Here is a list going back to the 90-91 season. The MVP is listed and then their team's record out of the entire NBA, East and West. *Note that I counted ties, so if two teams both ended up with the best record I counted that as a #1.
Year MVP Team Record Rank
06-07 Dirk Nowitzki #1
05-06 Steve Nash #4
04-05 Steve Nash #1
03-04 Kevin Garnett #2
02-03 Tim Duncan #1
01-02 Tim Duncan #2
00-01 Allen Iverson #2
99-00 Shaq O'Neal #1
98-99 Karl Malone #1
97-98 Michael Jordan #1
96-97 Karl Malone #2
95-96 Michael Jordan #1
94-95 David Robinson #1
93-94 Hakeem #2
92-93 Charles Barkley #1
91-92 Michael Jordan #1
90-91 Michael Jordan #2
You'll note that over the last 17 seasons the team with the best record produced the MVP 10 times or 59%. Thirty-Five percent of the time the MVP was on the 2nd best team. I can't explain how Steve Nash won while being on the team with the fourth best record, sorry.
However, it gets even more interesting if we look at the years when the team with the second best record had the MVP.
We'll start with the most recent and work backwards. Below is a list of stats for the MVP that year and then the stats of the BEST player on the team with the #1 record. (I threw in FG% because I know Jake loves it.)
[03-04] - Pacers have 61 wins, T-Wolves have 58 but KG won the MVP.
Kevin Garnett
Pts-24.2, Rb-13.9, As-5.0, 49.9%
Jermaine O'Neal
Pts-20.1, Rb-10.0, As-2.1, 43.4%
*Clearly KG had a much better year. MVP!
[01-02] - Kings have 61 wins, Spurs have 58 but Timmy won the MVP.
Timmy
Pts-25.5, Rb-12.7, As-3.7, 50.8%
Chris Webber
Pts-24.5, Rb-10.1, As-4.8, 49.5%
*This one is really close, but Timmy I think edges him out. MVP!
[00-01] - Spurs have 58 wins, 76ers have 56 but AI won the MVP.
AI
Pts-31.1, Rb-3.8, As-4.6, 42%
Timmy
Pts-22.2, Rb-12.2, As-3.0, 49.9%
*Timmy looks to have a better year but AI averages 31 ppg and wins All-Star MVP. This one is a toss-up I would say.
[96-97] - Bulls have 69 wins, Jazz have 64 but Malone won the MVP.
Malone
Pts-27.4, Rb-9.9, As-4.5, 55.0%
Jordan
Pts-29.6, Rb-5.9, As-4.3, 48.6%
*Malone has better stats except for PPG which he trails Jordan by 2 pts. Not to mention this is a fantastic year for Malone, and not such an impressive year for Jordan. Jordan probably looked "bad" this season when compared to some of his other amazing seasons.
[93-94] - Sonics have 63 wins, Rockets have 58 but Hakeem won the MVP.
Hakeem
Pts-27.3, Rb-11.9, As-3.6, 52.8%
Shawn Kemp
Pts-18.1, Rb-10.8, As-2.6, 53.8%
*Clearly Hakeem has a much better year than Kemp. MVP!
[90-91] - Blazers have 63 wins, Bulls have 61 but Jordan won the MVP.
Jordan
Pts-31.5, Rb-6, As-5.5, 53.9%
Clyde Drexler
Pts-21, Rb-6.7, As-6.0, 48.2%
*The Glide gets more rebounds and assists but Jordan scores 31.5 PPG, 10 pts more a game than Clyde! Not to mention he managed to score 31.5 PPG and shoot 54%! Craziness. MVP!
In conclusion, to pick an MVP it would seem you start with the team with the best record. If they have someone who had a career year and/or put up comparable numbers to the other guys in the running, you've got your man! If the team with the best record decided to play "as a team" and had no real superstar, look to the team with the second best record. If they have a superstar chances are he's bringin home the trophy.
You can safely choose the MVP from the team with the first or second best record as the MVP has come from one of those teams 94% of the time over the last 17 seasons.
