Thursday, March 26th, 2009...6:56 am
Should Tony Parker Receive MVP Votes?
Ken Berger quoting Tim Duncan:
“I think absolutely,” said Duncan, a two-time MVP. “Of course I’m biased, obviously. But with the position that we’re in — second or seventh in the West, however many games it can switch — we’re right in the mix with that. The amount of injuries we’ve been dealing with all year … he’s keeping this team consistent. He’s been the consistent one all year long. Absolutely, he should be at least given an opportunity to be one of those top five.”
There is no question that Tony Parker is this season’s team MVP. If his level of play can sustain itself through the NBA playoffs, he might become a two-time Finals MVP. He’s played beautifully and carried a (soon-to-be) 50 win team at its lowest moments. But Top 5 in MVP voting?
LeBron James, Kobe Byrant, Dwyane Wade, Dwight Howard, and Chris Paul. That’s 5. Is Tony Parker more valuable to his team than Chris Paul is to the Hornets? Or, if you use alternate MVP criteria, has he had a better season than Paul? Hmmm. Tim Duncan has me thinking.
Update: For those who missed it, Graydon took up the MVP conversation in a TrueHoop post earlier this week.
11 Comments
March 26th, 2009 at 7:07 am
is parker having a better season than paul? of course, he is. but i’m biased as well. not only am i a spurs fan, but i happen to find paul to be quite the “punk” on the court.
i’d rather love than hate, tho, so here’s some love to part with: tony, baby, come here and let ol’ papa ganj give you a hug. 18/25 shooting with 10 dimes? muah muah!!
March 26th, 2009 at 7:35 am
The question isn’t so much whether or not Tony should be top 5 in the mvp voting, but will he. And the answer is, of course he won’t. I doubt whether or not he will be even in the top 10 in voting. Deserving or not, the voters won’t give him that respect.
In my opinion, he is a top 5 candidate and had better be a all NBA second team selection (behind Kobe and Wade) at the guard position.
March 26th, 2009 at 9:11 am
I’m not sure lack of respect is the reason Tony won’t get in the top 5 for MVP voting. I mean look at that list! I don’t think I could realistically put him above Kobe, Lebron, Wade, or Howard. You could make an argument for that 5th spot, but Paul’s numbers are better and his team has had just as many injury problems as the Spurs.
I do think All NBA second team is definitely an honor TP deserves.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Parker already received some MVP votes in 2006 (9 points, which put him #9 in the race) and 2007 (last with one point). I’m sure he will get some consideration this year, first of all because there are 3 writers from SA on the panel, and second because he’s starting to turn heads and it’s important to make a good impression at the end of the season. Of course the guys at ESPN still think Billups is more of a MVP than Parker but there are a lot of other guys on the panel who will remember how Parker destroyed their team…
March 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Example of a writer who says that Howard, Paul and Parker are shortlisted for spots 4 and 5 on his ballot:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=MVP-090322
March 26th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
[...] The game winners in Minnesota and here against Philly, and the performance he put on last night in the ATL has many people wondering, does Tony deserve MVP votes? The greatness that is 48 Minutes of Hell, the Spurs official blog had a great take on it, here. [...]
March 26th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Welcome to the blogosphere, John.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Haha thanks Tim. It gives me something to do with down time between classes, or just when I’m bored. A friend turned me onto 48MOH, and I’ve been a big fan ever since.
March 26th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Ah, a good friend. We love people who turn people on to 48MoH.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Great points, but Duncan Manu and Parker cancel each other for MVP votes outside of Texas.
Ken, I agree Parker will be second team All-NBA, Kobe and Wade are much more than Parker, but you can’t say that Chris Paul and Devin Harris have not had similar years. And if Brandon Roy takes the Blazers up a notch or two in the standings before the year is out, he’s just as deserving.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Doubtful that Parker breaks into the top five spots in the MVP voting; those spots are more or less reserved for Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Paul, and Howard.
As for All-NBA, the big problem is that Duncan or Paul might get pushed down into the second team because the previous five players mentioned and Duncan are vying for first team spots. Kobe, Paul, or Duncan likely get pushed down to the second team; if it’s Kobe or Paul, Roy will get the other second team spot, and Parker will be battling with Harris and Williams for the third team slot.
Leave a Reply