“David Robinson was the most valuable player of the 90s and not Michael Jordan”: According to IBM, the statistics give the Spurs legend the clear edge

The advanced analytics and statistics point out David Robinson to be the most valuable player to his team in the ’90s with Spurs.

David Robinson is a two-time NBA champion, 1995 MVP, and 10-time All-Star. But nobody will put him in the best player category in the 90’s era. Many do not consider him to be the best center in the era.

However, according to IBM awards, David Robinson is the best player or at least more valuable to his team than Michael Jordan.

The IBM Award relied on a specific mathematical formula that took the key offensive and defensive statistics and the team’s win total from the season into consideration.

@AschNBA Didn’t the NBA used to have that? The IBM Award, maybe?

— Mike Donovan (@TheMikeDonovan) March 22, 2011

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IBM award was given from 1984 to 2002. During the period, David Robinson won the accolade five times from 1989 to 1996. Michael Jordan won that award twice but in the ’80s, and not the 90’s where he 3-peated with the Chicago Bulls.

The Admiral’s successor, Tim Duncan won it in the 2001-2002 season. That duo won two championships in San Antonio Spurs.

Are IBM awards legit?

But the real question is, are the IBM awards the perfect barometer to measure someone’s greatness. The answer lies in modern-day analytics. It will be safe to say that PER [Player Efficiency Rating] has taken the place of IBM awards.

Many NBA purists consider PER  a “deeply flawed” analytics. Though, it is misleading at times. Coming back to the IBM awards, there is nobody who will put the Admiral over the Air Jordan.

Many would even argue that Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaquille O’Neal were the better centers of the era in question. IBM awards may not lead to a proper analysis of players in an era but it can make good water cooler conversations.

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