Stewie should be MVP

[SCspur]

Wilson isn't half the player Stewie is and she's not the MVP on her team. That would be Gray. Without the ridiculous shots Gray seems to be able to consistently make, LV doesn't come close to beating Seattle. From my perspective Wilson commits too many offensive fouls that don't get called.

The foul she committed on Gabby near the end of last night's game should have been a flagrant not a common because she had no hope of defending the ball. She was clearly going for Gabby's head. Fortunately Gabby got her with a good shot to the mouth in return. Perhaps if that foul had been called a flagrant on Wilson the result might have been different.

But in the end Seattle missed too many shots at the beginning of the 2nd half, Sue included and Lloyd tried to do way too much on her own.

This post screams sour grapes. I mean A’ja did play all but 4 minutes of the series and in the 3 games the Aces won she averaged 30 ppg, 12 rpg, 2 bpg, and 1 spg. Gray balled out of her mind but A’ja is Vegas ONLY low post scorer lol how can you discredit her?

As to the foul on Gabby, Gabby made contact first so both should’ve been accessed a common foul.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I've never been a big A'ja fan, though I don't dislike her personally. Early in her pro career, it seemed that she got the benefit of many calls and scored primarily in close going to her left and at the FT line. But I have to give her credit for several things: improved fitness, improved defense, improved shooting and shooting range, improved right hand. She is now a complete player. I think it's clear that A'ja and Stewie are the 2 best players in the world currently and the core of Team USA.

I saw the World Cup in Tenerife in 2018. Though A'ja was playing well in the WNBA, when she ran into a team (Australia) that had beef and toughness, she struggled. They forced her to her right and double-teamed her. Usually, a forced shot or turnover was the result. I want to see her in this year's World Cup. I think she will show the same type of improvement that Stewie did between 2014 and 2018.

 

[Chax]

Both Stewie and A'ja were more than deserving of MVP. They are easily the two best wbball players in the world right now. Everyone is allowed their opinion/preference on who should've been chosen as MVP. All I know is that I'm happy they are both part of Team USA.

 

[gold2323]

But.......... the playoffs have nothing to do with the MVP. That decision is done done!

Yes I am aware of that but the reference is for the whole season and more importantly that she is always clutch in big games….that is her modus operandi throughout her playing careers.

 

[hoophuskee]

I expected the vote to be close, as it was. I thought Stewie might win because of her superior scoring. But Wilson had better defensive stats, and her team won 4 more games.

Stewart had better advanced stats for Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Rating. What defensive stats was it that you think showed Wilson better? Defensive rebounds and blocked shots? You put those ahead of advanced stats? Or what else?

As far as her team winning 4 games- 4 games isn't that much in terms of winning more games is a team stat. Four games shouldn't be a factor. Or at least it shouldn't matter vs Stewarts owning nearly all the offensive stats and overall teh combined advanced stats while splitting the defensive stats. Four games as a team stat shouldn't trump that.

 

[hoophuskee]

To say Wilson isn't half the player Stewart isn't looking at the entire picture. Look at their numbers for the season. Wilson outperformed Stewart on the defensive side of the ball to go with her offensive numbers.

I'm not arguing with you about Stewie vs Jones though imo it should've been Stewie. Heck some years that Jordan and LeBron didn't get it they should have. But again just as I asked Milford Husky- what defensive stats are you referring when you say Wilson had the better defensive stats? According to Basketball Reference Stewart is superior in Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Rating. The only thing I can think is that you are using Blocked shots and Defensive Rebounds for Defense. Not arguing, - but what else on the defensive side?

And if you are, those are a subset of the Danced stats. In that case, Stewart would be both superior to Wilson in both offensive and defensive categories- and as a result that is why Stewie is also ahead of Wilson with PER and Win Shares.

So they gave the award to Wilson because her team won more games. Unless you have other Defensive Stats or Overall Stats? I'm not a big fan of PER but add that up with Win Shares and all the Offensive stats and the Advanced Defensive Stats, the award to Wilson seems like a gift to me because they wanted “Others to Eat” though heck Wilson is one super tremendous ball player.

 

[cancontent]

I'm not arguing with you about Stewie vs Jones though imo it should've been Stewie. Heck some years that Jordan and LeBron didn't get it they should have. But again just as I asked Milford Husky- what defensive stats are you referring when you say Wilson had the better defensive stats? According to Basketball Reference Stewart is superior in Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Rating. The only thing I can think is that you are using Blocked shots and Defensive Rebounds for Defense. Not arguing, - but what else on the defensive side?

And if you are, those are a subset of the Danced stats. In that case, Stewart would be both superior to Wilson in both offensive and defensive categories- and as a result that is why Stewie is also ahead of Wilson with PER and Win Shares.

So they gave the award to Wilson because her team won more games. Unless you have other Defensive Stats or Overall Stats? I'm not a big fan of PER but add that up with Win Shares and all the Offensive stats and the Advanced Defensive Stats, the award to Wilson seems like a gift to me because they wanted “Others to Eat” though heck Wilson is one super tremendous ball player.

I'm not sure why Jones is being brought into the discussion. My opinion is based on the overall stats, not the advanced stats. They're great but sometimes people rely on them too much (e.g. your comment on PER).

Their numbers for 2022 regular season numbers were close in most categories. It's like a photo finish at the end of a horse race. Stewart won the AP award while Wilson won the Defensive award. It could easily have been the reverse.

SEASON	TEAM	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OREB	DREB	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG

2022	LVA	36	36	30.0	50.1	37.3	81.3	1.8	7.6	9.4	2.1	1.4	1.9	1.7	2.1	19.5

2022	SEA	34	34	30.9	47.2	37.9	83.7	1.4	6.2	7.6	2.9	1.6	0.9	1.3	2.1	21.8

Apologies for the alignment. Unable to adjust it.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewart had better advanced stats for Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Rating. What defensive stats was it that you think showed Wilson better? Defensive rebounds and blocked shots? You put those ahead of advanced stats? Or what else?

As far as her team winning 4 games- 4 games isn't that much in terms of winning more games is a team stat. Four games shouldn't be a factor. Or at least it shouldn't matter vs Stewarts owning nearly all the offensive stats and overall teh combined advanced stats while splitting the defensive stats. Four games as a team stat shouldn't trump that.

I was going by rebounds and blocks, not any advanced stats. I would think that 1 or 2 wins shouldn’t make a difference, but 4 wins could be a tie-breaker.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm not sure why Jones is being brought into the discussion. My opinion is based on the overall stats, not the advanced stats. They're great but sometimes people rely on them too much (e.g. your comment on PER).

Their numbers for 2022 regular season numbers were close in most categories. It's like a photo finish at the end of a horse race. Stewart won the AP award while Wilson won the Defensive award. It could easily have been the reverse.

SEASON	TEAM	G	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	OREB	DREB	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PF	PPG

2022	LVA	36	36	30.0	50.1	37.3	81.3	1.8	7.6	9.4	2.1	1.4	1.9	1.7	2.1	19.5

2022	SEA	34	34	30.9	47.2	37.9	83.7	1.4	6.2	7.6	2.9	1.6	0.9	1.3	2.1	21.8

Apologies for the alignment. Unable to adjust it.

I meant Wilson not Jones. But the stats you just provided me- okay you are adding steals. I see now "3 vs 2."

Secondly, I agree about PER. But when you combine PER and Win Shares, then it's two advanced stats one needs to close their eyes to vs "their gut" of who they think more valuable.

Third- which is why I said Stewart should've gotten it - the steals, defensive rebounds and blocked shots as far as I know would be subsets of Defensive Win Shares and/or Defensive Ratings which show Stewart superior.,

Thus for me Stewart was the superior defensive player. And the combo of Win Shares and PER (not just one but both) sort of highlight her superiority. But again both are super so all-in-all no big deal. But imo the stats do show Stewart superior though very close.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

I am a Aja fan but also a big one of Stewie, who could be the best I've ever seen. When looking at the MVP list, I see DT and Maya each have only 1 award. Granted Maya left the game earlier than expected but it's weird to think about this. Sue also has zero.

The definition of MVP depends on who gets asked but I've thought maybe the UConn greats are just so good, some voters have taken their greatness for granted. There are players who have put together better overall seasons when looking at that singular year but only 3 MVPs total for the four UConn players who dominated the game? It's a little baffling.

I think there are good cases for both Stewie and Aja. They are the two best players in the game right now and expect that to be the case for sometime.

 

[Billineckz]

I am a Aja fan but also a big one of Stewie, who could be the best I've ever seen. When looking at the MVP list, I see DT and Maya each have only 1 award. Granted Maya left the game earlier than expected but it's weird to think about this. Sue also has zero.

The definition of MVP depends on who gets asked but I've thought maybe the UConn greats are just so good, some voters have taken their greatness for granted. There are players who have put together better overall seasons when looking at that singular year but only 3 MVPs total for the four UConn players who dominated the game? It's a little baffling.

I think there are good cases for both Stewie and Aja. They are the two best players in the game right now and expect that to be the case for sometime.

Maya Moore only having 1 MVP is ridiculous. She should have 'At The Least' 2.

 

[cancontent]

@hoophuskee - I see where you're coming from. If it's come across that Stewart didn't deserve it if she won, that wasn't the intent. I'm saying Wilson has a good case from my perspective. Your breakdown wasn't based on emotions, which is how the post I replied to came across.

@MSSportsGuy - WOW regarding UConn only having 3 MVP winners total. Baffling is a polite way to put it. My response couldn't be posted on this board.

 

[ucbart]

I am a Aja fan but also a big one of Stewie, who could be the best I've ever seen. When looking at the MVP list, I see DT and Maya each have only 1 award. Granted Maya left the game earlier than expected but it's weird to think about this. Sue also has zero.

The definition of MVP depends on who gets asked but I've thought maybe the UConn greats are just so good, some voters have taken their greatness for granted. There are players who have put together better overall seasons when looking at that singular year but only 3 MVPs total for the four UConn players who dominated the game? It's a little baffling.

I think there are good cases for both Stewie and Aja. They are the two best players in the game right now and expect that to be the case for sometime.

I've said this 1000x. I've heard grumblings that the WNBA media people have a very real anti-UCONN bias and I believe this could be part of it. I'm sorry, but A'Ja Wilson, in her 5th year in the league, already has more MVP's than Stewie, Maya and Diana? That's just not something I can wrap my brain around.

 

[baggerbob]

Pretty sure New York is in the works for her and Lloyd.

Not really happy if she goes there, with all the talent Sandy had in Phoenix, only 1 title.
Minnesota has a pretty good nucleus, and adding Stewie, Ezi, maybe Loyd, with a great coach, you have a very good team.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Wait, Loyd is one of the few players actually under contract for the Storm next season. Why does everybody have her leaving?

 

[cancontent]

Not really happy if she goes there, with all the talent Sandy had in Phoenix, only 1 title.
Minnesota has a pretty good nucleus, and adding Stewie, Ezi, maybe Loyd, with a great coach, you have a very good team.

The question regarding Stewart is the new prioritization rule. This could be a large wrinkle to some who get paid much better when they're overseas. In her case, not sure what makes the most sense.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Once again, people here are forgetting Tina Charles. She was WNBA MVP in 2012.

Maya should have won the MVP in 2013. She did win it in 2014, but Candace Parker surprisingly won in 2013.

 

[baggerbob]

Wait, Loyd is one of the few players actually under contract for the Storm next season. Why does everybody have her leaving?

She would be well advised to get out of that situation through a trade.

 

[UConnCat]

As only Sue can say it

 

[Billineckz]

Not really happy if she goes there, with all the talent Sandy had in Phoenix, only 1 title.
Minnesota has a pretty good nucleus, and adding Stewie, Ezi, maybe Loyd, with a great coach, you have a very good team.

Lol. Minnesota's coach is not a Great coach. Anybody could win Championships with Maya Moore and the rest of the Hall of Fame players she had on those teams.

 

[Blueballer]

Wilson MVP huh? Baloney. She wasn't even the leading scorer on her own team let alone the WNBA.

 

[cancontent]

Lol. Minnesota's coach is not a Great coach. Anybody could win Championships with Maya Moore and the rest of the Hall of Fame players she had on those teams.

Man, how are Whelan, Fowles, Augustus and Brunson just the "rest"?

 

[baggerbob]

Man, how are Whelan, Fowles, Augustus and Brunson just the "rest"?

And Sandy had Bonner, Breland, Griner, Dee, and Penny Taylor and won 1 Title.
Stewie playing for her would not be a good move.

 

[cancontent]

And Sandy had Bonner, Breland, Griner, Dee, and Penny Taylor and won 1 Title.
Stewie playing for her would not be a good move.

Sorry, I'm not sure on what you mean. My reply wasn't about Coach Reeves.

My reply was in regard to Whelan, Fowles, Augustus and Brunson being referred to as "the rest". Considering their impact on the game, regardless if you're a fan of them, they're not just "the rest" of the team in my opinion.

 

[baggerbob]

Sorry, I'm not sure on what you mean. My reply wasn't about Coach Reeves.

My reply was in regard to Whelan, Fowles, Augustus and Brunson being referred to as "the rest". Considering their impact on the game, regardless if you're a fan of them, they're not just "the rest" of the team in my opinion.

Sorry thought you were trying to compare.
Reeves has proven to be a great coach, won 2 tittles without Big Stl, whereas Sandy only had 1 with all that talent.