The NBA must stop pretending that their MVP trophy is anything other than an offensive player of the year trophy. Because as long as they continue disregarding the defensive side of the game, they cannot claim the MVP represents the best player in basketball.
I say this regarding the last two MVPs Nikola Jokic has won. Both times he beat out Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo, and both times he did it while playing distinctively average defense, while the other two were simultaneously also in the running for the defensive player of the year trophy.
Let me draw up the scenario for you. There are three players in an MVP race with historic offensive outputs, but two are also competing for defensive player of the year. Common sense would say the MVP should be one of the two excelling on both sides of the ball. Nope, they lose to the only one of the three that is nowhere near their impact defensively. I understand why the NFL breaks down Offensive and Defensive player of the year due to the exclusive nature of the athletes, but you play both sides of the ball in basketball, are they not supposed to matter the same?
By giving Jokic multiple MVPs, the NBA has shown that they could not care less about defense in the league, and if that is the case, then rename the MVP trophy to the NBA offensive player of the year award, and we will all be on the same page.
It is time to throw away the American inferiority complex with its place in the sport, where many blindly claim that technique should come above all in choosing and developing the best prospects and that the U.S. is not an international power because it cares too much about athleticism.
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