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This Year’s MVP “Race” To Be Settled On The Court Authored by Kyle Bradley - April 16, 2006 - 1:50 am
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It seems that every year there are the same questions surrounding the most coveted individual award in the NBA. Should the award go to the best player in the league or to the literal most valuable player to their respective team? Should a player like Kobe Bryant (despite averaging over 35 points per game, leading a team on pace for the right to lay down at the feet of either the Spurs or Mavericks), receive the award over a Chauncey Billups, who has put up a relatively modest 18.8 points and 8.7 assists per game, but is the catalyst for the league’s top team?
There are the obvious names, like Dirk Nowitzki (26.5 ppg, 9 rpg, 41% from behind the arc and 89.7% from the line), Dwyane Wade (27.5 ppg, 6.8 apg, and 5.8 rpg), and LeBron James (31.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and 6.6 apg). Each of these players deserves mention and carries championship-caliber teams. Nowitzki is leading the Mavs through a very strong second half of the season, Wade is Mr. Consistency for a team that desperately needs it, and James is on pace to become only the fourth player in league history to average 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists per game (first player since perennial MVP Michael Jordan). What a great problem for the NBA to have, all the deserving names playing second fiddle to the little guy out of Santa Clara.
The reigning MVP Steve Nash doesn’t have to put up the gaudy numbers that some of his fellow stars enjoy throughout the season. All Nash needs to do is play with his unselfish style, make average players great, and put wins on the board. Last year, Steve Nash won the MVP by contributing to the breakout years of since-departed Joe Johnson (sign and trade Hawks in the off-season) and Quentin Richardson (traded to Knicks for Kurt Thomas).
It is clear that Nash played a huge role in the success that each member of the Suns enjoyed, and that he is doing it again this year but with different names (Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, and James Jones). Unknowns just a year ago, Bell and Diaw are both currently among the top thirty players in scoring in the Western Conference. Last year Nash averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists per game. This year he saw a slight raise in his scoring average, due in large part to the absence of running mate Amare Stoudamire, and, naturally, a slight decrease in his assists. The numbers are there (19.5 points and 10.5 assists per game), when combined with all that he does for the Phoenix Suns’ organization, Steve Nash is the clear-cut MVP for this season.
With such a great ending to the season in sight, playoff chases and MVP arguments included, here’s to hoping this MVP race can be without making race an issue. Steve Nash is once again the most deserving player for this award, not because the league wanted a “white MVP,” but because of what he does on the court. |
