Really good article/discussion on 2015 individual awards

[GregWarriorsfan]

NBA Awards Ballot, Part 1: In Praise of the Individual

It's a long read, but this guy (Zach Lowe) is very thorough. Read it when you have time.

 

[Montalban]

Can a player whose team does not make the post season be the MVP? I say "No".

 

[GregWarriorsfan]

Abdul-Jabbar won it one year when Milwaukee didn't make the playoffs.

 

[Montalban]

Abdul-Jabbar won it one year when Milwaukee didn't make the playoffs.

I know its been done, I just don't think its justified. A guy could be the league's best player if his team didn't make the playoffs but he cannot be the most valuable. They could have missed the post season even if he didn't play at all so his "value" is minimal

 

[Montalban]

The Dubs could possibly end up with the MVP, the Coach of The Year and the Defenive Player of The Year. And they could also end up with none of those awards.

 

[GregWarriorsfan]

"GregWarriorsfan said: ↑
Abdul-Jabbar won it one year when Milwaukee didn't make the playoffs.
I know its been done, I just don't think its justified. A guy could be the league's best player if his team didn't make the playoffs but he cannot be the most valuable. They could have missed the post season even if he didn't play at all so his "value" is minimal"

I wasn't trying to justify it. I'd just recently heard or read where Jabbar did win it and his team didn't make the playoffs. Maybe it came up after OKC didn't make the playoffs. It must have been Jabbar's first or second year when Milwaukee had the #1 pick in the draft...before the lottery began.

Jabbar's stats must have just been so far above everyone else that his play won over the voters for MVP. Also, he probably led the Bucks to a whole lot more wins than they won the year before. That may have been some of the justification.

 

[GregWarriorsfan]

Well, I was really wrong about which year it was that Jabbar won MVP but his team didn't make the playoffs. It was the 75-76 year when he'd just gone to the Lakers. They went 40-42. One big difference was the number of teams who made the playoffs back then. There were 5 teams making the playoffs in each conference back then. Jabbar had already won the MVP 3 times before that. The only other "possible" candidates in that year (after looking over the playoff picture and the individual stats) were Rick Barry (59-23 record but shot .435 from the floor), Bob McAdoo (league leader in scoring above Jabbar, whose team made the playoffs, winning 6 more games than the Lakers). However, Jabbar had way more rebounds, a better FG% than McAdoo as well as at least 100 more blocks. Tiny Archibald also had a good year in points and assists, but their record was 31-51.