Derrick Rose
The Most Valuable Player race in the NBA is more like winning a spot on a high school homecoming court than an objective, statistically-motivated decision. It’s a popularity contest that favors whomever is making the biggest splash in the mind of today’s “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” society.
This caters favorably to our hometown hero, golden-boy Derrick Rose.
We saw it in ‘93 with Charles Barkley, ‘97 with Karl Malone and most recently ‘05 and ‘06 with Steve Nash. None of those players were most valuable for their team; Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant were. Those players weren’t statistical anomalies, they were the most talked about and had the opinion of the public on their side.
It’s hard to find anyone in the country that doesn’t like Rose. EVERYONE is rooting for the young, humble star to come back from his ill-fortuned injuries. Proving the doubters wrong with an MVP trophy in his comeback season is the Cinderella story that every sports fan dreams about.
So far this season he’s been dominant, playing with an improved jump shot and a new-found hunger.
Rose doesn’t need to set career-highs in each category or lead the Bulls to 60 wins. All he has to do is stay healthy, have a decent year, keep us on the edge of our seat and let the American bandwagon carry him to his second MVP trophy.
— Brandon Wallace
Lebron James
Interesting fact about the NBA MVP: every player who has won the award since it was first given in 1956 has either been inducted into the basketball hall of fame, or is not yet eligible.
Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson are the only retired players not inducted. In basketball, it’s very rare to see a one-hit wonder. But truth be told, the competition is a little weak this year.
Derrick Rose is coming off two straight years of ACL injuries, Kobe Bryant is starting to deteriorate and teammates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will each miss a significant portion of the season.
My pick this year, for the fifth time in his career, is LeBron James.
There’s plenty of talent across the NBA. But when you compare him to players like Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, John Wall or Klay Thompson, James appears to come out on top.
This is James’s first year back in Cleveland since his infamous “decision” back in the summer of 2010. The Miami Heat went to the Finals four times in LeBron’s four year tenure, winning two.
LeBron also won two MVP awards during this time and he’s already off to a good start with his former team. Although Cleveland is off to a bit of a rocky start, LeBron will continue to make an impact throughout the rest of the season.
— Sam Dintruff
