Has a "Most Valuable to his team" guy ever won MVP?

Lebron, Nash, Olajuwon, Jordan

 

Still think Harden is the MVP regardless, Houston would've struggled to make the playoffs with Harden, though I do think CP3 would've gotten them 6-8 seed -- maybe. I do think the Cavs would suck without LBJ, lottery team, but I think Harden has performed a little better to win the MVP, given the number of games Houston won in comparison to Cleveland.

 

if that's the case then Harden should have by a landslide won in 2015 and 2017

 

“Team would suck without him” was the argument for Westbrook for many media guys who claimed not to be swayed by a triple double fetish.

LeBron’s MVPs when he was in Cleveland the first time also could fall in this category.

 

Steve Nash is the best example.

D'Antoni's entire offense was built around him. Without Nash that collection of players... Amare, Marion, Johnson, Diaw, Barbosa, etc... were all mediocre.

He made career players out of scrubs and got them paid millions, all the while running that offense to perfection.

 

Lebron is driving the MVP of the Playoffs in the East narrative so far.......bring on, Boston.

 

Bron in 08-09 and 09-10...he turned the trash around him into an elite team

 

I don't think you need to go back far to find a lot of MVPs who if they weren't on the team that team would be garbage. @Reeko is spot on with those two Lebron MVPs. Nash's first MVP for sure. Look at the 00/01 76ers roster, holy hell is that bad. Without Iverson they win about 15 games, with him they win 56 and make it to the Finals.

 

the 2015 team would not make the playoffs without Harden. For a big part of the season the second best player was DMo playing center lol

 

The "without him the team would suck" criterion is not as simple as it sounds. Guys like Iverson and Westbrook could carry a team of mediocre players to respectable level. But they couldn't make the team any better if they had much better teammates because of their playing style.

So the team would suck without him if he had bad teammates. The team wouldn't suck without him if he had good teammates. But both teams would win about the same amount of games with him.

 

I agree. Since the MVP is a regular season award, in my opinion Harden is the clear runaway winner. No one else comes close. If the vote is not unanimous, then it is because the voters are not being objective. In the regular season Lebron kinda sucked in comparison.

If the MVP was solely a post-season award, Lebron would be the current leader, but the post-season story has not yet been finished. If the Rockets face Cleveland in the Finals, I think the Rockets will win in 5 or 6.