The NBA MVP award is one of, if not THE most talked about individual award in all of sports. However, just because it is one of the most notable individual awards, doesn’t mean that it’s always the most correct individual award. In this article I am going to be looking back at every NBA MVP winner in the last 10 seasons to examine the legitimacy of each winner.
2006-07: DIRK NOWITZKI – DALLAS MAVERICKS
STATS: 24.6 PPG / 8.9 RPG / 3.4 APG / 0.7 SPG / 0.8 BPG / .502 FG% / .416 3FG% / .904 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: KOBE BRYANT
2007 was a down year for the NBA overall, there was really no one player who stood out individually so the voters just went with the standard “best player on the best team” criteria. That’s not to say Dirk was any slouch(in the regular season at least), putting up 25-9-3 on 50-40-90 is great, but not one of the better MVP seasons. In my opinion Kobe had the best season of any player that year by averaging 32-6-5 on 46% FG. He deserved the award.
2007-08: KOBE BRYANT – LOS ANGELES LAKERS
STATS: 28.3 PPG / 6.3 RPG / 5.4 APG / 1.8 SPG / 0.5 BPG / .459 FG% / .361 3FG% / .840 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
One of the most questionable MVP winners was Kobe in 2008. LeBron had a superior individual season than Kobe in nearly every regard, but Kobe had the media narrative behind him and that was able to push him to his 1st and only career MVP award. Like Kobe the year before, LeBron had the best individual season but his team’s record wasn’t good enough for him to win. Chris Paul also had a better individual season than Kobe had, but I went with LeBron because 30-8-7 on 48% FG is just insane.
2008-09: LEBRON JAMES – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
STATS: 28.4 PPG / 7.6 RPG / 7.2 APG / 1.7 SPG / 1.1 BPG / .489 FG% / .344 3FG% / .780 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
2009 had so many stellar individual seasons with LeBron & his future teammate Dwyane Wade coming to mind first. Wade was unreal when he averaged 30-5-8 on 49% FG. I honestly can’t be mad at a person if they feel Wade should’ve won MVP, but I go with LeBron because he played fewer minutes, had a better assist:turnover ratio and his defense was otherworldly(though Wade was no slouch himself). Ironically Wade didn’t even finish 2nd in voting this year, Kobe did, despite having an obviously inferior 27-5-5 on 47% FG.
2009-10: LEBRON JAMES – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
STATS: 29.7 PPG / 7.3 RPG / 8.6 APG / 1.6 SPG / 1.0 BPG / .503 FG% / .333 3FG% / .767 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
One of the easier MVP decisions ever, LeBron had arguably his best individual regular season in 2010. Not only was he the best player in the entire NBA, he also played on the team with the best record. One thing to note outside of LeBron this season was the emergence of Kevin Durant as a perennial MVP candidate.
2010-11: DERRICK ROSE – CHICAGO BULLS
STATS: 25.0 PPG / 4.1 RPG / 7.7 APG / 1.0 SPG / 0.6 BPG / .445 FG% / .332 3FG% / .858 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
If there was ever an example of why the MVP award doesn’t always mean the best player, it’s Derrick Rose in 2011. Rose benefitted tremendously from the negative impact LeBron put on his image by moving to Miami, while Rose was projected by the media as a humble and loyal role model. Don’t get me wrong, Rose was great this year, he played on a 62 win team, and he deserved to be mentioned in the MVP race, but he wasn’t better than LeBron’s 27-8-7 on 51% FG, or even Dwight Howard putting up 23-14 on 59% FG while being the best defender among any big man. It’s a shame this was Rose’s last injury free season.
2011-12: LEBRON JAMES – MIAMI HEAT
STATS: 27.1 PPG / 7.9 RPG / 6.2 APG / 1.9 SPG / 0.8 BPG / .531 FG% / .362 3FG% / .771 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
The 2012 lockout shortened season is kind of a blur now. After his disappointing 2011 NBA Finals performance, LeBron proved to everybody why he was still the best player in the world this year. There was some debate around Oklahoma City for Kevin Durant to win, but deep down everybody knew LeBron deserved it and he did. Not much to argue here.
2012-13: LEBRON JAMES – MIAMI HEAT
STATS: 26.8 PPG / 8.0 RPG / 7.3 APG / 1.7 SPG / 0.9 BPG / .565 FG% / .406 3FG% / .753 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: LEBRON JAMES
One of the easiest MVP decisions not just in NBA history, but sports history(unless your name is Gary Washburn). LeBron was not only by FAR the best individual player in the game this year, he was also on the best team. Kevin Durant was once again the runner-up in MVP voting to LeBron for the 3rd time in 4 years. Durant’s 28-8-5 on 51-42-91 shooting splits would’ve been good enough to win in most years, but he just ran into a top 5 player ever at his individual apex.
2013-14: KEVIN DURANT – OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
STATS: 32.0 PPG / 7.4 RPG / 5.5 APG / 1.3 SPG / 0.7 BPG / .503 FG% / .391 3FG% / .873 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: KEVIN DURANT
While I still believe LeBron was the best player in the world in 2014(something he showed in the playoffs), Durant had the best regular season and he rightfully deserved MVP. With Russell Westbrook missing nearly half of the season, Durant went on a tear that was a sight to behold. Interestingly enough, it was as though he flipped places with LeBron from the year before. LeBron’s 27-7-6 on 57% FG might’ve been enough to win in most years, but this time it was LeBron who finished runner up to a great individual player having his best season.
2014-15: STEPHEN CURRY – GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
STATS: 23.8 PPG / 4.3 RPG / 7.7 APG / 2.0 SPG / 0.2 BPG / .487 FG% / .443 3FG% / .914 FT%
WHO SHOULD’VE WON: STEPHEN CURRY
2015 was similar to 2007 in that there was really no player who had a standout individual season so the voters just went with the best player on the best team in Stephen Curry. The closest player to Curry in voting was James Harden, who had a great year just like Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, and of course LeBron James, but I’d go with Curry by default simply because he hardly missed any games and was more efficient than Harden.
Welp, there’s my list. If you disagree, and I’m sure there are those that do, leave a comment.
