Reviewing The 2006 NBA MVP Ballot

The 2006 NBA MVP award went to Steve Nash. It marked the second consecutive year the dynamic point guard from the Phoenix Suns brought home the honor. Who were the other contenders? Did the voters get it right?

Here’s a look at the seasons produced by Nash, the rest of the top 5, and some notable performers down ballot.

Steve Nash (Phoenix, PG): 19 points/4 rebounds/11 assists
LeBron James (Cleveland, SF): 31 points/7 rebounds/7 assists
Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas, PF): 27 points/9 rebounds
Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers, SG): 35 points/5 rebounds/5 assists
Chauncey Billups (Detroit, PG): 19 points/3 rebounds/9 assists

Nash was a landslide winner, getting 57 of 125 first-place votes and 74% of the possible points. Kobe was actually second in terms of getting the top spot on ballots, with 22 first-place voters. But while LeBron and Dirk had fewer first-place votes, they got more consistent support in the runner-up spots. People either loved Kobe or they hated him.

Was there anyone else?

Elton Brand for the Clippers got a single first-place vote and averaged 25 points/10 rebounds, carrying a good team that won 47 games. He finished seventh in the voting. Dwayne Wade was in there at sixth, averaging 27 points/6 rebounds/7 assists. Wade’s Heat got the 2-seed in the East with considerable help from Shaquille O’Neal.

Here’s a look at the case each of the top five vote-getters had:

Nash: While his statistics don’t jump out at you, he was the quarterback for a Suns offense that was the most efficient in the league and won 54 games. Moreover, even his impressive assists numbers don’t really illuminate his true value. He was an innovator at the point, finding creative ways of ball distribution not previously seen. He changed the game.

LeBron: At the age of 21, the would-be King had his breakout year. He made the playoffs for the first time and his statistical line is the most well-rounded of any of the contenders. He also didn’t have a lot in the way of support, but the Cavs still won 50 games.

Dirk: Dallas won 60 games and while the supporting cast was better than LeBron had, it wasn’t spectacular. Dirk’s ability to both control the game down low and still hit the three-ball was another aspect of a sport that was changing. Like Nash, Dirk got his numbers, led a good team, and changed the game.

Kobe: The Lakers were in a rebuild mode after Shaq had left for Miami two years earlier. It was all on Kobe’s shoulders. In a competitive Western Conference, he lifted Los Angeles into the playoffs.

Billups: To the victors go the spoils. While Detroit didn’t win the championship, when voters went to the polls all they knew was that the Pistons had won the most games of any team during the regular season and that Billups was their leader.

Closing thoughts:

I think the voters missed on this one. Even giving Nash all appropriate credit as the leader of Mike D’Antoni’s high-octane offense, he had an excellent power forward in Shawn Marion, and an underrated passer at forward in Boris Diaw. While his historical role as an innovator is important, it’s something that has more value in a documentary about the league than it does in evaluating MVP criteria.

Kobe is positioned about right. He deserves credit for carrying the Lakers, but the 22 people who put him at the top of the list might be focusing too much on his league-leading scoring average or his 81-point game in January. If we’re going to overlook his pedestrian 45 percent shooting from the floor and 35 percent from behind the arc on the grounds that he had to carry the team, than the high scoring numbers that come from that constant gunning also have to be weighed appropriately. Kobe deserves his place in the top 5, but not more than that.

Detroit was a really good, well-balanced team that played terrific defense. Billups got rightful credit as the leader of that team, but there’s no way on earth he was a top-5 MVP choice. Wade and Brand were both more valuable to their teams. Billups had Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace surrounding him. The best team doesn’t have to be represented in the upper echelon of the MVP vote—not when balance is what makes them great.

That leaves us with LeBron and Dirk. Well-rounded players who carried their teams to what were, at the time, new heights. I’m giving the nod to LeBron. Go back to the top and review his case. He had the most well-rounded stat line. He had to carry his team. They won 50 games. That’s about as good a definition of an MVP as there is. LeBron won the first MVP award of his career in 2009. It should have come in 2006, at the tender age of 21.

Thus, my final top 5 would have been:

1)LeBron
2)Dirk
Clear break point and drop-off right here
3)Brand
4)Kobe
5)Nash