How To Lose An MVP Award in 10 Seconds

is there a difference between the best player in the NBA and the most valuable player in the NBA it's a bit of a loaded question but with what's going on in the NBA right now I think the question is more relevant than ever in 1998 Michael Jordan was the best player in the NBA off of sheer skill and ability but he was also the most valuable player in the NBA because of his impact on the Bulls for 82 games of the season but Seasons like this are usually an exception the difference between the best and the most valuable are almost never this black and white in 2011 Derrick Rose won the League's Most Valuable Player award despite the fact that LeBron was unanimously considered the best player in the NBA at the time in a league loaded with all-time great talents in the mid 2000s Steve Nash won back to back MVPs even though he was never considered the best player in the NBA how good a player is and how valuable they are are two very different things how valuable is a player despite how incredible they are if they they can't stay on the court and how valuable can a player be if they aren't nearly as great but they are always ready and available because right now I think we're learning the harsh answer to this [Music] question attention all football fans this is the last weekend of the year to get your football bets in and I've teamed up with DraftKings to make your Sunday even better DraftKings is giving all new customers $200 in bonus bets instantly when they Place their first $5 bet on anything that's right new customers who bet just $5 will get $200 in bonus bets instantly and if you're already signed up with DraftKings like me you can make a bet on Super Bowl 58 and get a bonus bet back equal to the amount of your initial wager Max reward limits apply and if sports betting is not yet available in your state you can still get in on the action with DraftKings daily fantasy and have a shot at winning cash prizes download the draftking Sportsbook app now new customers use promo code Jimmy highroller and bet just $5 on any wager and get $200 in bonus bets instantly that's promo code Jimmy highroller only at draftking Sportsbook Last Summer the National Basketball Players Association and the NBA signed a new collective bargaining agreement and within the terms of this new agreement was One requirement in particular that really caught the attention of fans and the players a new 65 game minimum require M for season awards that's all NBA team selections Defensive Player of the Year MVP everything and despite some concerns regarding this new eligibility threshold the terms were all agreed upon and signed off by the players and the league I mean after all 65 games is just 80% of the season in theory this threshold shouldn't be hard to hit at least that's what we thought because just one season into this new minimum game requirement and the worst case scenario is already played playing out up until last week Joel embiid led the NBA's MVP race by a pretty wide margin up to this point his season hasn't just been MVP worthy it has been one of the greatest offensive seasons in league history a sort of revenge tour for the backlash he received after winning last year's MVP over Nicole yic and barring some sort of major injury the 2024 MVP award was virtually his and then almost as if it was written in the script embiid sustains a major injury causing him to miss too many games making him ineligible for the MVP award this is without question the worst possible outcome for not only embiid but for the NBA's new agreement with the players making a new rule that seemed reasonable at the time look completely unfair and unreasonable in hindsight even though it's not in fact the new 65 game rule is a benefit to the players not a detriment see over the last three decades NBA player salaries have increased almost exponentially product of a massive increase in League Revenue thanks largely impart to new more expansive media deals large broadcasting companies fight for the rights to NBA media with massive checks and in return the NBA provides an exclusive Premier product in 2014 just a decade ago the NBA signed a 9-year TV deal worth 24 billion a deal that dwarfed all of their previous contracts combined at the start of the 20 25 NBA season their new TV rights kick in a deal that is worth an estimated $75 billion and what would a healthy business transaction be without some guarantees and stipulations the networks and entities picking up these contracts want certainty that once this deal kicks in they are investing in a healthy growing product a deal that benefits everyone according to hoopshype.com the median NBA salary over just the past 5 years has increased from $2.5 million to4 million and once the new CBA deal kicks in this number might even double within the next few years The League wide minimum salary has drastically increased as well from just $500,000 in 2014 to $1.1 million this season in 2015 there were only eight players in the NBA making at least $20 million this season there are wait for it there's a lot of them 75 players making at least $20 million this leap in player salary does not exist without the CBA and without stipulations League wide every player benefits from these ever increasing deals Locked In by bargaining agreements and in return the companies who are paying up want to make sure that they're getting the best product possible and after seeing teams resting and sitting star players they felt it was necessary to add the 65 game minimum requirement to ensure the quality of their investment could this requirement hurt a handful of star players in the the long run sure injuries happen not every game missed is intentional but do these requirements also help lock in deals that benefit every single player around the league yes but this only addresses one side of the issue because with these new requirements us fans are winning too star players around the league are playing far more games this season than they did in the past few years here are the 15 all NBA players from last season and through January of last season versus through January of this season only three of these 15 players have played less games this season compared to last season at this point last year the top 15 players around the league missed 117 games this season they've only missed 76 that's a decrease of nearly 55% of games missed but even players who won't really be negatively affected by this new 65 game minimum are on the court far more often since this new rule kicked in if we take a look at the top 50 players around the league in the 2022 2023 season according to box plus minus essentially the League's 50 Premier players then here are those players and the number of games they missed through January of last season 595 this season in the first year of this new League wide game minimum requirement and those same exact 50 players have missed just 46 games that is a decrease of nearly 45% of games missed from the League's 50 Premier players Now 50 players across half an NBA season is not a small sample size is it a coincidence that all of these players are collectively playing nearly 50% more often than they were just last season probably not but I think we're overlooking the most important part about this idea of a player being available and just how important that is to a team after all they say availability is the best ability and although I don't know if I I agree with this statement there is a Tipping Point where a player who isn't nearly as good as another player starts to become more valuable simply because he's on the court more for example I think most people would agree that Stephen Curry was better than Donovan Mitchell last season and all of the numbers would support this especially this one the estimated plus minus metric which has Curry as the ninth best player last season and Mitchell as the 21st best player last season but if we look at the estimated wins metric which factors in how impactful a player was and the amount of minutes they played then Donovan Mitchell jumps to the eighth Most Valuable Player while Curry Falls to 12 because Mitchell played 68 games while Curry only played 56 there is a stark difference between the best player and the most valuable player and although there isn't an argument for Mitchell being better than Curry there is an argument that he was more valuable to his team because he simply played more games and made an impact on winning more often this season the same exact concept is unfolding on a much larger scale when Joel embiid is on the court he is a monster even his biggest cynic couldn't deny the MVP run that he was on and according to estimated plus minus which again essentially looks at how good a player is embiid has been the best player in the league this season with an EPM of 10.1 followed by sheay Yannis and joic but when it comes to estimated wins embiid falls to the fourth spot behind those same three players the sole Factor behind this is because he's only played 70% as many games as they have at the end of the day would you rather have 60 games from an MVP caliber player or 80 games from an all NBA or even All-Star caliber player I think the overall concept for this new 65 game minimum requirement for awards is generally a good thing we will inevitably see some of the downsides to the rule but overall the good that will come from it will far outweigh the bad some players may not like it but it's the players and their decisions that led to this point in the first place with the regular season becoming more irrelevant and disconnected from the postseason with more players strategically sitting out games and picking and choosing when they want to play The League had no choice but to inforce this new rule over the last 30 Seasons here are the percentage of games played by players who made all NBA teams throughout the 9s and 2000s the top players around the league played in about 91 to 95% of all games in fact prior to 2018 this number only dipped below 90% one time but over the past six seasons Superstars around the league have been playing less and less bottoming out last season at just 81.5% of games played on average but this season would you look at that the players who are projected to make an all NBA team are on track to playing 92% of all available games some may not like it but the new rule Ru is working I think playing 80% of the season is a reasonable standard for the best players in the world and if a player can't hit that standard he's either not as valuable as the players who did or he had The Misfortune of sustaining an injury which has and will always be a huge unknown factor in sports but still even after all this it seems like fans are torn on this minimum game requirement so what do yall think is the rule too strict should there even be a minimum game requirement for season awards at all should they make exceptions to this rule for circumstances like emids what will be the lasting effects of this new eligibility requirement let me know your thoughts in the comments below and as always until next [Music] [Music] time

Channel: JxmyHighroller

Views: 1,219,510

Keywords: LeBron James, House of Highlights, ESPN, NBA highlights, Jimmy Highroller, NBA trash talk, Buzzer Beaters, Brooklyn Nets, Ankle Breakers, NBA Championship, Rebound, Stephen Curry, Lakers, nba breaking news, Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembenyama, Michael Jordan, kobe bryant, in season tournament, kyrie, nba free agency, Giannis Antetokounmpo, NBA trade, Milwaukee Bucks, Luka Doncic 73 points, Joel Embiid 70 points

Id: LXqO4RDxGNc

Length: 11min 57sec (717 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 11 2024