Most valuable player

For other uses of "MVP", see MVP (disambiguation).
Frank Nighbor with the original Hart Memorial Trophy in 1924.[1] The trophy is awarded annually to the "player judged most valuable to his team" in the National Hockey League (NHL).[2]

In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. The purpose of the award is to recognize the contribution of the individual's efforts amongst a group effort, and to highlight the excellence, exemplariness, and/or outstandingness of a player's performance amidst the performance of their peers in question.[3]

The term can have different connotations depending on the context in which it is used. A 'League MVP' is the most valuable player in an entire league, and refers to the player whose performance is most excellent in the league. Similarly, a "Team MVP" is the most valuable player on a team, referring to the player whose team contribution is greatest amongst their teammates.[4] In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, a player of the match award. This is particularly true for high profile matches like championship games. For example, during a finals championship series, a 'Finals MVP' award would be bestowed upon the most valuable player in the finals game(s).

Ice hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, has been named MVP more times than any player in the history of the other three North American major professional leagues (MLB, NBA, and NFL). He won the award a record nine times during his career, eight consecutively. Barry Bonds is second, having won the MVP award seven times in the National League of Major League Baseball (The American League also awards an MVP), although until the 1930s baseball players were only permitted to win the award one time which limited the number of times Babe Ruth could win. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar won the NBA MVP award six times, and Michael Jordan won the award five times. Peyton Manning won the NFL MVP five times. Only five other players have won more than two NFL MVP awards: Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, and Aaron Rodgers.

An important distinction is that the MVP is not be conflated with the most winningest player. Although the two are usually somewhat correlated, there are several (albeit rare) prime counterexamples. For instance, in professional basketball, Kareem-Abdul Jabbar won the 1975–76 MVP award even though his team did not qualify for the postseason. Additionally, several other NBA players in history have been awarded MVP, and proceeded to lose in the first round of the postseason.[5] In another instance in professional basketball, Jerry West was awarded the 1969 NBA Finals MVP Award, despite having lost the finals.[6] In the sport of professional football, Johnny Unitas won the 1967 MVP award, despite not qualifying for the playoffs. Likewise, O. J. Simpson won the 1973 MVP award, despite not qualifying for the playoffs.[7] Similar to Jerry West in basketball, Chuck Howley in football won the 1971 Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award despite having lost the Super Bowl V.[8] In 1960, Bobby Richardson won the World Series MVP Award, but lost the World Series.[9] In ice hockey, three players, Al Rollins in 1954, Andy Bathgate in 1959 and Mario Lemieux in 1988 each won the NHL's oldest MVP award, the Hart Trophy, with Lemieux also receiving the Ted Lindsay Award (introduced in 1970–71 and voted on by the league's players), but did not make the playoffs.[10] Also, Reggie Leach won the 1976 Conn Smythe Trophy, presented to the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs,[a] while breaking the league record for most playoff goals, but lost the finals.[11] In baseball history, several MVPs have not made the playoffs,[12] and in 2021, none of the six MVP finalists in Major League Baseball played for teams that reached the postseason.[13]

The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In most other countries around the world, "player of the year" is used for a season-spanning award and "player of the match" for individual games. In Australia, Australian rules football clubs and leagues use the term "best and fairest", while those playing rugby league use "player of the year", such as the Dally M Medal.[14]

  1. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy". Official website of Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2018. The Hart Memorial Trophy is an annual award given to the player judged to be the most valuable to his team.
  3. ^ "Definition of MVP (n.d.)". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  4. ^ "Most valuable player". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  5. ^ Mullin, E. (April 28, 2022). "NBA Playoffs: How many times has the MVP lost in the first round?". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  6. ^ de Artola, A. (June 14, 2022). "Who was the last player to win NBA Finals MVP from the losing team?". FanSided. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  7. ^ "Has an NFL MVP ever not made the playoffs?". Four Verts Football. June 3, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  8. ^ Loyola, K. (April 18, 2022). "Who is the only Super Bowl MVP that played on a losing team?". Bolavip US. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  9. ^ "World Series History: Most Valuable Players by Position". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 18, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  10. ^ Newby, C. (August 14, 2021). "History of Hart Trophy Winners From Non-Playoff Teams". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  11. ^ Commito, M. (May 25, 2016). "An interview with Flyers great Reggie Leach, 40 years after his Conn Smythe Trophy win". Broad Street Hockey. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  12. ^ "Debate: Should The MVP Come From a Playoff-Bound Team?". Bleacher Report. October 2, 2017. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  13. ^ Papke, G. (November 9, 2021). "MLB MVP finalists make unique bit of history". Larry Brown Sports. Archived from the original on 2022-08-27.
  14. ^ "Dally M Medal 2015". 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 2016-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-01.


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