It's no secret the NBA's MVP award is dominated by points per game. We figured it would be fun to take a look at all of the modern MVPs and the two biggest ingredients in points per games: attempts and efficiency. Spoiler alert: Allen Iverson and Derrick Rose don't come out looking so good.
One of the MVPs that has always grated me is Derrick Rose in 2011. He was an ok player, but he simply did not deserve the MVP award. I decided to chart how well NBA MVP recipients have been at scoring. It turns out that, unsurprisingly, they tend to be quite good. Here's a chart by year of each MVP's shot attempts versus their True Shooting Percentage (TS%). Reminder, TS% takes into account free throws and three pointers. We only looked at 1980 on because that's how long the NBA has had the three-point line.
jsFiddle for today's chart here
Inefficiency Experts
A few names popped out on this chart. First, Allen Iverson, Michael Jordan (1998), Kevin Garnett, Derrick Rose, and Larry Bird (1984) all made the list being more on the "inefficient" side. Of course, shooting isn't everything, so let's break down how well the players actually performed using Wins Produced (reminder, 0.100 WP48 is average, 0.200 is great)
- Kevin Garnett 2004 - 0.293 WP48
- Larry Bird 1984 - 0.282 WP48
- Derrick Rose 2011 - 0.164
- Michael Jordan 1998 - 0.152 WP48
- Allen Iverson 2001 - 0.049 WP48
Allen Iverson's MVP was a travesty of justice. Kevin Garnett and Larry Bird managed to do everything else well. Derrick Rose's MVP is very reminiscent of Michael Jordan in 1998. A high volume but not very efficient scorer gets the credit for a very strong and very deep team? History does repeat itself. And yes, I do think neither Derrick Rose in 2011 or Michael Jordan in 1998 deserved their MVPs.
Outlier Point Guards
I'd like to point out two other players; Magic Johnson and Steve Nash are both the only players to make the MVP list while shooting under fifteen shots a game. Of course, both were remarkably efficient.
Super Humans?
LeBron James and Kevin Durant have been the most recent rivals for the MVP. What's amazing about both is how efficient both are while also shooting up so many shots. A common myth in the NBA is this idea that players are getting less skilled. Hogwash! Against stronger competition, LeBron James and Kevin Durant are shooting at some of the highest levels the NBA has ever seen. Here's hoping age and injury aren't hitting them too soon.
Also, to anyone that is feeling the need to debate this article's title or the validty of Derrick Rose's MVP, I'll just leave this link here.