by Will Thompson
The season is about halfway through so that means the MVP race is about halfway through too, let us take a look and see who is at the top!
MVP, the Most Valuable Player in the league. There is no clear criteria that distinguishes the MVP, although many would be quick to suggest that it should be the best player on the best team, or the most skilled player. But I don’t think that’s the best way to determine the most valuable player. Afterall, a player’s value is denoted by how much they bring to each game. Since the object of basketball is to put the ball in the hoop, oftentimes the MVP is said to be the one who is most skilled at just that, scoring. But we must also factor in when they score, id est the clutch factor; and how they score. Contrastly, maybe it’s the player who is the best at stopping the other team from scoring, a rim protector or a swiper; the ultimate defender. But even those statistics would be a shallow account of the most valuable player– they wouldn’t tell a full story. A truly valuable thing increases the worth of everything tangential to it; like how pretty masonry in the back patio, or a good school system increases your house’s value on Zillow. So too you must consider how a player sets up their teammates, id est assists, their spacing and game flow. This is where it becomes interesting, because how do you quantify spacing and gameflow? A player’s control of the game. It can’t be seen on the stat sheet, only during a game, and what does it even look like? I’ll tell you this, it’s a little bit like swag, you either have it or you don’t and it’s quite difficult to acquire it if you’re not born with it. The most valuable player influences the game on both sides of the ball because they are a phenomenal athlete that knows how to play ball. So let's take a look at those stats, see if we can connect them to the intangibles and determine who is really deserving of merit.
According to the stats, Matt Rooney should be the MVP and it is not even close. He is averaging 30 points a game, 19 rebounds and almost 8 assists. What he does for his team is incomparable, and it shows when he plays. He is always the initiator of the Tropic’s offense, and often the one scoring, but if he isn’t, he is sure to be serving clean dishes to his teammates who seem to shoot better off his passes. Especially his teammate Andrew Dorval who is an extremely streaky shooter who does best when given un-contested jump shots. Matt can turn anyone into a 3-point threat off a drive and kick which proves to be his most lethal skill. He is no slouch on defense either as he leads the league in steals (34), enough said. Matt is completely dominant and shows it every game as he averages a double double and is the only player with multiple triple doubles; the only other player that comes close to playing this role for his team is Lucas Nathenson.
Lucas’ team is similar in design as he is the only star, but he is simply not as dominant. He has shown flashes like this past Sunday when he went for 45 points and 12 rebounds in one game and 31 and 17 in the other, but he has also played atrociously, putting up 13 and 8 in his debut. The most valuable player has to bring it every game, no questions asked. There is one other player that is consistently dominant, Will Thompson. The rookie is averaging an ethical double double, meaning he has managed to have one in each of his showings, and his field goal percentage is the highest out of anyone in his range of shots attempted. He too is a force on defense, but in more of an enforcer style than a nifty, glove, stick-to-you-like-glue way like Matt is. His player comparison would be to the Greek Freak, because he too cannot shoot but uses his athleticism, size and speed to make opponents gameplan around him. But he really can’t be considered a MVP because his teammate David “Vood” Hamel Sellman is probably a better all around player despite not being as consistently dominant. The only other player who could be put into this conversation is Steven “Soup” Campbell who averages 33 and 12. He has the most 40 balls in the league (3), and he has one 54 point game which is the most that has been scored this season, not to mention he is also second in steals (20). But his biggest drawback is that sometimes he plays second fiddle to Thomas Byrne, who can be absolutely venomous from 3-point land. These two take turns playing big dog. This past Sunday, Soup only had 14 and Thomas put up 36, so can we really consider one of them for MVP? The answer is no, despite Soup being the most impressive scorer in the league when he is on a roll.
At this point in the season, my prediction for MVP is Matt Rooney. And I know what they say, “he’s been MVP too many times” and “you’ve got to give other people a chance to shine”, but I ask you, are you really going to deny greatness? The MVP is not a participation certificate, it is the award for the player who most impacts the league. He might be controlling the dead spots in the court, and getting the ball to bounce how he wants because it is his court, but until you can prove to me that his sourcery isn’t all natural, I’m all for Matt for MVP; because respectfully, it’s not even close.
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