Will we ever see another defense-first player win MVP?

[falcolombardi]

[quote="picko"]There have been many MVPs who have been great defensively but only one player, Bill Russell, has won the MVP primarily as a defensive player. None of Hakeem or Robinson or Duncan are winning the MVP had they not delivered results offensively.

Quite frankly I don't think we'll ever see another player with Russell's profile win MVP. The modern day equivalent would be someone like Gobert winning. Even when the Jazz finished as the 1st seed - and therefore 'best player on the best team' was in play - Gobert finished 10th in the MVP.[/quote]

Wes unseld

Although i get the point

[70sFan]

I think Curry got exposed in 2021. Largely his impact is overrated in my opinion. Even in 2022 GS was ranked #17.

Conversely, you don't find this with other great offensive anchors, even with roster changes. MJ hopped on the #22 out of #23 offense as a rookie and lifted them to #11 in 85. Defense got worse, but they won 11 more games. Bulls never dropped below #12 until 94. Magic, Bird led great offenses with roster changes. Kobe did the same pre-Achilles even with the Smush/Kwame teams. KD's bene the same since his 3rd season.

Obviously support matters. But clearly individual offense is consistent in it's impact, while defense is largely based on the team. because offensive players can control the ball on a possession, while on defense there's only so much you can do. Even the best defensive play can't guard all 5 positions at once.

So you rejected Curry example and completely ignored Oscar. How about LeBron in 2008 vs 2009? Did he also got "exposed"?

I didn't reject it, I think Curry got exposed. Without Klay or KD there to draw attention, he didn't have the impact. Hell look at GS in the playoffs whenever Klay struggled. Curry is the GOAT shooter, but as an offensive anchor I feel overrated. He benefits from a no defense league and talent around him that allows lots of looks.

As for Oscar in 70, I don't know enough about that season. It's certainly a big dropoff but I won't attempt to break it down before I look into what the Royals did that season.

So you think we have to contextualize the shift when it comes to offense, but ignore the context when we talk about defense? That's the perfect example of lack of objectivity and cherrypicking arguments to prove your theory.

[70sFan]

There have been many MVPs who have been great defensively but only one player, Bill Russell, has won the MVP primarily as a defensive player. None of Hakeem or Robinson or Duncan are winning the MVP had they not delivered results offensively.

That's not true, Wes Unseld and Dave Cowens were clearly primarily defensive players.