NBA MVP Chase through November 21, 2019, and MVP points system explained

Based on minutes played and +/- in victories.

How well one plays in losses, as well as overall stats, should be considered when selecting all-league and all-star rosters. But most valuable player should be directly related to wins, because as Herm Edwards famously said, “You play to win the game.”

Keeping track this early in the season helps the process of selecting Most Valuable Player. Injuries and team slumps may come down the pike, and while other teams and their best players surge forward. But the wins early in the season matter in the overall standings, and keeping track early prevents “recency bias.”

To review: if you led your team in the total of minutes played plus +/-, you get six MVP points. If you finished second, you get five. If you were third, you get four, and if you were fourth, you get three. That’s the cut off: you get points if you were in the top four on your team, as that indicates you were in the top half of players who played substantial minutes. It’s not the only signficant piece of evidence you contributed signficantly to the victory, but it’s a big piece.

And, I give 6,5,4, & 3 points instead of 4,3,2,1 because awarding one MVP point barely means more than zero points or not playing at all.

So, for example, the Bucks have 12 wins, and Giannis has 65 MVP points. The most he could have gotten is 72 (12 wins x 6 MVP points per win). This suggests he led his team…