As we inch closer to the end of the regular season, the hype around the MVP title is at its peak. With several great performances to consider, many believe that Nikola Jokic will win the coveted trophy yet again. On the recent episode of the Nightcap podcast, Shannon Sharpe and Gilbert Arenas discussed Jokic’s chances of winning the trophy, as Unc brought up the broken voting system in the league that snubbed Wilt Chamberlain back in the day.
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Sharpe read a quote from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who said on the Hoop Collective podcast, “I had somebody with another team who was saying you can’t, in historical context, you cannot give this guy three MVPs in four years. Basically, his take was like, ‘That’s not going to age well.'” If Jokic wins it this year, this would be his third MVP title in the last four years, and that is why people are concerned about the trophy going his way.
Responding to this, Unc pulled up an interesting fact, saying that till 1980, players used to vote for the season’s MVP title. After that it was changed because of the biased outcomes that resulted from the process and now a panel of media members vote for the same. However, Sharpe pointed out how narratives and personal biases still play a role in the voting, “Just because you guys F’ed it up…Jordan probably should have seven or eight.”
He then recalled a legendary season from Chamberlain and detailed how he was snubbed from the MVP title that season because the players voting didn’t like him. Sharpe said, “One year, Wilt Chamberlain averaged 44 points and 27 rebounds and he finished eighth in the MVP voting.”
Sharpe clarified that now that the writers are voting for the award, they should try to be fair with their decision. So instead of considering narratives and historical contest, they should just pick the most deserving candidate. Sharpe also reinforced his belief that if Jokic ends up winning it again, he deserves it.
Bill Russell’s 1962 MVP winning season
For the people who think that Jokic winning the MVP again with an average of 26.4 points, 12.3 rebounds, 9.0 assists per game, while shooting 57.9% from the field would be bad for the league, let’s take a look at the 1962 MVP race. In 76 games, Bill Russell averaged 18.9 points, 23.6 rebounds, and 45.2 minutes of playing time, winning the MVP title. Other names in contention were Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Elgin Baylor.
Baylor ended up at the fourth position with 38.3 points, 18.6 rebounds, and he only played 48 games that season. Robertson finished third on the list with a triple double, 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 11.4 assists in 79 games. Chamberlain lost the race to Russell despite ending up with 50.4 points, 25.7 rebounds, averaging 48.5 minutes per game while playing in 80 games that season.
