LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have a legit shot at becoming the first co-MVPs in NBA history.
Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
By Steve Aschburner, NBA.com
Posted Jan 7 2011 12:01PM
Posted Jan 7 2011 12:01PM
The NBA has never had Co-Most Valuable Players. The same goes for most of the other major postseason awards handed out to the league's outstanding performers: Coach of the Year, Defensive Player, Sixth Man, Most Improved.
That's the thing with superlatives and grammar. It's hard to have more than one "best."
But, there have been three occurrences of Co-Rookies of the Year. In 2000, Chicago's Elton Brand and Houston's Steve Francis shared the award. In 1995, it was Detroit's Grant Hill and Dallas' Jason Kidd. And way back in 1971, Boston's Dave Cowens and Portland's Geoff Petrie finished with identical vote totals.
How did that happen? The process was simpler then -- ballots allowed for just a single name and there were a smaller number of voters overall. It's probably a wonder that more of the awards haven't been shared through the years, with voting processes that remained the same.
The MVP race always has been a little different. Since 1980, when the NBA shifted voting to media representatives rather than the players, voters have ranked their top five candidates. The winner is based on a point system, with 10 points awarded for a first-place vote, seven for a second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth. Obviously, with so many numbers in play in a weighted system using 120 or more voters, the chance of a tie is highly unlikely.
But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen. If LeBron James and Dwyane Wade continue to play as they have, and their Miami Heat team continues to win as it has, the 2011 MVP award might go to co-winners for the first time ever. Wade and James might have to split the Maurice Podoloff trophy in half, or figure out some sort of time-share arrangement like so many other south Florida properties.
But James doesn't think it will happen.
"When we decided to come together, our MVP chances kind of went out the window," James said last weekend. Perhaps he was planting a seed for some reverse psychology or, perhaps, he was honestly assessing the situation.
James' point was that two superstars would almost always seem to have an easier job than one superstar. And given the history of recent MVP winners, he probably is correct. Voters do tend to notice and favor those players who stand head-and-shoulders above their supporting casts, the lead singers with backup bands. When there is a clear gap between a team's No. 1 talent and its Nos. 2, 3 and beyond, the glow of MVP-ness becomes pretty obvious.
That has been apparent, for instance, with New York's Amar'e Stoudemire all season. The formula stays simple: The Knicks weren't good last year, Stoudemire came aboard as a free agent and now the NBA is relevant in that city again. Last season at this time, the Knicks were 14-20, not 20-14. They had 37 losses last season before they gained victory No. 20, which came two weeks after All-Star Weekend.
Pretty simple cause-and-effect for voters, including The Race committee this week. Chicago point guard Derrick Rose, last week's No. 1, didn't even have to change teams for his value and improvement to stand out, and there's no way the Bulls would have won 14 of their last 17 without Rose.
But James and Wade just were named co-players of the month in the Eastern Conference, no easy feat (they became the first teammates to average at least 25 points and shoot at least 50 percent from the field in a month since Seattle's Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel in April 1989). So a tie atop the MVP point totals isn't out of the question.
James, of course, is the reigning two-time MVP. Wade, through his first seven seasons, has never finished higher than third. But each has pros and cons on his side as a candidate for the award.
James, beyond being a proven MVP for his work in Cleveland the past two years, was the one who changed teams last summer and thus is the one whose impact is most obvious. He changed the direction of two franchises: Miami (28-9) is on pace to win 15 more games than it did last season (47-35). The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are on pace to lose 42 more than they did with James around for a 61-21 record in 2009-10. That's a swing of 57 games owing to James' whereabouts.
The negatives attached to his MVP candidacy are individual stats that are down across the board -- he is averaging 4.9 fewer points, 0.5 fewer rebounds and 1.3 fewer assists, while shooting slightly worse -- and voter fatigue. Voters seem to search out alternatives when a player dominates balloting the way James has.
Wade's plusses are a slightly higher scoring average than his brawny teammate and a better overall image. He stayed put and let the help come to him in the form of James, forward Chris Bosh and others. That makes any improvement in his play harder to spot, though. And the former Marquette star's scoring and assists are both off slightly from a year ago.
Will the two Heat stars "split" votes? Not in the strict definition of that word. Rules for MVP voting -- or any of the postseason awards, for that matter -- do not allow voters to designate "Co-" anything. A league spokesman said that if a ballot showed up filled out that way, the voter would be instructed to rank his selections. Or, failing that, the ballot would not be counted.
Also, unlike the three shared honors for Rookie of the Year, the MVP system includes tie-breakers: If both Wade and James finished with identical point totals, their order would be determined by the number of first-place votes each received. If that was even, it would go to second-place votes, then third and so on.
The committee isn't splitting any votes this week, but it was forced to split a few hairs to rank the latest Top Ten:
Last Week's Rank - 3
Getting up in the Phoenix Suns' grill Friday night is a reminder of how much things have turned for Stoudemire's former and current teams. It's not quite LeBron-like in the subtraction/addition but it's notable: The Suns were 20-12 after 32 games last season, six games better than now.
Last Week's Rank - 1
Rose's "aloneness" as a Bulls star gets accentuated when Carlos Boozer gets himself benched for the last 14 minutes of games, as he did via shoddy defense at New Jersey. Averaged 21.8 points and 6.8 assists for the week. But just one assist at the Nets?
Last Week's Rank - 5
James got outscored by Wade, 90-88, for the week but the former Cavs star had the edge in rebounds (22-20) and assists (24-14). This season, James has led the Heat in rebounding seven times to Wade's 12 but in assists 29 times to Wade's eight.
Last Week's Rank - 6
Only four players in the past decade ever averaged, over a calendar month, at least 27 points, six rebounds and four assists, while shooting 54 percent, the way Wade did in December (Dirk Nowitzki in Feb. 2007, Kevin Garnett in Feb. 2003 and Shaquille O'Neal in Jan. 2003).
Last Week's Rank - 2
Ah, Dirk's continued absence with a sprained right knee is providing an old reliable measure of Most Valuableness: Dallas was 24-5 before he got hurt, 2-4 since then (though Caron Butler's blown right knee syncs up with two of those defeats).
Last Week's Rank - 4
With the Magic one game off its pace last season (24-11 through 35 games), Howard might be more in line for his third straight Defensive Player of the Year than his first MVP. The committee was encouraged by his 18 of 27 free throws this week.
Last Week's Rank - 9
A 3-1 stretch for the Lakers has calmed things down a bit, and Bryant seemed back on track when he squeezed off fewer than 20 shots in the victories over Detroit and at Phoenix. He averaged 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those two.
Last Week's Rank - 8
Utah is 14-2 when Williams orchestrates the offense for at least 10 assists. He has done that, while scoring at least 20 points, in 13 games. He's closing in on Ricky Green on the Jazz's all-time assists chart but he's still 11,983 - more than Jason Kidd's career total - behind John Stockton at No. 1.
Last Week's Rank - 7
There are those Thunder faithful who contend that Russell Westbrook has been more valuable than Durant this season. There are people who think Robin is cooler than Batman, too. Durant wasn't hitting his 3-balls (3-of-12) but Westbrook shot a combined 8-of-27 against San Antonio and Dallas.
Last Week's Rank - NR
Rondo missed 2 1/2 weeks but returned from his left ankle sprain determined to make up for lost time. The Celtics went 3-0 and after the point guard averaged five points and 12 assists in his first two games, he went for 12 points, 10 boards and 22 assists against the Spurs.Dropping out: Kevin Garnett (No. 10 last week)
Honorable mention: Westbrook; Carmelo Anthony, Denver; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers; Al Horford, Atlanta; Kevin Love, Minnesota; Chris Paul, New Orleans
That's the thing with superlatives and grammar. It's hard to have more than one "best."
But, there have been three occurrences of Co-Rookies of the Year. In 2000, Chicago's Elton Brand and Houston's Steve Francis shared the award. In 1995, it was Detroit's Grant Hill and Dallas' Jason Kidd. And way back in 1971, Boston's Dave Cowens and Portland's Geoff Petrie finished with identical vote totals.
The MVP race always has been a little different. Since 1980, when the NBA shifted voting to media representatives rather than the players, voters have ranked their top five candidates. The winner is based on a point system, with 10 points awarded for a first-place vote, seven for a second-place vote, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth. Obviously, with so many numbers in play in a weighted system using 120 or more voters, the chance of a tie is highly unlikely.
But James doesn't think it will happen.
"When we decided to come together, our MVP chances kind of went out the window," James said last weekend. Perhaps he was planting a seed for some reverse psychology or, perhaps, he was honestly assessing the situation.
James' point was that two superstars would almost always seem to have an easier job than one superstar. And given the history of recent MVP winners, he probably is correct. Voters do tend to notice and favor those players who stand head-and-shoulders above their supporting casts, the lead singers with backup bands. When there is a clear gap between a team's No. 1 talent and its Nos. 2, 3 and beyond, the glow of MVP-ness becomes pretty obvious.
That has been apparent, for instance, with New York's Amar'e Stoudemire all season. The formula stays simple: The Knicks weren't good last year, Stoudemire came aboard as a free agent and now the NBA is relevant in that city again. Last season at this time, the Knicks were 14-20, not 20-14. They had 37 losses last season before they gained victory No. 20, which came two weeks after All-Star Weekend.
But James and Wade just were named co-players of the month in the Eastern Conference, no easy feat (they became the first teammates to average at least 25 points and shoot at least 50 percent from the field in a month since Seattle's Dale Ellis and Xavier McDaniel in April 1989). So a tie atop the MVP point totals isn't out of the question.
James, of course, is the reigning two-time MVP. Wade, through his first seven seasons, has never finished higher than third. But each has pros and cons on his side as a candidate for the award.
James, beyond being a proven MVP for his work in Cleveland the past two years, was the one who changed teams last summer and thus is the one whose impact is most obvious. He changed the direction of two franchises: Miami (28-9) is on pace to win 15 more games than it did last season (47-35). The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are on pace to lose 42 more than they did with James around for a 61-21 record in 2009-10. That's a swing of 57 games owing to James' whereabouts.
The negatives attached to his MVP candidacy are individual stats that are down across the board -- he is averaging 4.9 fewer points, 0.5 fewer rebounds and 1.3 fewer assists, while shooting slightly worse -- and voter fatigue. Voters seem to search out alternatives when a player dominates balloting the way James has.
Wade's plusses are a slightly higher scoring average than his brawny teammate and a better overall image. He stayed put and let the help come to him in the form of James, forward Chris Bosh and others. That makes any improvement in his play harder to spot, though. And the former Marquette star's scoring and assists are both off slightly from a year ago.
Will the two Heat stars "split" votes? Not in the strict definition of that word. Rules for MVP voting -- or any of the postseason awards, for that matter -- do not allow voters to designate "Co-" anything. A league spokesman said that if a ballot showed up filled out that way, the voter would be instructed to rank his selections. Or, failing that, the ballot would not be counted.
Also, unlike the three shared honors for Rookie of the Year, the MVP system includes tie-breakers: If both Wade and James finished with identical point totals, their order would be determined by the number of first-place votes each received. If that was even, it would go to second-place votes, then third and so on.
The committee isn't splitting any votes this week, but it was forced to split a few hairs to rank the latest Top Ten:
1. Amar'e Stoudemire, Knicks (20-14)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 34 | 37.6 | 26.4 | 9.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 2.3 | .521 | .545 | .772 |
Getting up in the Phoenix Suns' grill Friday night is a reminder of how much things have turned for Stoudemire's former and current teams. It's not quite LeBron-like in the subtraction/addition but it's notable: The Suns were 20-12 after 32 games last season, six games better than now.
2. Derrick Rose, Bulls (23-11)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 33 | 37.7 | 23.8 | 4.5 | 8.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | .455 | .394 | .777 |
Rose's "aloneness" as a Bulls star gets accentuated when Carlos Boozer gets himself benched for the last 14 minutes of games, as he did via shoddy defense at New Jersey. Averaged 21.8 points and 6.8 assists for the week. But just one assist at the Nets?
3. LeBron James, Heat (28-9)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 37 | 37.4 | 24.8 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 1.4 | 0.5 | .481 | .358 | .773 |
James got outscored by Wade, 90-88, for the week but the former Cavs star had the edge in rebounds (22-20) and assists (24-14). This season, James has led the Heat in rebounding seven times to Wade's 12 but in assists 29 times to Wade's eight.
4. Dwyane Wade, Heat (28-9)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 35 | 36.0 | 25.0 | 6.5 | 4.2 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .495 | .313 | .742 |
Only four players in the past decade ever averaged, over a calendar month, at least 27 points, six rebounds and four assists, while shooting 54 percent, the way Wade did in December (Dirk Nowitzki in Feb. 2007, Kevin Garnett in Feb. 2003 and Shaquille O'Neal in Jan. 2003).
5. Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (26-9)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 29 | 35.4 | 24.1 | 7.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | .545 | .403 | .879 |
Ah, Dirk's continued absence with a sprained right knee is providing an old reliable measure of Most Valuableness: Dallas was 24-5 before he got hurt, 2-4 since then (though Caron Butler's blown right knee syncs up with two of those defeats).
6. Dwight Howard, Magic (23-12)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 33 | 35.8 | 21.4 | 13.2 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.4 | .566 | .000 | .573 |
With the Magic one game off its pace last season (24-11 through 35 games), Howard might be more in line for his third straight Defensive Player of the Year than his first MVP. The committee was encouraged by his 18 of 27 free throws this week.
7. Kobe Bryant, Lakers (25-11)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 36 | 32.9 | 25.1 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 1.3 | 0.1 | .446 | .314 | .825 |
A 3-1 stretch for the Lakers has calmed things down a bit, and Bryant seemed back on track when he squeezed off fewer than 20 shots in the victories over Detroit and at Phoenix. He averaged 20.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in those two.
8. Deron Williams, Jazz (24-12)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 36 | 37.8 | 22.1 | 3.8 | 9.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | .466 | .365 | .850 |
Utah is 14-2 when Williams orchestrates the offense for at least 10 assists. He has done that, while scoring at least 20 points, in 13 games. He's closing in on Ricky Green on the Jazz's all-time assists chart but he's still 11,983 - more than Jason Kidd's career total - behind John Stockton at No. 1.
9. Kevin Durant, Thunder (24-13)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 33 | 39.1 | 27.9 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | .463 | .327 | .879 |
There are those Thunder faithful who contend that Russell Westbrook has been more valuable than Durant this season. There are people who think Robin is cooler than Batman, too. Durant wasn't hitting his 3-balls (3-of-12) but Westbrook shot a combined 8-of-27 against San Antonio and Dallas.
10. Rajon Rondo, Celtics (27-7)
| G | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
| 23 | 38.3 | 10.7 | 4.6 | 14.0 | 2.4 | 0.2 | .528 | .294 | .410 |
Rondo missed 2 1/2 weeks but returned from his left ankle sprain determined to make up for lost time. The Celtics went 3-0 and after the point guard averaged five points and 12 assists in his first two games, he went for 12 points, 10 boards and 22 assists against the Spurs.
Honorable mention: Westbrook; Carmelo Anthony, Denver; Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers; Al Horford, Atlanta; Kevin Love, Minnesota; Chris Paul, New Orleans
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