Steve Nash, repeat MVP

So, the Arizona Republic is reporting that Steve Nash is going to win the NBA's MVP trophy for the second straight year.

I'm sure there will be plenty of people who will say yes, he deserves it, and just as many no. As for me, I thought this was the year LeBron James might get it -- I don't have a ballot, but he would be my pick.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

A repeat for Steve Nash?

If you want to debate that here, fine. What strikes me, though, is the magnitude of this news from a Canadian perspective. Basketball is the world's No. 2 game, eclipsing hockey, our national sport and obsession. Given that, if the news here is true (and these awards results are being leaked all over the place regularly, so I don't doubt it's accurate), Nash's record these past two years and the decorations that will forever be appended to it count as perhaps the greatest by a Canadian team sport player, guy's division.

Here's the other repeat MVP winners of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy in the NBA:

1961/62/63 Bill Russell
66/67/68 Wilt Chamberlain
71/72 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
76/77 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
82/83 Moses Malone
84/85/86 Larry Bird
89/90 Magic Johnson
91/92 Michael Jordan
2002/03 Tim Duncan

This is pretty select company to be moving into.

One more way to look at it: What do you think is a bigger achievement - Nash winning back to back MVPs in the NBA, or Gretzky's eight successive Hart Trophies from 1980 to '87 in the NHL?

UPDATE

According to an NBA.com survey of the league's general managers, Nash is the GMs' choice for MVP. Here's how their voting went, from an NBA news release just released (for the rest of the survey, go to NBA.com -- and note that this MVP result has been released early):

"In the exclusive survey, Nash received six first-place votes, 11 second-place votes and three third-place votes for a total of 65 points. Five points were awarded for first-place votes, three for second-place and one for third-place.
Nowitzki, who tied Nash with six first-place votes, also received three second-place votes and six third-place votes for a total of 45 points. The Detroit Pistons’ Chauncey Billups finished third with 32 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James finished fourth with 31 points according to GM voting.
In the Fourth Annual NBA.com GM Survey, unveiled at the start of the 2005-06 NBA season, nearly 60 percent of GMs predicted the San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan would win the 2006 MVP with none of the league’s GMs selecting Nash to repeat."

Comments

[Kent MacDonald]

dominating a league for 8 straight years is clearly more impressive, especially since Nash's two wins are anything but unanimous.

Kobe was my pick this year. That team wins 15 games at most without him in the lineup.

[Sean]

I would agree with Kent that Gretzky's accomplishment is far more impressive....just because hockey is Canada's national passion doesn't mean that Gretzky played against stiffs south of the border.

I also would agree with Kobe as MVP. What a year. However, I can buy into Nash....the knock on him last year was that Amare was the "real" reason he won, so with Amare out this year and the Suns doing so well, Nash has gotta get a lot of credit. Coaching only goes so far.

[Debashis]

Is this not every General Manager's dream? Sign a player to a max contract and have the player win consecutive MVP trophies in the first two years. These days in sports, you might say Nash has already earned his 5 year contract, heck, you probably could have said that last year.

It is truly refreshing to see a player continue to work hard and earn the respect of his peers AFTER getting paid.

I bet in 10 years, there will be many more Canadians in the league; there because of their role model, Steve Nash.

[Joel]

The Nash pick doesn't seem as strong as some of the MVP choices in the past, but what can you say as a Canadian. It's beyond freakish that a Canadian kid, from Victoria no less, can go on to win two straight NBA MVPs. In terms of the absurd, it has to rank right up there, and certainly seems more improbable than anything a hockey player could ever do. Some will probably argue the merit of MVP vs MOP (most outstanding). But if you're talking MVP, Nash is still one of two or three legitimate choices.

[ted]

I'm personally not impressed with Kobe. He comes across as a very "me" player whereas Nash makes everyone around him so much better.

[tony]

Well, a Canadian invented basketball so it's about time a Canadian won the award twice ! Somewhere, up there, James Naismith -- born in Ontario near Ottawa and inventor of basketball is proud !