2021-22 NBA MVP Discussion (Pt. 1)

[Optms]

The fact that Curry is almost neck in neck on votes with a player who isn't even on a winning team is mind boggling.

Jokic shouldn't even be ahead of Chris Paul in votes. Only 8 votes for CP3. Insane. What kind of absurdity is this? DeRozan has more votes.

We literally have the data that says that if Jokic had the conditioning to play all 48 minutes on the level he's playing his 35 minutes, the Nuggets would be one of the top seeds in the league.

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

[Sharkboy242]

The fact that Curry is almost neck in neck on votes with a player who isn't even on a winning team is mind boggling.

Jokic shouldn't even be ahead of Chris Paul in votes. Only 8 votes for CP3. Insane. What kind of absurdity is this? DeRozan has more votes.

We literally have the data that says that if Jokic had the conditioning to play all 48 minutes on the level he's playing his 35 minutes, the Nuggets would be one of the top seeds in the league.

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

The season isn't over dude, the Nuggets aren't that much worse than they were at this point in the season last year when the finished 3rd. Things will normalize soon but right now Barton has looked like absolute s*** and he's the nuggets second best player. This team is destined to suck no matter who you'd substitute Jokic with.

[Alatan]

We literally have the data that says that if Jokic had the conditioning to play all 48 minutes on the level he's playing his 35 minutes, the Nuggets would be one of the top seeds in the league.

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

The season isn't over dude, the Nuggets aren't that much worse than they were at this point in the season last year when the finished 3rd. Things will normalize soon but right now Barton has looked like absolute s*** and he's the nuggets second best player. This team is destined to suck no matter who you'd substitute Jokic with.

Jokic should get payed leave and work on his body to become even better while the Nuggets race for the 1st pick in the draft. The team is ridiculously bad. Not only are most of the guys awful but they are also neither young nor hungry. If they get a good young player and Murray returns without sucking too much they could have title aspirations.

The way it is going i wouldnt blame Jokic for requesting a trade.

[Doctor MJ]

Relax man, there are other worthy candidates as well.

There really shouldn't be when combining expectations and record.

But goal posts have shifted here, Steph is now playing on a loaded roster and gets carried by his teammates on his off nights.

I get what you're saying, no one expected this team to be this good. Just like no one saw the 2015 and 2016 warriors coming but once they did, they were STACKED.

I would suggest that this trend of a) not seeing it coming and then b) attributing surprising success to the players you didn’t know is mistaken logic.

What’s actually going on here is a team approach that empowers role players beyond what you could get from them elsewhere because most teams reduce their role players to paint-by-numbers automatons.

These players cannot function this way by themselves - they need Curry’s gravity, they need defensive communication guiding them in the moment, and they need time in this environment to get proficient playing this style - but the fact that the Warriors have now shown an ability to shock the world repeatedly doing the same stuff the same way tells us that the basketball world fixated on player ranking is missing the forest for the trees.

So you say “Relax” as if he’s being a typical homer, but the truth is that the basketball world that likes to rank basketball players really doesn’t get it, and it is indeed causing smart basketball fans to have dumber opinions on this than more casual fans.

Such is the way of paradigm shifts. They tend to reveal that some of the things we think we know aren’t actually so.

I’m not here to proclaim folks are crazy I’d they don’t have Curry as their #1…but if you think the answer is that the Warriors are secretly stacked and there’s nothing to be learned about basketball strategy, culture, etc, then you really are missing the most important thing to not-miss about the Warriors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big J]

Every warriors team is "stacked" because Curry turns trash into treasure. Wiggins is a perfect example of that.

[Dutchball97]

The fact that Curry is almost neck in neck on votes with a player who isn't even on a winning team is mind boggling.

Jokic shouldn't even be ahead of Chris Paul in votes. Only 8 votes for CP3. Insane. What kind of absurdity is this? DeRozan has more votes.

We literally have the data that says that if Jokic had the conditioning to play all 48 minutes on the level he's playing his 35 minutes, the Nuggets would be one of the top seeds in the league.

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

Surely you didn't already forget last year when Curry was playing at a MVP level on a mediocre team, right? You know when the Warriors were in the play-ins and didn't make it through? The difference between this year and last year's Warriors isn't Curry, it's the players around him. Honestly a bit embarrassing you overlooked this.

The top 2 in impact this year are without a doubt Curry and Jokic but we have proof that playing like the best player in the league doesn't always get you deep into the play-offs when your team sucks.

[Optms]

We literally have the data that says that if Jokic had the conditioning to play all 48 minutes on the level he's playing his 35 minutes, the Nuggets would be one of the top seeds in the league.

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

Surely you didn't already forget last year when Curry was playing at a MVP level on a mediocre team, right? You know when the Warriors were in the play-ins and didn't make it through? The difference between this year and last year's Warriors isn't Curry, it's the players around him. Honestly a bit embarrassing you overlooked this.

The top 2 in impact this year are without a doubt Curry and Jokic but we have proof that playing like the best player in the league doesn't always get you deep into the play-offs when your team sucks.

I didn't overlook this. And I also didn't overlook that Curry was an afterthought for MVP because of his team record last season.

The Warriors are essentially the same team as last year as well. What new players have been introduced that you speak of? Iggy? Otto Porter? These over the hill role players are the reason for the jump in wins? I don't think so. It is more to do with the subtraction of a rookie Wiseman and that the chemistry is better this year. And that chemistry is because of Curry. Anytime Curry plays, the chemistry of the team elevates. He entered the season a lot more calm. And that energy permeates throughout the entire team. He is just a player every guy wants to play with.

Their record is 26-6 with only 1 All-star on the roster. No other player on that team is even close to sniffing being a star. And you certainly will not find another team with that record without multiple all-stars. This should be as unanimous of an MVP as it was in 2016. Curry is the system. It is still amazing how people do not see it.

[Dutchball97]

But he doesn't. The award has never rewarded players for if they had this or if they had that. The only thing that matters is definitive data that tells us which player has the elite production and is on winning teams. Jokic has the production but his team is mediocre. So how valuable is he really? Is he more valuable to Denver than Curry is to the Warriors? Not a chance.

He is essentially MVP Westbrook. But at least Westbrook had his team with a higher seed.

Surely you didn't already forget last year when Curry was playing at a MVP level on a mediocre team, right? You know when the Warriors were in the play-ins and didn't make it through? The difference between this year and last year's Warriors isn't Curry, it's the players around him. Honestly a bit embarrassing you overlooked this.

The top 2 in impact this year are without a doubt Curry and Jokic but we have proof that playing like the best player in the league doesn't always get you deep into the play-offs when your team sucks.

I didn't overlook this. And I also didn't overlook that Curry was an afterthought for MVP because of his team record last season.

The Warriors are essentially the same team as last year as well. What new players have been introduced that you speak of? Iggy? Otto Porter? These over the hill role players are the reason for the jump in wins? I don't think so. It is more to do with the subtraction of a rookie Wiseman and that the chemistry is better this year. And that chemistry is because of Curry. Anytime Curry plays, the chemistry of the team elevates. He entered the season a lot more calm. And that energy permeates throughout the entire team. He is just a player every guy wants to play with.

Their record is 26-6 with only 1 All-star on the roster. No other player on that team is even close to sniffing being a star. And you certainly will not find another team with that record without multiple all-stars. This should be as unanimous of an MVP as it was in 2016. Curry is the system. It is still amazing how people do not see it.

So you're claiming that because Curry is more calm this year they went from a play-in team to a top 2 seed? Nobody else being close to even sniffing an All-Star selection is also cap because Dray is absolutely playing like an All-Star (and just as big a part of the GSW system as Curry) and Wiggins will at least be in the convo as well.

Poole and Wiggins both made steps, while the addition of Porter, Iggy and Bjelica definitely helps as well. Not to mention GPII who is making a case for MIP. Curry at the same time is scoring less than last year on worse efficiency, his advanced stats look similar but definitely not improved.

I still have Curry as my MVP frontrunner but unanimous MVP is a huge reach.

[TwoStarz]

There really shouldn't be when combining expectations and record.

But goal posts have shifted here, Steph is now playing on a loaded roster and gets carried by his teammates on his off nights.

I get what you're saying, no one expected this team to be this good. Just like no one saw the 2015 and 2016 warriors coming but once they did, they were STACKED.

I would suggest that this trend of a) not seeing it coming and then b) attributing surprising success to the players you didn’t know is mistaken logic.

What’s actually going on here is a team approach that empowers role players beyond what you could get from them elsewhere because most teams reduce their role players to paint-by-numbers automatons.

These players cannot function this way by themselves - they need Curry’s gravity, they need defensive communication guiding them in the moment, and they need time in this environment to get proficient playing this style - but the fact that the Warriors have now shown an ability to shock the world repeatedly doing the same stuff the same way tells us that the basketball world fixated on player ranking is missing the forest for the trees.

So you say “Relax” as if he’s being a typical homer, but the truth is that the basketball world that likes to rank basketball players really doesn’t get it, and it is indeed causing smart basketball fans to have dumber opinions on this than more casual fans.

Such is the way of paradigm shifts. They tend to reveal that some of the things we think we know aren’t actually so.

I’m not here to proclaim folks are crazy I’d they don’t have Curry as their #1…but if you think the answer is that the Warriors are secretly stacked and there’s nothing to be learned about basketball strategy, culture, etc, then you really are missing the most important thing to not-miss about the Warriors.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don’t disagree with you Doc.

Great post, as always

[Alatan]

Every warriors team is "stacked" because Curry turns trash into treasure. Wiggins is a perfect example of that.

Curry is a great player, one of the best ever, but his teams success cant be attributed solely to him.

He has a pretty good bunch of role players, a top tier versatile defender in Green and a coach with a great system.

Wiggins is still a bad asset but not because he is a terrible player but because he is a mediocre player on a massive contract.

GSW has attained some pretty ok bench player in the offseason and Poole maid a leap forward. That's one of the reasons that they are better than people expected.

[mediocrityrules]

Giannis with 29 points in the second half, willing the team over the line after missing ten days in H&S protocols.

Finished with 36/12/5 and 2 blocks in just 29 minutes.

[harlem_ball]

Jokic is up there as the best player in the game with Durant, Steph and Giannis but this is Steph's year to win it.

[Big J]

Curry just clinched this ish.

[The Lazy Potato]

Thank god casual fans don't actually voting for this.. Giannis by far being the best 2-way player in the league and yet so many fans don't give him the recognition he deserves..

[Ruzious]

I'm biased, but it's Giannis. Curry and Jokic are amazing at what they do, but Giannis is the best all-around player.

[JN61]

Every warriors team is "stacked" because Curry turns trash into treasure. Wiggins is a perfect example of that.

Like last year.

[JN61]

I'm biased, but it's Giannis. Curry and Jokic are amazing at what they do, but Giannis is the best all-around player.

Giannis is definitely putting the league on notice and I gotta have him as 2nd on the MVP voting after Durant:

Durant
Giannis
Jokic
Curry
Derozan

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Got to be the best MVP race in years. 4 guys who are competing hard and still have guys like DeRozan/Paul who would get consideration in a another year just a level below.

[TwoStarz]

From a fellow genius on Reddit: NilInvestment

Please take the time to read. It’s a lengthy post but I promise you it’s great. Much of the same that I’ve already repeated in this thread, but with much more facts and statistics to back it up. Excellent post by Reddit user NilInvestment.

It starts here:

Steph's Insane On/Off Metrics

So, as the 2022 season progresses, the MVP race has devolved into these common 4 narratives, around Jokic, Giannis, KD and Steph. Specifically that Steph isn't having THAT good of a season and he's being carried by his team in many of the games he's shot poorly. So, I'd like to take a look at the on/off stats and see if this narrative holds up.

Essentially, using PBP stats, and using medium, high and very high leverage moments to filter out blowouts, and paying attention to sample sizes of over 100 minutes, what are the results? What is Steph's impact on the game? Has it been reduced because of his shooting slump? How much of the wins should be attributed to Dray?

These stats won't answer any of these questions, but they will point you in the right direction. The more effective solution is to simply use EPM and RAPM, but I know a looooooooooot of people just absolutely refuse to use these stats, so here's a broken down version of a series of net ratings to show the overall impact of Steph.

Also note, the 100 minutes threshold is less of a threshold and more of a gradient. There is never an exact spot.


Starting off with Steph's on off stats.

[Steph On/Off Net Rating](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

15.53 Net Rating On, 1.07 Net Rating Off. That's a +14.46 On/Off, which is absolutely elite.

Both the offense AND the defense are statistically better with him on the court. The defense part is especially insane, because his replacement is GP2, arguably a top 3 guard defender in the league in terms of pure talent. AND, the defense is already elite without him, so it's ridiculously difficult to improve it. A 7 DRTG improvement is kinda nuts.


But, we know that the Warriors defense is elite, and that's thanks to Draymond, right?

[Steph and Dray On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,203110&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and Dray On: +12.15

Dray On Steph Off: +2.07

**Steph On Dray Off: +23.07**

....*?* Well, this is possible because without Dray on the court, the Warriors have a +121.60 ORTG, while actually having a BETTER DRTG, by 3.25 points or so. This will be important later. Now, note, the replacement for Dray on the bench isn't some DPOY player. It could be JTA, or OPJ, or Bjelica, or a few other guys. It isn't exactly like the Warriors have prime KG diluting Dray's on/off stats. Somehow, Steph is just leading an insane team without Draymond Green. Note that this Steph/No Dray lineup would have a rDRTG of -9.4 and a rORTG of 12.3. Can't confirm, but both are probably the greatest ever, and this is a 300 minute sample size. The Dray and Steph On lineup is still elite too btw, with a +12.15.


Here's another player. Bjelica, our stretch 4 playmaker, who often comes in place of Draymond off the bench.

[Steph and Bjelica On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,202357&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and Bjelica On: +25.33

Steph On Bjelica Off: +11.80

**Bjelica On Steph Off: -14.42**

Pairing Steph to Bjelica lineups results in a near +40 Net Rating impact. Remember, a +5 impact is fantastic, +10 is elite, top tier in the league stuff. Also note that Bjelica and Steph off has a +11.75, which is far higher than most if not all the lineups without Steph. When you look at that and look at the Bjelica on data, it looks like Bjelica is tanking the numbers. Yet, when you pair him with Steph, it's incredible. It's unlikely, but possible, that in the minutes with Steph and Bjelica on, Steph was just playing insanely well because of variance. What's more likely is that the Bjelica/Steph minutes are elite because the fit works so well, as Bjelica is a very good passer. The issue is that Bjelica always plays with GP2, and Kerr doesn't play GP2 with Steph that much, meaning you get lots of Bjelica/No Steph minutes, which are BAD. This is proven by the fact that the Bjelica/Steph and GP2/Steph minutes are nearly identical, and all 3 together play the 2nd most minutes out of any combination of those 3. (1st is just Steph.) So, Kerr has to make a decision there on what to do with the Bjelica No Steph minutes. An interesting conundrum.

Now, here's my absolute favourite player the Warriors added in the offseason. OPJ.

[Steph and OPJ On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,203490&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and OPJ On: +17.59

**Steph On OPJ Off: +14.48**

OPJ On Steph Off: +1.75

The key takeaway is the fact that the Warriors cannot run any sort of offense without Steph. Steph might not be putting up the same counting stats but his impact is just insane. If you add Draymond, the Steph No Otto or Dray lineup becomes a +24.77 somehow, and the Steph/Otto minutes are increased to a +22.21. Draymond's on/offs are so bizarrely weak. Interesting note is that the Otto only minutes and the no Otto no Steph minutes are nearly identical.


Kevon Looney's stats.

[Steph and Looney On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,1626172&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and Looney On: +9.55

Looney On Steph Off: +0.67

**Steph On Looney Off: +20.95**

Incredible stats. This is what happens when you surround Steph with IQ and some spacing. Never forget that he has to provide enough spacing for 2 complete offensive nonthreats and absolute negatives on that end. When you add Draymond, the Steph/No Looney or Draymond minutes are a +25.72. Insanity. Steph and Draymond without Looney are a +16.12, which makes sense, because that PnR duo wants floorspacers to take advantage of the 4 on 3 it always creates.


Another thing: GP2 also breaks on off stats.

[Steph and GP2 On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,1627780&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

GP2 On Steph Off: +6.47

Steph On GP2 Off: +11.18

**Steph and GP2 On: +29.81**

LOOK AT THAT DRTG AND ORTG! Man, GP2s on/off stats are nuts. If you add Draymond and do the Steph No GP2 or Draymond lineup, it's a +18.49 but the Steph/GP2 No Draymond slightly dips to a still insane +27.97. Interesting.


Let's try the brothers in law.

[Steph and DLee On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,1627814&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and DLee On: +18.14

Steph On DLee Off: +14.55

**DLee On Steph Off: -7.62**

The ORTG in the lineup bolded is a putrid 106.97, and once again, the defense declines without Steph. The Warriors simply cannot run an offense without Steph. Our roster improvements don't change that. Steph is raising our floor, because while the roster is better, they're not good alone. That's the consequence of having a bench of IQ and defense, and not shot creation. Steph has to provide the entire offense and spacing, starting from practically nothing.

How about the Warriors young guard Jordan Poole?

[Steph and Poole On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,1629673&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and Poole On: +11.18

Poole On Steph Off: +4.21

**Steph On Poole Off: +19.36**

Note that the Steph-less lineup has a subpar offensive rating. That's a common theme here. The Steph-less lineups are often boosted by great team defense, so you have to pay close attention to the individual ORTG and DRTG when you want to answer a specific question.


Another player of ours who's been getting a lot of talk, Wiggins.

[Steph and Wiggins On/Off Net Ratings](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,203952&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Steph and Wiggins On: +11.28

Wiggins On Steph Off: +11.88

**Steph On Wiggins Off: +22.64**

Now, if I need to mention this again, I will. This is insane. That's the only way I can describe it. Looking at the individual ratings, Steph without Wiggins is leading an elite offense AND an elite defense. Without Steph, the defense drastically drops. "But that's because Dray and Steph play together, he's carrying that!" Oh buddy do I have a surprise for you....

And finally, the reason I made this post.

Let me ask you a question. Who is GSW's best defender? Why, it's Draymond of course! The DPOY favourite! Well, who's the 2nd best defender on GSW? I'd say, Andrew Wiggins. How about third? I'd solidly say GP2.

Now, the 2nd example proved that the defense improves with just Steph and no Dray, but let's exaggerate this and take it to the fullest, and push the stats to their limits. What happens when you put out a lineup with Steph and without all 3 of GSWs best defenders?

I present:

[Steph On, Draymond, Wiggins and GP2 Off Net Rating](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,203110,203952,1627780&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

Now, ignore the lineups with a tiny sample size. I want you to focus on the Steph ONLY lineups. It has a solid sample size.

Steph On Draymond, Wiggins and GP2 Off: +24.15

**119 ORTG,** ***95 DRTG***

The greatest defense ever since 1977, the 2004 Spurs, had a rDRTG of -8.8. This Steph only lineup missing GSW's 3 best defenders has a rDRTG of -12.9


I added Kevon Looney, the Warriors next best defender, because why not.

[Steph On, Draymond, Wiggins, GP2 and Looney Off Net Rating](http://www.pbpstats.com/wowy-combos/nba?TeamId=1610612744&Season=2021-22&SeasonType=Regular%2BSeason&PlayerIds=201939,203110,203952,1627780,1626172&Leverage=Medium,High,VeryHigh)

\+26.11

**119.75 ORTG and 93.64 DRTG.**

Insanity.

My final stat will be this. I've heard the narrative that Dray has just as important if not more important of a role as Steph this year because it's our defense that's insane. Look up Draymond + a player in on/off. Notice how often either lineups with no Draymond or neither of the players have the best net ratings. This is because Steph literally universally dominates the Warriors impact metrics to the degree that any lineups without him are meager in comparison. Notice how the Draymond additions have consistently had weird results, where Steph's numbers are better without him. It's especially weird, because as I said, Dray dominates on/off metrics normally.

Now, do I think this will continue forever? No. 3 things to note. 1) Draymond is continually getting better throughout the season. These results related to Dray can still change. 2) Steph's rotations have been changing quite alot, and that can have quirky effects. 3) Steph is still yet to have his nuclear 2nd half of the season, where all his impact metrics and counting stats skyrocket. Last but not least, as I said before, these stats aren't direct answers to the questions above. Instead they're just measurements and statistics that you can take with however many grains of salt you choose to. These stats don't decide everything, but I thought they were worth sharing. They don't decide that Steph is the DPOY, or that Draymond is a negative of course, but through the massive sample size, the eye test and all advanced stats, they DO show that Steph is by far the driving force of our success.


But hey, at least the "Steph is a bad defender" narrative and the "Steph is being carried" narrative can finally be put to rest.

[WarriorGM]

From a fellow genius on Reddit: NilInvestment

Please take the time to read. It’s a lengthy post but I promise you it’s great. Much of the same that I’ve already repeated in this thread, but with much more facts and statistics to back it up. Excellent post by Reddit user NilInvestment.

It starts here:

Steph's Insane On/Off Metrics

[...]

Yeah and not only this year it's been like that for most recent years. Did people forget the same analysis performed when KD was with the Dubs? Same basic results. That's why Jokic, Giannis, and Durant can go on stuffing the box score and even setting record PER but if Curry and the Warriors stay on track this shouldn't even remotely be a close MVP race. Curry should be on something like his 5th MVP run right now. That he "only" has two actually paints an inaccurate picture of the reality of the past few years and is an indictment on the media awards as a barometer of the historical record. Giannis may be a champion but he has been nowhere near as dominant as Curry. Neither has Jokic nor Durant had close to the same impact. The MVP award is playing catch up to Curry.