Why is it rare for the shooting guard to be elected as MVP?

Welcome back to the Shisan Arena.

No surprise, Alexander was successfully elected as the MVP of this season.

This makes him the fifth MVP in shooting guard MVP in NBA history so far after Jordan, AI, Kobe and Harden.

has finally broken the monopoly of insiders over MVP since 2019.

Compared with the inside players who have natural size advantages, closer to the basket, and more obvious influence on both offense and defense, outside players have natural disadvantages in competing for MVPs.

NBA history has seen a total of 38 MVPs, awarded 70 MVP trophys;

The total number 4 and 5 players has 21, and a total of 41 MVPs have been taken away;

1, 2 and 3 positions are 17, with a total of 29 MVPs.

And the point guard has a ball advantage, so the number of MVPs and trophys also leads the outside players; the number

2 and 3 are relatively difficult - the positioning and functions of these two positions in the early days were very single, far from the basket, and it was difficult to make a comeback.

It was not until Jordan rose that the No. 2 players gradually received attention and had more and more ball rights;

Since then, the NBA rules have changed several times, the pace has become faster and faster, and the offense has been encouraged more and more, and the pursuit of breakthroughs and three-pointers has become increasingly pursued - so the era of small balls has gradually arrived, and the big core has begun to emerge with the ball holding.

Kobe, James, Harden, Alexander... The game may be completely different, but the essence is to hold the ball on the outside.

and even letters and Jokic are also holding the ball and the core - but they are standing inside, but the core logic is still holding the ball and breaking the score.

So when the inside player also adapted to the version and developed the ball handling ability and three-pointers, the outside players were of course at a disadvantage again.

From Nash in 2005 to Harden in 2018, all MVPs were outside players during this period;

From the letters in 2019 to Jokic in 2024, all were insiders.

and even this season, if the team's record is not too much ahead of Jokic, it would be difficult for them to break the monopoly - thanks to the Nuggets management's operations in the past two years, making it difficult for Jokic to catch up with Alexander in terms of record.

But no matter what, Alexander did play a very dominant performance this season, averaging 32.7 points, 5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 1 block, with a shooting percentage of 51.9% + 37.5% + 89.8%;

This is his third consecutive year of average 30+, and his shooting percentage remains above 50% - the last shooting guard to do this is Jordan.

Finally, look back at the MVP years of Jordan, AI, Kobe and Harden -

In 1988, Jordan had his first MVP, averaging 35 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.2 steals, 1.6 blocks, and ended in the second round of the playoffs;

In 1991, Jordan had his second MVP, averaging 31.5 points, 6 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2.7 steals, 1 block, and won the first championship in his career;

1992, Jordan's third MVP averaged 30.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 2.3 steals, 0.9 blocks, and won the second consecutive championship;

In 1996, Jordan's fourth MVP averaged 30.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, opening the second wave of three consecutive championships;

In 1998, Jordan's fifth MVP averaged 28.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.5 blocks, and scored the sixth championship in his career, completely winning the title.

In 2001, AI's only MVP, averaging 31.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.3 blocks, and failed in the finals;

In 2008, Kobe's only MVP, averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.5 blocks, and also failed in the finals;

In 2018, Harden averaged 30.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks, and stopped in the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs.

That is, except Jordan, no shooting guard can win the MVP year - of course, there are only Jordan and Kobe.

So Alexander, the real test has just begun.