Tag: MVP

Could Jayson Tatum win MVP with the Boston Celtics next season?

Tatum became the target of heavy criticism over the course of the 2024 NBA playoffs.

Could superstar forward Jayson Tatum win MVP with the Boston Celtics next season? Tatum became the target of heavy criticism over the course of the 2024 NBA playoffs. With his partner in crime Jaylen Brown winning Eastern Conference MVP and Finals MVP, Tatum sacrificed so much of his offense to be the playmaker this Boston team needed him to be to put together their championship run.

Now, with an offseason where Tatum will see little to no rest with the Olympics quickly approaching, can the superstar elevate his game and reach a new level next season? Championship repeat talks have already begun and with this roster looking to make zero changes and Tatum in Brown in their primes, can he deliver more rings to Boston?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Cedric Maxwell” podcast, the eponymous Cedric Maxwell and his co-host Josue Pavon, weighed in on a recent episode. Check it out below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” “Celtics Lab,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Derek Carr projected as Saints’ team MVP by NFL.com analyst

Chris Olave, Demario Davis, and Tyrann Mathieu were options but this NFL.com writer predicts Derek Carr will be the Saints’ team MVP in 2024:

NFL.com lead draft writer Eric Edholm recently predicted each team’s Most Valuable Player for the 2024 season, and he’s a believer in Derek Carr. Edholm selected Carr to take a step up in his second year with the New Orleans Saints and earn recognition as the team’s MVP.

Edholm expressed his hesitance to lean too heavily into quarterbacks when making these selections around the league. Positional value plays a part in this award yearly, as was the case for Edholm with the Saints, but Carr was the beset choice for what he was looking for:

I sat and stared at the Saints’ roster for longer than I want to admit, trying to figure out if Carr was indeed the right choice. I couldn’t quite pick Demario Davis or Tyrann Mathieu, two guys heading into the gloaming of their careers, terrific as both might have been last year. Chris Olave was naturally an option, but I couldn’t forget how he and Carr struggled to get on the same page at times last season, unsure how to weigh that. And in the positional hierarchy of things, quarterback trumps receiver every time. 

Quarterback does trump receiver nine times out of ten. If Olave has a great season, it would just likely be a part of a great Derek Carr season. When you look at receivers who won Offensive Player of the Year recently, they were the the only true receiving option on their teams. They also had at least 1.700 yards. Neither of those things are likely in Olave’s 2024 future with guys like Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, and Juwan Johnson drawing targets.

Carr is the best option when looking at all the factors. Mathieu and, specifically, Davis feel like more sure things, but they aren’t at positions of “high value.” Carr is looking for a bounce-back season after an uneven 2023 campaign in New Orleans.

If he can achieve success in Klint Kubiak’s offense, Carr will earn the team’s MVP award, and the Saints will end the season in a better place because of it.

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Why Falcons RB Bijan Robinson could be dark horse MVP candidate

Don’t be surprised if Falcons RB Bijan Robinson finds himself in the MVP discussion this season…

The NFL loves to celebrate quarterbacks, but occasionally players at other positions get the recognition they deserve. While we don’t anticipate an offensive lineman winning MVP anytime soon, sometimes running backs give those quarterbacks a run for their money during awards season.

Since 2000, only four NFL running backs — Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Shaun Alexander and Marshall Faulk — have won the league MVP award. Peterson was the last player to accomplish this feat back in 2012.

As unlikely as it may seem, Falcons running back Bijan Robinson has the right mix of physical tools and surrounding talent to be the league’s next non-QB MVP.

Robinson is essentially the perfect modern NFL running back. He has elite speed, size, vision, elusiveness, route-running ability and hands (see below):

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cL8ZPs2fWu8

Robinson rushed for 976 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie, adding 58 catches for 487 yards and four receiving touchdowns. I realize these aren’t quite MVP-level numbers, but the totals were deflated by the team’s abysmal quarterback play last season.

With Kirk Cousins stepping in, the Falcons finally have someone who can help their offense reach its full potential. And unlike former head coach Arthur Smith, Raheem Morris is ready to unleash Robinson this season.

“Get the ball to Bijan as much as you can in as many ideal situations as you possibly can,” said Morris on how he plans to feature Robinson.

While statistics play a major part in determining the league MVP, the story behind those stats is arguably just as important. The Falcons have missed the playoffs for six straight seasons. If Bijan leads them to an NFC South crown, it would carry more weight than some of the other candidates.

Cousins is sure to receive his share of praise if the team is successful, but he’s rarely been in the MVP discussion throughout his career. Robinson has an elite run-blocking offensive line and enough complementary weapons to prevent opposing defenses from stacking the box.

Assuming he’s the focal point of Atlanta’s offense, Robinson’s ability as a dual-threat could help him top 2,000 all-purpose yards in 2024.

What type of numbers would Robinson need to win MVP?

As mentioned earlier, only four running backs have won the award since the 2000 NFL season. Here’s a look at the stats for all four players the year they won MVP.

  • Adrian Peterson (2012): 2,097 rushing yards, 12 TDs, 40 catches, 217 rec. yards, 1 rec. TD
  • LaDainian Tomlinson (2006): 1,815 rushing yards, 28 TDs, 56 catches, 508 rec. yards, 3 rec. TDs
  • Shaun Alexander (2005): 1,880 rushing yards, 27 TDs, 15 catches, 78 rec. yards, 1 rec. TD
  • Marshall Faulk (2000): 1,359 rushing yards, 18 TDs, 81 catches, 830 rec. yards, 8 rec. TDs

Draft Kings lists Robinson’s odds to win the 2024 MVP award at +25000, but crazier things have happened in this league. Why not Bijan?

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Ashton Wilson named regional MVP, 5 Gators named to All-Tournament

Florida is leaving Stillwater as regional champions, so it’s no surprise to see a handful of Gators on the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team.

Florida’s championship run at the Stillwater Regional has five Gators on the All-Tournament Team, including outfielder [autotag]Ashton Wilson[/autotag] who took home MVP honors.

He hit .429 (9-for-21) in Stillwater after riding the bench for most of the season. Injuries to junior [autotag]Ty Evans[/autotag] and freshman [autotag]Hayden Yost[/autotag] propelled Wilson into the starting lineup during the team’s final regular-season series against Georgia.

Wilson’s breakout game came in the opener against Nebraska. He had a homer and three doubles, driving in three of his six RBIs on the weekend.

Joining Wilson on the All-Tournament Team are Florida first baseman [autotag]Jac Caglianone[/autotag], third baseman [autotag]Dale Thomas[/autotag], shortstop [autotag]Colby Shelton[/autotag] and pitcher [autotag]Brandon Neely[/autotag].

Neely was dominant in relief in first regional championship game against Oklahoma State. He struck out 11 and allowed just one hit after taking over in the fourth inning.

Caglianone went 6-for-17 (.353) with a pair of home runs and five runs batted in. Shelton also blasted a pair of homers en route to seven RBI, and Thomas had a three-hit game facing elimination against Nebraska.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

NBA media: Who are the biggest fans of each superstar?

This is how media members have voted for NBA stars in the last decade.

Since the NBA started making media members’ award votes public in 2015, there have been far fewer outlier ballots, which makes a lot of sense since vote-shaming is a real phenomenon. However, there are still somewhat significant discrepancies between the votes of each media personality, and we delved deep into that. We looked into the voters who had a say in each of the seasons in which Player X received MVP votes, then ranked them by the points they awarded to said player.

Here are the results for the biggest superstars in the last decade.

Here’s who voted for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their 2023-24 MVP winner

Here’s who voted for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their 2023-24 MVP winner.

The NBA released its voting ballots on Thursday, which means all 99 voters had their results turned over to the public.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished runner-up for the 2023-24 MVP award. Nikola Jokic won the prestigious award for the third time this season.

Jokic won the trophy by a landslide, totaling 926 total voting points. Gilgeous-Alexander had a distant second-place finish with 640 total voting points.

The 25-year-old had 15 first-place votes, 40 second-place votes, 40 third-place votes, three fourth-place votes and one fifth-place votes. Here’s who voted for Gilgeous-Alexander as their MVP winner:

Greg Anthony, Rod Boone, Shams Charania, James Edwards III, Michael Grange, Kelly Iko, Richard Jefferson, Adam Lefkoe, Chris Mannix, Steve McGehee, Kendrick Perkins, Doug Smith, Stephen A. Smith, Ryan Wolstat and Jeff Zillgitt.

Gilgeous-Alexander had a stellar season and completed back-to-back campaigns of top-five MVP finishes and All-NBA First Team honors. He headlined the first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder this season.

In 75 games, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds. He shot 35.3% shooting on 3.6 attempts. He led the league in steals at two per game.

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Shai Gilgeous-Alexander named a finalist for 2023-24 MVP award

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nominated for 2023-24 MVP award.

The NBA announced its award finalists for the 2023-24 season on Sunday. The Oklahoma City Thunder had several representatives among the groups.

The biggest one is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s MVP finalist nod. This shouldn’t be a shocker. The 25-year-old has been the face of the youngest first seed in league history.

Gilgeous-Alexander has been one of the best players in the league this season, consistently scoring 30-plus points on high efficiency.

After finishing fifth in MVP voting last season, Gilgeous-Alexander has evolved into one of the best players in the league. He averaged 30.1 points on 53.5% shooting, 6.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 75 games this season.

Other finalists are Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic. The 2023-24 MVP winner will be announced during the NBA playoffs, Gilgeous-Alexander was also named a finalist for Clutch Player of the Year along with Stephen Curry and DeMar DeRozan.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Chet Holmgren were named finalists for Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively.

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Every No. 1 WWE Draft pick through the years

Who deserved to go No. 1? Who was a surprise when they were picked? We go back through the entire history of WWE Draft top picks.

Is it an honor to get drafted, whether it’s in traditional sports or WWE? Sure. But there’s something to be said for being the No. 1 pick.

The WWE Draft is, of course, not the same thing as a pro sports draft, in the sense that it’s done all for entertainment value. It’s not GMs or authority figures sitting around and selecting the best available wrestler, as much fun as that would be.

Still, most years the WWE Draft has been around, the No. 1 overall pick has been a big name, someone you would actually build a wrestling brand around. And even the years when it wasn’t, it’s fun to look back and say, “Wow, really?”

So let’s do that now. Scroll down for a look at every WWE Draft No. 1 pick in history, from the initial WWF draft lottery in 2002 up through the most recent edition.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum voted fifth in final ESPN MVP straw poll; Jaylen Brown 10th

The St. Louis native came in behind (in order) Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Two Boston Celtics players made an appearance in the final 2024 NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) award straw poll put together by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps for the 2023-24 regular season. Star forward Jaylen Brown received a single fifth-place vote to register tenth overall in the straw poll results after a strong finish to the Celtics’ current campaign.

The poll, which aims to project how MVP voters will cast their vote at the end of the season for the coveted full-season honor, also saw fellow Boston All-Star swingman Jayson Tatum come in fifth in the final installment of straw poll voting.

The St. Louis native came in behind (in order) Nikola Jokic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

In terms of the mix of places he was voted into overall, Tatum received 2 first place votes, 1 second, 1 third, 11 fourth, and 54 votes for fifth place.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Shaq picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his MVP

Shaq picks Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as his MVP.

As the 2023-24 regular season winds down, the MVP race tightens. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been a prominent player in those discussions this season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (46-20) sit in first place in the Western Conference standings. The young squad has opened a championship window this season.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s superstar rise has been the main reason. The 25-year-old is averaging 31.1 points on 54% shooting, 6.4 assists and 5.6 rebounds. He also averages a league-leading 2.1 steals.

Before the Thunder collected a signature win over the Dallas Mavericks, Shaquille O’Neal spoke highly of Gilgeous-Alexander, claiming he meets his standards for MVP this season.

“SGA is my MVP right now. He fits both our criteria. He’s the baddest m-f-, shut-your-mouth in the league and his team is winning,” O’Neal said. “He’s definitely my MVP.”

This is a pretty strong endorsement for Gilgeous-Alexander. O’Neal is one of the greatest players ever and has turned into a massive media personality over the years with the “NBA on TNT” crew.

As the Thunder continue to play on national television, famed pundits such as Shaq will recognize Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the best players in the league.

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