Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash is on pace to achieve something that Hall of Famers Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabaar could not do: win three-consecutive MVP awards.
This elite club would have to make room for a man who has never averaged 20 points per game in a season, who was selected four picks after Todd Fuller in the 1996 NBA Draft, and who was delegated to Mark Cuban's trash heap just three seasons ago.
At the midway point in the 2006-07 season, Nash stands among the front-runners to claim the 2007 NBA MVP award, his third Maurice Podoloff Trophy in as many years. Considering that this season boasts arguably one of the widest and most talented groups in recent history, this will be no small feat.
Nash earned the MVP in 2005 and 2006 largely because he elevated the play of his teammates, turning the Suns into a perennial championship contender. During the 2004-05 season, his first in Phoenix, Nash engineered a 33-game improvement from the previous year, the third largest turnaround in NBA history. Last season, with Nash leading the NBA in assists for the second-straight year, six Suns set career highs in scoring.
This year, however, Nash is earning MVP consideration by raising the level of his own game. Phoenix's leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, Nash is shooting a blistering 53.7 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc, all career highs. Still, Nash continues to improve his teammates' performances, posting a league-leading 11.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, the Suns have won 33 of 35 games, including 17 in a row, to up their season mark to a league-best 36-8 heading into last night.
While Nash has attracted early MVP buzz for elevating his play, his two chief rivals for the award are ironically receiving consideration after seeing their statistics dip. Seven-footer Dirk Nowitzki, Nash's former teammate on the Dallas Mavericks, is averaging 25.3 points and 17.1 shots per game, both lower than his marks in those categories the past two seasons. But Nowitzki has compensated by posting a career-high 3.3 assists per game, and his willingness to defer to his teammates has allowed for the emergence of forward Josh Howard as an All Star-caliber player. The team-oriented approach has Dallas on a 36-5 tear in its last 41 games and 4.5 games ahead of the archrival San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division.
Likewise, Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is putting up seven fewer points on 7.2 fewer shot attempts per game compared to last season, but has upped his assist output from 4.5 per contest to 5.5. Bryant's increased playmaking ability is all the more impressive considering that two key members of his supporting cast, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, have missed at least 20 games a piece due to injuries. Nonetheless, Bryant has the Lakers holding down the sixth spot in the Western Conference with a mark of 27-17.
While Nash, Nowitzki and Bryant have distinguished themselves as the midseason MVP favorites, some early-season choices have fallen out of the race. Houston Rockets center Yao Ming was on pace for career highs in points, assists and blocks before he injured his right knee on Dec. 23, which will require at least another month's rest before rehab.
Carmelo Anthony's 15-game suspension for inciting a brawl with the New York Knicks on Dec. 16 will likely cost the Denver Nuggets small forward his first-ever MVP award, even though he has steadily maintained the NBA's best scoring average throughout the season.
Carlos Boozer, averaging career highs in points, rebounds and assists, emerged as an early long shot after his Utah Jazz opened the season 12-1. But as the Jazz have cooled down considerably, going only 17-14 after their blazing start, Boozer's prospect of becoming the first Duke disciple to claim the award are waning.
With Yao, Anthony and Boozer out of the running, the main challengers to Nash, Nowitzki and Bryant are Washington Wizard guard Gilbert Arenas and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade. Both, however, are hurt by the mediocrity of the inferior Eastern Conference and must be considered dark horses.
Arenas, with seven forty-point games this season, is the East's best hope for the conference's first MVP winner since former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson won the award in 2001. His two game-ending three-pointers, among the first half's most memorable highlights, have propelled the Wizards to the East's best record. Wade, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, is posting a career-best mark in scoring, but is unlikely to win his first regular season MVP as long as the Heat, just 19-25, remain out of playoff contention.
