I had thought that Lebron might have won his last regular-season MVP, but this Durant move changes everything. Even putting next year's play aside, who can the voters possibly give it to?
Curry: After everyone was extremely disappointed with him in the Finals his MVP chances were already looking suspect. Now the Warriors adding Durant will suddenly make their record almost meaningless for MVP consideration. Plus voter fatigue - Jordan, Shaq, Duncan, Lebron - no one has been voted MVP three straight times in more than 30 years. On top of that, Curry's numbers are probably going down with Durant taking up shots and game after game ending halfway through the 2nd quarter.
Durant: Who is going to give the MVP to a guy whose team was already 73-9 and already had the back-to-back MVP without him? Even if the Warriors go 80-2, that's only a seven-game improvement. Plus Durant's numbers are almost certainly going to go down...but even if they don't, how can anyone really say he's the most valuable when his team was already stacked?
Westbrook: Sabo is putting up big numbers next year, but with defenses focused on him he's going to be inefficient as hell and the Thunder aren't going to be as good. If 24-8-10 for a 56-win team only gets him up to 4th place in MVP voting, what could he possibly do to win?
Harden: Averaged 29-8-6 last year and still barely cracked the top 10. No one likes Houston or his game at all and considers his box scores to be empty stats.
Kawhi: After going out early in the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row, the shine is really going to wear off. Even with his elite defense and shooting efficiency, another 23-7-3 season isn't going to do anything in voter's minds. Can he step it up another level where he becomes a true superstar on offense too? I doubt it, and I don't think the Spurs even want to play that way.
CP3/Draymond/Lilliard/Lowry: These are your other top-10 guys from last year....I'm not seeing any of them with the slightest chance of getting #1.
Meanwhile, Lebron just graced the city of Cleveland with a title, showed up the reigning MVP in the Finals, cemented his place as an all-time top-5 player, and has become everyone's hero.
If Lebron just punches in another 25-7-7 season next year and the Cavs finish with the best record in the East again, who the hell is going to beat him for MVP?
The only way I see anyone competing is if Anthony Davis has his true breakout superstar season and the Pelicans actually compete in the West, if Harden learns to play elite defense and the Rockets actually compete in the West, if Westbrook learns efficiency and the Thunder actually compete in the West, or if Kawhi becomes a 25+ ppg scorer and the Spurs compete in the West. Or maybe if Curry gets hurt and Durant carries the team to just as good a record without him.
And that would only get those players in the discussion with Lebron.
Are any of those things likely to happen next year?
Curry: After everyone was extremely disappointed with him in the Finals his MVP chances were already looking suspect. Now the Warriors adding Durant will suddenly make their record almost meaningless for MVP consideration. Plus voter fatigue - Jordan, Shaq, Duncan, Lebron - no one has been voted MVP three straight times in more than 30 years. On top of that, Curry's numbers are probably going down with Durant taking up shots and game after game ending halfway through the 2nd quarter.
Durant: Who is going to give the MVP to a guy whose team was already 73-9 and already had the back-to-back MVP without him? Even if the Warriors go 80-2, that's only a seven-game improvement. Plus Durant's numbers are almost certainly going to go down...but even if they don't, how can anyone really say he's the most valuable when his team was already stacked?
Westbrook: Sabo is putting up big numbers next year, but with defenses focused on him he's going to be inefficient as hell and the Thunder aren't going to be as good. If 24-8-10 for a 56-win team only gets him up to 4th place in MVP voting, what could he possibly do to win?
Harden: Averaged 29-8-6 last year and still barely cracked the top 10. No one likes Houston or his game at all and considers his box scores to be empty stats.
Kawhi: After going out early in the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row, the shine is really going to wear off. Even with his elite defense and shooting efficiency, another 23-7-3 season isn't going to do anything in voter's minds. Can he step it up another level where he becomes a true superstar on offense too? I doubt it, and I don't think the Spurs even want to play that way.
CP3/Draymond/Lilliard/Lowry: These are your other top-10 guys from last year....I'm not seeing any of them with the slightest chance of getting #1.
Meanwhile, Lebron just graced the city of Cleveland with a title, showed up the reigning MVP in the Finals, cemented his place as an all-time top-5 player, and has become everyone's hero.
If Lebron just punches in another 25-7-7 season next year and the Cavs finish with the best record in the East again, who the hell is going to beat him for MVP?
The only way I see anyone competing is if Anthony Davis has his true breakout superstar season and the Pelicans actually compete in the West, if Harden learns to play elite defense and the Rockets actually compete in the West, if Westbrook learns efficiency and the Thunder actually compete in the West, or if Kawhi becomes a 25+ ppg scorer and the Spurs compete in the West. Or maybe if Curry gets hurt and Durant carries the team to just as good a record without him.
And that would only get those players in the discussion with Lebron.
Are any of those things likely to happen next year?
