NBA MVP race: A complete history of voter fatigue and how Nikola Jokic is avoiding it in 2023

What exactly is voter fatigue? It’s perhaps the most-discussed element of the 2023 NBA MVP race, and yet it seems to lack a specific definition. On the most basic level, it refers to the idea that awards voters tend to favor newer candidates. When an incumbent or established winner seeks a second trophy and loses to a newcomer, it is often invoked by the more experienced candidate’s supporters. “Voters are bored of Player X’s greatness,” they’ll say. It is a concept that is applied somewhat selectively.

After all, the NBA has awarded 67 regular-season MVP trophies, and more than one third of them (24 out of 67) have been given to just five players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James. A total of 13 players have won the award in consecutive seasons, and other awards are even more dynastic. The last 30 Defensive Player of the Year awards have gone to just 16 different players, with four different players (Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace, Dwight Howard and Rudy Gobert) winning it at least three times apiece. In those instances, voters seemingly experienced limited fatigue when evaluating established winners.

The idea tends to be most pervasive in one specific instance: when a player attempts to win a third consecutive MVP award. Russell and Chamberlain both managed the feat in the 1960s, but it has been done just once since. Larry Bird won it in 1984, 1985 and 1986. Otherwise? Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan and James, widely considered the three greatest players in NBA history, all came up short. Why is this happening? It seems unlikely that every single player worthy of winning consecutive MVPs would experience statistical decline in Year No. 3. This is where the idea of voter fatigue comes into play.

Most MVP candidates are judged against the field. Prior winners, however, are often judged against their past selves. Consider one infamous example. In 1997, Michael Jordan outplayed Karl Malone by most traditional MVP markers. He averaged 2.2 more points, won five more games, received more votes for Defensive…


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Author : Sam Quinn

Publish date : 2023-03-13 16:51:17

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