Who Should Be The NBA MVP?

Michael Jordan thinks Derrick Rose should be the MVP this year. Given Jordan’s track record with the Charlotte Bobcats, it’s no surprise that his player evaluation in this case is absurd.

In terms of Player Efficiency Rating, Rose ranks 12th in the league. Not that PER is a perfect metric, but Rose doesn’t rank among the leaders in other measurements either. In Value Added, Rose is 11th. In Estimated Wins Added, he also ranks 11th. Of course, EWA credits Kevin Love with 15.9 wins added, which is remarkable considering the Timberwolves have 16 victories.

All of those are John Hollinger stats, and they can be found here.

So, who is the MVP? LeBron James clearly is the best player, but the incredible scrutiny the Heat are under could prove his undoing in the MVP race. The failures of LeBron and his team in close games have been well documented, and that probably will cost him the award. At least if the voting was conducted today.

That leaves . . . Dwight Howard? Kobe Bryant? Chris Paul? Dirk Nowitzki? Any one of them could grab the award with a late-season push. As could LeBron or even Rose. But at this point, it silly to suggest Rose has been the best player in the league.