Nash could have beat out MJ too, apparently (Now HTML free! And generally more reader friendly)

I never thought I would care this much about the NBA, especially concerning an MVP award. But I have dug through history a little bit, and am completely convinced that Nash won two MVPs because of the backlash against the cocky, flashy and over-hyped players that have come to dominate the NBA. He did not win it because he is actually the most valuable player—just the most likeable player among MVP candidates. If John Stockton and Michael Jordan were playing today, Stockton would be taking home MVP after MVP while MJ would have to settle for a ring every year. Think that’s absurd? Take a look:

2005-06

Steve Nash:
PPG: 18.8
APG: 10.5
RPG: 4.2
SPG: 0.8
FG%: 51.2
3P%: 43.9

LeBron James:
PPG: 31.4
APG: 6.6
RPG: 6.6
SPG: 1.8
FG%: 45.8
3P%: 33.0

Kobe Bryant:
PPG: 35.4
APG: 4.5
RPG: 5.3
SPG: 1.84
FG%: 45.0
3P%: 34.7

Now let’s go back through history a little bit…

1995-96

John Stockton:
PPG: 14.7
APG: 11.2
RPG: 2.8
SPG: 1.71
FG%: 53.8
3P%: 42.2

Michael Jordan:
PPG: 30.4
APG: 4.3
RPG: 6.6
SPG: 2.20
FG%: 49.5
3P%: 42.7

1991-92

Stockton:
PPG: 15.8
APG: 13.7
RPG: 3.3
SPG: 2.98
FG%: 48.2
3P%: 40.7

Jordan:
PPG: 30.1
APG: 6.1
RPG: 6.4
SPG: 2.28
FG%: 51.9
3P%: 27

1990-91

Stockton:
PPG: 17.2
APG: 14.2
RPG: 2.9
SPG: 2.85
FG%: 50.7
3P%: 34.5

Jordan:
PPG: 31.5
APG: 5.5
RPG: 6
SPG: 2.72
FG%: 53.9
3P%: 31.2

Does anyone else see an eerie resemblance in those numbers? Of course, Jordan won the MVP each of these years, but what’s more than that, Stockton’s name was never even mentioned in the MVP race. In fact, he wasn’t even named to the All-NBA first team any of these years.

Wait a minute, 11.2 assists per game don’t warrant you to be considered one of the top TWO guards in the league? They picked Penny Hardaway (21.7 ppg, 7.1 apg, 4.3 rpg) over a scrappy, old-school, white boy who plays point the way it’s meant to be played? That’s unbelievable.

I’m sure Stockton wasn’t surprised. After all, in the 1991-92 season he piled on 13.7 assists per game and was left off the team to make room for Clyde Drexler (25.0 ppg, 6.7 apg, 6.6 rpg). Sure Stockton had twice as many assists as Drexler did, but he probably understood that the MVP voters wanted to see points and dunks, not defense and passes.

Not today though. With these young kids bypassing college to go pro, and all-stars who can’t keep their you-know-what in their pants, we need the face of the NBA to be a little more, well, ugly. We need scrappers and throwbacks and guys who get their teammates involved.

You know, like John Stockton