With all the MVP talk surrounding Dwyane Wade, one point that many ‘experts’ make is that Wade is not on a 1st place team, while LeBeon James and Kobe Bryant are. How important is that when choosing an MVP? By definition, MVP is for the Most Valuable Player, but to whom? Is it to that player’s team, or to the league itself? I sincerely hope that it’s for the particular players team.
Well…I decided to see how important being on a first place team is to becoming an MVP. I did some digging and went back to 1985, searching the four major sports, and found each and every time an MVP was chosen that was not on a first place team.
NBA
| 87-88 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls | 3rd in Central |
| 98-99 | Karl Malone | Utah Jazz | 2nd in Midwest |
NFL
| 1997 | Barry Sanders (co. MVP w/ Brett Favre) | Detroit Lions | 3rd in NFC Central |
| 2000 | Marshall Faulk | St. Louis Rams | 2nd in NFC West |
| 2003 | Steve McNair (co. MVP w/ Peyton Manning) | Tennessee Titans | 2nd in AFC South |
| 2008 | Peyton Manning | Indianapolis Colts | 2nd in AFC South |
MLB
| 1985 | AL | Don Mattingly | New York Yankees | 2nd in AL East |
| 1986 | NL | Mike Schmidt | Philadelphia Phillies | 2nd in NL East |
| 1987 | NL | Andre Dawson | Chicago Cubs | Last in NL East |
| 1987 | AL | George Bell | Toronto Blue Jays | 2nd in AL East |
| 1989 | AL | Robin Yount | Milwaukee Brewers | 4th in AL West |
| 1991 | AL | Cal Ripken Jr. | Baltimore Orioles | 6th in AL East |
| 1993 | NL | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | 2nd in NL West |
| 1994 | NL | Jeff Bagwell | Houston Astros | 2nd in NL Central |
| 1997 | NL | Larry Walker | Colorado Rockies | 3rd in NL West |
| 1998 | NL | Sammy Sosa | Chicago Cubs | 2nd in NL Central |
| 2001 | NL | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | 2nd in NL West |
| 2002 | NL | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | 2nd in NL West |
| 2003 | AL | Alex Rodriguez | Texas Rangers | Last in AL West |
| 2004 | NL | Barry Bonds | San Francisco Giants | 2nd in NL West |
| 2006 | NL | Ryan Howard | Philadelphia Phillies | 2nd in NL East |
| 2007 | AL | Alex Rodriguez | New York Yankees | 2nd in AL East |
| 2008 | NL | Albert Pujols | St. Louis Cardinals | 4th in NL Central |
| 2008 | AL | Dustin Pedroia | Boston Red Sox | 2nd in AL East |
NHL
| 87-88 | Mario Lemieux | Pittsburgh Penguins | Last in Patrick |
| 88-89 | Wayne Gretzky | Los Angeles Kings | 2nd in Smythe |
| 89-90 | Mark Messier | Edmonton Oilers | 2nd in Smythe |
| 90-91 | Brett Hull | St. Louis Blues | 2nd in Norris |
| 97-98 | Dominik Hasek | Buffalo Sabres | 3rd in Northwest |
| 98-99 | Jaromir Jagr | Pittsburgh Penguins | 3rd in Atlantic |
| 01-02 | Jose' Theodore | Montreal Canadians | 4th in Northeast |
| 05-06 | Joe Thornton | Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks | 2nd in Pacific (SJS) |
| 06-07 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 2nd in Atlantic |
Obviously it's a little different in sports where more players have the opportunity to make a difference. In the NBA, usually at the most the 5 starters are the only ones who play enough to have a shot at MVP. In football, there are only a handful of positions that can provide an MVP. Baseball and Hockey have more players in the 'spotlight'...so you can see why they provide so many more non-1st MVPs. And baseball has one for each league, so....