There has never been an official criteria for the NBA MVP award. Many say that it should be the best player on the best team that season,
while others think that it should simply be the best player in the league that season, independent of team performance.
Most years, the winner falls somewhere in the middle, since the honor is given to the player who has the best mix of numbers, team success, and overall effect.
During a recent episode of his Gil's Arena podcast, former NBA great and Memphis Grizzlies guard Gilbert Arenas chastised the NBA for what he sees as inconsistency around the MVP award.
"You tell them not to be selfish and play for themselves because we're not going to give you the [MVP], like they did with Kobe [Bryant]..."
Like Jayson Tatum... I'm giving up my 35, 30-something points to win. My team has been number one almost every year. "You haven't even allowed me to sniff it."
Arenas also mentioned Oklahoma City Thunder player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who led his team to the Western Conference's top seed this season but finished second in MVP voting to Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
The Boston Celtics have been at or near the top of the Eastern Conference multiple times in recent years, and while Tatum hasn't had the same degree of individual productivity as other MVP candidates, Arenas believes that winning should be recognized.
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