https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972%E2%80%9373_NBA_season#NBA_awards

Was this controversial at the time? Did Cowens win more by being the best player on the best team or was his season transcendent enough to surpass those achievements. Was Tiny Archibald just seen as someone who put up empty stats on a crap team?

Also interesting is Wilt’s final season still leading in rebounds and 4th in MVP with his (only) 2nd All Defence selection

Nicktrod

64 | 13 hours ago

36 wins and 46 losses.

LordBaneoftheSith

16 | 11 hours ago

Genuinely almost half of the wins Cowens team had

BaseballJohn89

56 | 13 hours ago

MVPs pre-1979 are often times a bit questionable because players voted for them. Tiny Archibald should have finished second and Kareem first imo, but Kareem already won twice in a row so the players might have been a bit reluctant to give it to him a 3rd time in a row.

p_pio

11 | 10 hours ago

Untill late 60s I wouldn’y consider its as questionable. Players played each others ⁸⁄₁₂ times a season, they knew each others well. It’s journalists who at the time were less reliable, as televised games were rarities and travelling would be costly.

That being said expansion by the end of the 60s to 17 teams strongly hampered strong point of reward being player based as number of games naturally halved. So the quality of insight dropped.

Still in 1973 Cowens and Hondo led Celtics to still best record in franchise history (better than any Russell or Bird team). So Celtic winning wasn’t bad choice, Havlicek would be imo better choice (primary scorer, playmaker, good rebounding and arguably best defender on the team) but Cowens winning it wasn’t really that controversial.

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

2 | 3 hours ago

The questionability with the 60s is the reason you said, players knew each other well and that impacted voting. Wilt dropped 50 PPG but didn’t win MVP because of his reputation.

DamnAssLittleDatty

27 | 13 hours ago

There were 18 MVPs before Cowens. 16 of them were big men. Oscar won dominating all sectors of the game including rebounding like a big. Bob Cousy was the only small guard who had won MVP before the Tiny/Cowens season, and he was the most exciting and transformational player in between Mikan and Wilt.

So it’s safe to say in 1972, an All Star big who didn’t make 1st All NBA was still seen as vastly more valuable than a guard who put up novel stats on a mediocre team.

ScratchTwoMore | Raptors

8 | 11 hours ago

But why not one of the first-team bigs then?

DamnAssLittleDatty

10 | 9 hours ago

Bill Russell has more MVP awards (5) than 1st Team All NBA selections (3).

The distinction between “Most Valuable Player” and “best player” was clearer back then.

In 1972 it was clear Kareem was the best center in the world. He won MVP the previous season and was an easy selection for 1st Team All NBA.

The Celtics won 68 games in 72, and Cowens’ effort level was insane. That’s why they awarded him MVP

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

Bill has more MVPs because that was player voted and All NBA was media voted.

DamnAssLittleDatty

1 | 3 hours ago

The media was unlikely to vote for Wilt anyway

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

1 | 3 hours ago

Except that they literally voted him to 1st team that season over Russell

DamnAssLittleDatty

1 | 2 hours ago

Except that was literally viewed as a consolation prize.

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

1 | 2 hours ago

According to what?

LordBaneoftheSith

3 | 11 hours ago

was still seen as vastly more valuable than a guard

And they were probably right.

DamnAssLittleDatty

1 | 9 hours ago

I think the best player on every title team from 1960 to 1972 was the center.

ProofPush3841 | Mavericks

2 | 4 hours ago

I mean yeah if you win 36 games it’s gonna be tough beating a guy that won 68…

Significant-Jello411 | Heat

1 | 7 hours ago

Scrappy white player on a way better team

KCTritz | BOS

0 | 12 hours ago

Lol. Even being one of the weaker MVPs in NBA history, Cowens deserved it more than Tiny Archibald that season.

In 1972-73 Tiny Archibald led the league in both points and assists (34.0 & 11.0) yet finished behind in MVP voting to Dave Cowens who didn’t make the 1st team All-NBA.