I still think the MVP award should go to the most talented player (independently of team record). And I don’t think i m too much in stats if that is a potential bias; because i also look at advanced stats. Still, going your way, it looks like win shares seems to me a good measure of how much a player contributes to team success. And LBJ (who i m not a fan of) is 1st or 2nd in that list for the past 7 years. Has for company MJ, Kareem, and Wilt (honorable mention to Mikan and Johnston).

And I know of his playoff succes BTW. But for the time being MVP is for the regular season. Lets change the award definition before we change the award recipient.

Honestly, when you take both off their teams, I’m not sure which team would be better. I know Miami still has Wade & Bosh, but beyond that, they are really nothing.

You have to remember that OKC has an incredible all around team. Harden is a prime candidate to win the 6th man of the year award and Westbrook is an all-star. Ibaka & Perkins are substantially better than anything Miami has (outside the big 3). OKC also has great backup guards – Sefolosha and Maynor are way better than any of Miami’s backup guards.
Throw in Nick Collison, Nazir Mohammed, Aldrich, Cook, even Derek Fisher.
OKC has a deep, talented team that has at least 10 solid rotation players.

Miami has the big 3 and that’s it. And while I really like Bosh, he gets shut down completely when matched against good defensive PFs.

Everyone has different interpretations of what the definition of MVP really is which is the big problem.

i just don’t agree with the way MVP awards are handed out in any sport…it’s supposed to be for value to the team not for stats and i feel that players (like david robinson and derek jeter) get screwed all the time because they lose out to someone who had better stats but may not have been as vital to their team’s success…i think people get too caught up in stats when stats are not entirely indicative of value to a team and KD adds more to his team than lebron does to the heat…take each one off their respective team and who loses more? i don’t think anyone can argue that the thunder would drop off more

Like the ’94 bulls who won 55 games, good for 3rd seed in the east…? LOL

Not saying that OKC could or could not be this kind of ’94 bulls team without KD (and that’s not the point); I just guess that your argument of the MVP should go to the most-valuable-to-their-team cannot survive through your example. Do you really think it should be awarded this way? What about not giving it to David Robinson for multiple years back then (we have seen to what extent his absence in 96-97 impacted the spurs: 20-62 record and D Wilkins has the team top-scorer)?

Ever consider, the Heat are playing possum ! They determined their winning strategy before the break, when they were beating teams by 20pts almost every nite.

In the playoffs and to win the championship, they are gonna push the ball because few teams can run with their athletes.

Consider further, they are just practicing the half court game, getting guys in the rotation and making their opponents comfortable.

It’s a form of psychology, martial arts disciplines, such as Jiu Jitsu employ. Make your opponent comfortable, right before you take them out.

Watch and learn !!!

stats should not always decide the mvp award that might determine the best player but not the MOST VALUABLE player to their team…take jordan off the bulls and the bulls were an average team…in terms of who adds the most to his team i think it’s durant over james because if you take durant out of the equation the thunder are probably a 5 seed but definitely not anywhere near what they are now…the heat without lebron are still a top 4 team and still a lock to win that division…and i might catch some flak for this but i think durant is a better offensive player than lebron is KD is unstoppable from anywhere on the floor he has a quicker first step than lebron and can hit any shot with defenders all over him…lebron’s better defensively for sure but KD has the advantage on offense…overall KD is more valuable to his team

Lebron doesnt even belong in the discussion. Valuable doesnt mean the player with the best statistics it means who matters most to a team compared to somebody else. If you take Durant or Rondo off their teams they are in the lottery. If you take Lebron off the Heat they are the 3 seed instead of the 2 seed. Id even say Dwight Howard deserves it more than Lebron because look how bad the Magic are without him. I am not a Lebron hater at all he just doesnt deserve the MVP this year.

On the defensive end, LeBron has the edge over Durant. With his size and speed, he can guard a power forward on one possession and a speedy point guard on another equally well. He is equally good at playing one on one defense and offering help D thanks to his shot blocking and anticipation.

LeBron’s first-team all defensive team presence on that side o the ball is what makes him the #1 candidate for MVP, I think. Durant is very, very good too though and would be a deserving MVP winner.

The Heat are one game behind in the loss column to the Thunder and split the season series with them. So how does LBJ not win the award? When you look at it, pretty much everything is equal; record, H@H record, and talent around them. So…better stats should win that argument.