With Victor Wembanyama in the MVP debate, despite being the third horse in a two horse race, and Bam Adebayo scoring 83 points against the Wizards, a most irritating element of sports debate has reared its ugly head. Emmet Ryan on why we need to quit it with the asterisk talk.
Simone Fontecchio’s historic night has sadly been overshadowed. His work, with the help of Bam Adebayo, to record a combined 100 points between them for the Miami Heat in their win over the Washington Wizards has been struck with the dreaded asterisk talk. Granted it may have been more about Adebayo’s contribution.
Meanwhile Victor Wembanyama has entered the NBA MVP debate as a serious contender, despite the contest seemingly having Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic far ahead of all comers. Were the Alien to win it for the San Antonio Spurs, there’s no doubt the asterisk talk would come in short order. It’s silly, it’s pointless, so let’s get to it.
A rare upside to insomnia
Having suffered from extended insomnia around 15 years ago, let me tell you that it’s nothing to laugh about. Still, having a rare dose of it the other night didn’t hurt. Staying up for a midweek low relevance regular season game between the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards isn’t the norm for me.
Yet as I looked at my phone, the updates kept coming in. The first quarter, then the half, then the third, and it was on. Bam Adebayo was in the high 70s when I finally stuck on NBA league pass (headphones on so as to not wake my flatmate). I caught the moment, the celebrations, and, yes, the method of it.
Here’s the thing, free throws are part of the sport. Kobe Bryant’s 81 involved him shooting all 13 of the Lakers’ free throws in the fourth quarter and 13 of their last 17 field goal attempts. Wilt Chamberlain’s 100, had the Philadelphia Warriors actively speeding up the game by letting the New York Knicks score quickly. When history is at stake, players will adjust their game. It may not be aesthetically pleasing but it is part of the game.
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As for Victor Wembanyama
Wemby’s entrance into the NBA MVP conversation is a little bit different. The two front runners seem clear. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is, at the time of writing, potentially hours away from holding the consecutive 20 point game scoring record outright. Nikola Jokic has been doing Jokic things all season.
SGA however must appear in 11 of the remaining 16 games for the Oklahoma City Thunder (likely) in order to be eligible for the award. Jokic has far less wriggle room, only able to miss one more game this season. Wembanyama can only miss three more so he’s far from a cert but still expected to get over the line. Cade Cunningham incidentally has the most breathing room of the top five contenders, having already played 57 of the needed 65 games this season.
Yet were Wemby and Cunningham would be seen by some observers as meriting asterisks next to their names were they to win it. This despite the fact that the award isn’t meant to recognise the objectively best player alive but rather the best player over the course of the 82 game regular season. The amount of games you appear in should matter when it comes to judging the body of work.
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It’s part of the game
Basketball Reference currently gives Nikola Jokic a 60.4 per cent probability of winning NBA MVP, followed by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on 30.8 per cent. There’s then a huge drop to Luka Doncic on 2.9 per cent, Cade Cunningham on 2.1 per cent, and Victor Wembanyama on 1.6 per cent. Granted, Zach Harper has made a strong argument that Wemby’s case should be stronger.
Still, let’s assume Wemby gets to 65 games along with Cunningham while SGA and Jokic fall short. A Luka Doncic win in any circumstances based on this season would be a debate of its own around how the Lakers function. Would that really be so bad? Could you honestly hold it against either man? The award is meant to reflect their impact on the regular season and both have been extraordinary in that regard.
As with Bam Adebayo’s free throws, which I’ll get back to shortly, it’s not like anyone went into this season not knowing about the 65 game rule. It may be flawed but that isn’t the debate for this year’s award. It’s about who best fits the full criteria come season end. That includes the mandatory parts.
Back to Bam
I honestly didn’t know about Simone Fontecchio’s contribution meaning he and Bam Adebayo as a duo hit 100 until yesterday afternoon when I got up (insomnia always comes at a cost). While he scored a lot of free throws, it only really got silly in that respect in the game’s latter stages when history was on the cards. For the most part, he played conventional basketball and it was at a high level.
Yet there was the immediate urge to qualify it. Here’s possibly one of the most likeable players alive today, who is statistically great on D yet also does far more of the non-recorded stuff that’s vital, and him being the one to hit unreal heights in scoring seemed to bother people. Can we not just enjoy something cool?
There was a time that taking a lot of threes was considered odd too, never mind that the three-point line has only existed for less than 60 per cent of the NBA’s history and 35 per cent of the sport’s. When someone breaks Bam’s mark and, indeed, Wilt’s the three pointer will be a factor. Bam got 21 of his points from deep after all. Nobody will be crying out for an asterisk then. Let’s not waste time doing so now and just be happy that a cool thing happened, especially in a game that otherwise wouldn’t have mattered.
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