For years, some fans have said that Steve Nash shouldn’t have won the MVP award, let alone win it twice. Their argument is that, even though he was the best player on the best team in the league, his numbers were nowhere near MVP-worthy, especially when compared to other players’.
The 2005-06 Phoenix Suns won 54 games, owning the 2nd-best record in the NBA. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers in 7 games in the first round, then got past the Los Angeles Clippers in 7, and then lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games in the Western Conference Finals.
Nash’s averages of 18.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 10.5 assists per game in 2005-06 (his second MVP campaign), weren’t that far off from his career averages of 14.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game, and we still consider him to be one of the greatest point guards of all time.
So, what’s all the argument about? We know that there has never been a 100% objective criteria for MVP voting. Should it go to the best player on the best team? If so, then Nash was well-deserving of his award.
Should it go to the most impactful player? Then maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t the MVP. Or if we vote for the guy with the most impressive stats, then he’s definitely not our player. Just for the sake of the argument, let’s just take a look at some of the players who didn’t win the MVP award in 2005-06.
2005-06 Kobe Bryant was a different kind of beast. He was at his best as a scorer and won his first Scoring title by averaging 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
Kobe led the Lakers to a 45-win season with Lamar Odom (14.8 PPG) as the team’s second-leading scorer. Sadly, his journey ended when they faced off vs. Nash and the Suns as the 7th seeded team in the West. His stats were the most impressive, but his team didn’t fare as well.
A young LeBron James entering his third season in the league was already an MVP candidate. He averaged 31.4 points per game (career-high) to go along with 7.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists.
James and the Cavs somehow won 50 games that season and even beat the Washington Wizards in six games in the first round of the playoffs. Sadly, they couldn’t get past the Detroit Pistons in the second round despite taking them to seven games.
Dwyane Wade introduced himself to the rest of the league during the 2005-06 season. He averaged 27.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.
Next to Shaquille O’Neal, Wade led the Miami Heat to an impressive 52-30 record, beating the Chicago Bulls in six games, the New Jersey Nets in five games, the Detroit Pistons in six games, and eventually the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals in just six games.
And last, but not least we find a prime Dirk Nowitzki who averaged 26.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game as the undisputed best power forward in the NBA that season.
The Mavericks won 60 games under Nowitzki’s command, sweeping the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round, then beating the San Antonio Spurs in an epic seven-game battle, and later the Phoenix Suns in six games. Sadly, they couldn’t put the cherry on top of the sundae as they lost to the Heat in the Finals.
So, with all those things into consideration, watching how their teams fared and the numbers they put, you can make your own conclusion about Nash’s second MVP award.
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