Who is the NBA MVP?

The 2011-2012 NBA season has had plenty of twists and turns. We’ve seen one player embrace his inner pro wrestling heel side and channel Hollywood Hogan (Andrew Bynum, thanks for the reference my friend), we finally found out that Dwight Howard was staying, and then leaving, and ultimately staying in Orlando. At least until we revisit the ordeal next season. The one question we have yet to get an answer to is who will win the NBA MVP award. This topic has been debated ever since the Miami Heat faced and lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder back in late March. The media and fans alike both realize that the MVP is a two horse race between LeBron James and Kevin Durant. The teams have split their regular season match-ups with both teams winning on their home courts. While the two players appear to be neck and neck as far as the MVP race goes, that is why Tha Weatha Report is taking the time to show you that the race really isn’t as close as it appears. 

First, let us start with the basic categories. 

Category	LeBron James	Kevin Durant
PPG	27.0	27.5
RPG	7.9	7.9
APG	6.4	3.5

                               

As the numbers, show their production is relatively close with the biggest difference being the extra 3 assists that James produces per game. Not a big enough difference to sway most voters and opinions. 

Of course most people use the argument, “LeBron has two all stars on his team. How can he be the MVP?” That is a true statement. LeBron James is surrounded by Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. However, to ignore the fact that Kevin Durant has Russell Westbrook and James Harden on his team would be foolish. Especially considering that those two players are also all stars. Also it has to be stated that Wade has missed 11 games and Bosh has missed three games. On the other side, Harden has missed one game, while Durant and Westbrook have suited up for every game. For the sake of this article, we will focus on the games that Wade missed while keeping in mind that James also missed one of those games. The stats for LeBron’s games during the 10 that he played without Wade are below. 

PPG	30.2
RPG	6.6
APG	6.8

As you can see, LeBron elevates his game to a higher level when Wade is on the sidelines. Never mind the fact that for the regular season LeBron is in a territory that rivals the great Oscar Robertson, but when Wade is in street clothes James is a one man wrecking crew. One only has to look at the 9-1 record the Heat have compiled in those games to see that LeBron’s value is overwhelming. 

But let’s dive into the details a little deeper because points, rebounds, and assists only tell you 33% of the story. It is what I like to call “numbers that lie”. Monta Ellis (one of my favorite NBA players) scored a ton of points for the Golden State Warriors, but it never resulted in many wins. So with that being said, there are a few stats that will tell another 33% of the story. 

Player Efficiency Rating: This is an all-in-one basketball rating that measures a player’s per minute contribution. It basically takes a player’s positive accomplishments and subtracts the negative accomplishments. The league average is 15.00. Here is a detailed explanation of the formula. 

Usage Percentage: This is a measure of the percentage of a team’s plays used by a player while he is on the court. For a detailed breakdown please check here. 

Win Shares: Basically this number is a measure of how many wins a player is responsible for. Why this is an important factor in the MVP race is self explanatory. I want to give a huge assist to basketball-reference.com as I use their numbers and formula which you can find here.

+/-: This stat tells the story of the point differential for a team when a player is in and out of a game. The numbers were retrieved from NBA.com.

The numbers for each player are displayed in the table below: 

Categories	LeBron James	Kevin Durant
PER	30.4	26.2
Usage %	31.4	30.8
Win Shares	12.9	10.9
+/-	399	327

While the numbers are still close, James is ahead in all categories. Now, as any frequent visitor to Tha Weatha Report knows, I do not just rely on plain numbers to tell the 100% story. If you recall, there is still roughly 33% left on who the MVP should be. That other percentage is what I like to call the “eye test”. It is the player that when you watch you JUST KNOW that this person drives their respective team. You can tell that the player dictates the action on the court for his team and without him the team nowhere near the finished product that they are when he is on the court. While both players are clearly impact players and both are in the top 10 players in the NBA, the Miami Heat’s reliance on LeBron James has been clearly evident this season. For that reason, James gains the edge in the “eye test” category.

Both players should be applauded for taking their teams to the next level and even being in the MVP discussion. But, the facts are the facts, and the facts state that LeBron James is more valuable to his team than Kevin Durant is to his. The MVP stands for most valuable player, need I say more?