seems to have mastered the nuances of the offense. The biggest knock against Williams is two-fold: One, he has missed 14 games this season and durability is a big factor in being valuable. Two, the Jazz have to be a better road team. They are 0-12 against teams with a winning record on the road.
Brandon Roy
Roy, in just his third season, has the least experience of any player in our Top 10. Still, he's the centerpiece of a young and talented Trail Blazers team which, at 45-27, is one game behind the Nuggets for the Northwest Division lead.
Roy is averaging a career-best 23 points per game and shooting a career-high .478. The only thing that is preventing Roy from being in the top five is time. If he keeps improving, his name will be mentioned among the league's best.
Yao Ming
With this being his seventh season in the league, Yao is the most experienced of this trio. One of the issues with Yao has been his health. He has missed 86 games in the three seasons prior to this one. Yao has missed only four games this season as the injury-ravaged Rockets nip at the Spurs' heels for the Southwest Division lead.
Another factor going against Yao is that his numbers this season don't match his numbers of the past three seasons. Yes, he was injured those seasons, but he always seemed on the verge of having a breakout year. When voters see 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for a 7-foot-6 center, they think he could be doing more.
By Rob Peterson
It took Magic Johnson eight seasons. It took Charles Barkley nine and Hakeem Olajuwon 10. And then there are Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone, who won their first NBA Most Valuable Player trophies in their 12th NBA seasons.
For some, the excellence is there, but taking that next step to MVP status has taken time. This season, the top three candidates—LeBron James, Bryant and Dwyane Wade—have a combined 24 years of NBA service and only one MVP among them.
One of the reasons it takes time is that the best players often are drafted by the worst teams. And while the individual numbers tend to be great, the team's records are lacking. The Cavs were 35-47 in LeBron's first season. Wade's Heat were 42-20. Bryant's Lakers were 56-26, but he was a raw 18-year-old who averaged only 7.6 points in 15.5 minutes per game in 71 games.
Considering NBA newbies already have an award—Rookie of the Year—precociousness seems to be a hindrance to winning the MVP award.
Only two players have come into the NBA and staked their claim as the league's best player: Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld.
Chamberlain made the competition seem Lilliputian. He averaged 37.6 points and 26.96 rebounds per game in his 1959-60 rookie season—both NBA records at the time. No one had seen anyone like Wilt. Given that the league had only eight teams and nearly every team these days has 7-footers, we may never see the likes of Wilt again.
As for Unseld, the numbers for his MVP season in 1968-69 season (13.8 points per game, 18.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists on .476 shooting) more than likely wouldn't even get him into this season's Top 10. But one number did stand out—57. The Bullets finished with a league-best 57-25 record, a 21-game improvement from the previous season.
Unseld was the biggest addition to that Bullets' squad and the players, who voted for MVP back then, rewarded him with the league's highest individual honor. In terms of MVP voting, that season would be Unseld's best. He never finished higher than ninth in any other year.
Earlier this week in our Race to the MVP Daily, we examined the candidacies of Dwight Howard and Chris Paul and tried to piece together why these bright, young stars sit outside of the top three.
There are three other candidates in the Top 10 who have the potential to be future MVPs. We'll put Tim Duncan and Chauncey Billups on the shelf for right now. Duncan is already a two-time MVP and Billups, who has helped lead the Nuggets to the top of the Northwest Division and has a Finals MVP, is 32 years old. Only Malone, at 33, was older than Billups when he won his first MVP.
So that leaves Utah's Deron Williams, Portland's Brandon Roy and Houston's Yao Ming. What do they need to do throw themselves into the thick of the MVP race?
Let's take a look.
Deron Williams
Along with Paul, Williams is one of the top point guards in the NBA. As a matter of fact, we had him at No. 10 in our first rankings this season.
He's perfect for the Jazz's high-side pick-and-roll offense and, in four seasons, seems to have mastered the nuances of the offense. The biggest knock against Williams is two-fold: One, he has missed 14 games this season and durability is a big factor in being valuable. Two, the Jazz have to be a better road team. They are 0-12 against teams with a winning record on the road.
Brandon Roy
Roy, in just his third season, has the least experience of any player in our Top 10. Still, he's the centerpiece of a young and talented Trail Blazers team which, at 45-27, is one game behind the Nuggets for the Northwest Division lead.
Roy is averaging a career-best 23 points per game and shooting a career-high .478. The only thing that is preventing Roy from being in the top five is time. If he keeps improving, his name will be mentioned among the league's best.
Yao Ming
With this being his seventh season in the league, Yao is the most experienced of this trio. One of the issues with Yao has been his health. He has missed 86 games in the three seasons prior to this one. Yao has missed only four games this season as the injury-ravaged Rockets nip at the Spurs' heels for the Southwest Division lead.
Another factor going against Yao is that his numbers this season don't match his numbers of the past three seasons. Yes, he was injured those seasons, but he always seemed on the verge of having a breakout year. When voters see 19.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game for a 7-foot-6 center, they think he could be doing more.