“Giannis Antetokounmpo has better numbers than his MVP season, why isn’t he winning?”: NBA insider questions the wisdom of MVP criteria being used currently

An NBA insider is fed up with inconsistency around the MVP criteria, calling for players like Stephen Curry and Chris Paul to win it. 

Stephen Curry and Chris Paul are commonly known as all-time great point guards, and rightfully so. Both players have had incredible careers so far, and just about always add unequivocal value to their respective franchises. And this year has been no different.

The Phoenix Suns have especially been a surprise this season. Of course, Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton have been sensational as well. But it can’t be any clearer that CP3 is the one that makes the difference for the franchise.

And well, what can we say about Stephen Curry that the world doesn’t know already? The former Baby-Faced Assassin is arguably having a better season this his unanimous MVP year. The 33-year-old is averaging over 30 points this season, to almost single-handedly keep the Warriors in the playoff hunt.

So, with these players clearly, being immensely valuable, why aren’t players like these front runners in this year’s MVP race? In a recent tweet, Max Van Auken has exactly this question and some well-deserved criticism for the voters of the league.

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Max Van Auken brings up some very valid criticism about the criteria to win NBA MVP

Max Van Auken is part of the media personnel for the Orlando Magic. He is also the host of ‘The Max Van Auken Podcast’. Auken, like many in the NBA community, has been very frustrated with often changing criteria for MVP.

And recently, the reporter took to Twitter to air out his anger on the topic. Here is what he tweeted.

Giannis having better numbers than his MVP season and not being the favorite to win it this year shows you what is wrong with the MVP award. There isn’t a consistent metric on how we evaluate valuable. One season it’s stats, team success, or narrative. It needs to be pure VALUE

— Max Van Auken (@Max_Van_Auken) May 5, 2021

In the comments to his tweet, he also goes on to agree that Chris Paul especially would win MVP if it was truly based on value. It is hard to disagree with Max Van Auken here.

The award very literally says “Most Valuable Player”. Yet, it isn’t often that the most valuable player to a certain team really wins. There are so many variables that shouldn’t be there now, that even the voters have stopped hiding it.

Perhaps it’s time that the active hypocrisy around the criteria to win was changed rather than accepted so that the players that may deserve it more than anyone else in the league can finally win it.

Also Read: Shannon Sharpe explains why the Warriors legend is the second-greatest point guard of all time

About the author

Tonoy Sengupta

Tonoy Sengupta is a Senior Editor at The SportsRush. Coming from an athletically inclined family, he has been surrounded by sports ever since he was 4 years old. But, while initially pouring all his time into Football (soccer), at 14, Tonoy discovered basketball through the countless highlights of Stephen Curry humiliating players from Curry Land. And just like that, a fiery passion for the game was ignited within Tonoy. And soon after, he decided to become a student of journalism, graduating in 2022, and choosing sports as his area of interest. Today, you can find him spending 99% of his time browsing through every type of content on every team in the NBA, before uncorking everything he has found to the world. In the 1% he isn't doing this, you can find him playing Basketball, Football, Volleyball, or practically any other sport he has had the opportunity to learn.

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