Both the NFL and NBA give out awards at the end of the season.
One of the most prestigious awards is the MVP or Most Valuable Player award.
When someone receives a unanimous MVP award, then you may wonder what means and if it’s prestigious.
Here’s what you need to know about MVP awards and their meaning.
What Does Unanimous MVP Mean?
A unanimous MVP means that the entire panel involved in the voting process voted for that person.
In the NFL, there are 50 people on the voting panel.
This means that all 50 people voted for that player to receive the MVP award.
That’s extremely hard to do, especially in sports where everyone has their favorites.
Only one NFL player has ever received a unanimous MVP award.
In the NBA, there are several different MVP awards.
The most prestigious is the Finals MVP.
This award goes to the player who demonstrated great ability, leadership, and support of their team which resulted in their victory during the NBA Finals.
Eleven people sit on the panel to vote for the Finals MVP.
If a player receives a unanimous MVP award, then it means all 11 people on the panel voted for that player to be MVP.
While it’s not as difficult to receive a unanimous Finals MVP award in the NBA as it is in the NFL, it’s still an incredible honor.
While receiving an MVP award is already difficult to do for some players, receiving a unanimous MVP award is even more difficult.
It’s an incredible honor and demonstration of the player’s skill level.
Who Votes For the MVP Award In The NFL?
Considering that the panel that votes for the MVP award for the NFL is 50 people, you may wonder where those 50 people come from.
The 50 voters come from the Associated Press.
They partnered with the league in 1961 to vote for the best player based on the entire football season of that year.
They’re journalists and sports reporters who have an understanding of the players as well as their performances throughout the year.
The press keeps a close eye on player performances since they have to report on them regularly.
Only those with a long history in sports reporting make up the panel, however.
When the voting occurs, each panel member goes over the performance of every player they believe qualifies for the MVP award.
Then they place their votes.
Whoever receives the most votes gets the MVP award.
Because the panel consists of 50 members, it’s rare for any single player to receive the award multiple times.
Only those players who are one of the greats can boast several MVP awards.
Fewer still have a unanimous MVP award.
Who Votes For The NBA Finals MVP Award?
The Finals MVP for the NBA has a larger selection of people.
They don’t all come from the Associated Press, for example.
Instead, the panel which makes up the 11 people who vote for the award comes from various reporting industries, sports broadcasters, and sportswriters.
They’re all part of the media, however.
When the finals are over and the winning team is official, the 11-person panel comes together.
They go over the team’s performance throughout the year, then vote on who should receive the award based on their performance.
While their performance throughout the whole season is certainly considered, the panel primarily considers their performance during the Finals.
The player with the most votes from the panel wins the Finals MVP award.
Who Votes For The MVP Award?
The MVP award is different from the Finals MVP award.
One can think of the Finals MVP award as the most prestigious award with the MVP award just below it.
The MVP award fell into the hands of a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters at the start of the 1980s.
The panel consists of members from both the United States and Canada.
They vote on the player they believe gave the best performance throughout the year but not necessarily the best performance in the NBA Finals.
This means that even if a player’s team didn’t make it far into the Finals, they might still qualify for an MVP award.
Voting for the MVP award also changed in 2010.
The NBA gave the ability to vote for the MVP award to NBA fans.
At the end of the season, NBA fans can vote for the player they believe showed the best performance and leadership during the season.
The panel then takes all the results and announces the player with the most votes.
Whoever received the most votes gets the MVP award for that season.
Who Votes For the All-Star Game MVP Award In The NBA?
The All-Star games have their own MVP award, too.
At the end of the All-Star games, the players decide who they believe was the MVP for the series.
Like the other MVP awards, a panel of media members then goes on to decide the winning player.
This also ensures that it isn’t a popularity contest among the players.
There can be a lot of difficulty for panelists during the All-Star MVP selection.
That’s because the game features most of the top talent of the NBA.
With the help of the players, they decide on which particular player showed the most skill and gave the best performance for the series.
Who Votes For The Rookie Of The Year Award In The NBA?
One of the oldest awards in the NBA is the Rookie of the Year award.
It goes to the first-year NBA player who showed incredible performance and stats during their first year with the NBA.
Like the other awards, a panel of media members puts the vote forward.
They select three rookies that they believe deserve the award.
Then they all come together and decide on one.
When the award first started, there was a rule about how many rookies who could receive a nomination.
The rule stated that only five rookies could be nominated.
They wanted to try and limit how many rookies were nominated by simply having good luck at the start of their careers.
This made the media members focus on the actual performance and abilities of that player.
That rule eventually got tossed away in 2008.
It removed the limit on how many rookies could receive the nomination.
As such, there are usually quite a few nominations, but each of the panelists focuses on three before selecting one.
Whoever gets the most votes among that selection receives the Rookie of the Year award.
Who Votes For The Defensive Player Of The Year Award In The NBA?
A lot of attention tends to go to the offensive players in the NBA since they’re the ones scoring the points.
However, they wouldn’t be able to score as many points as they do without the defensive players to back them up.
In 1982, the NBA wanted to do its part to recognize the important role that defensive players have in the game.
It’s helped NBA fans root for defensive players almost as much as offensive players.
To give them the recognition they deserve, they created the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
This award is given every year to the defensive player who performs the best for that particular year.
To decide who wins the award, the NBA puts together a large panel of sportswriters and broadcasters who covered the games.
In total, the panel consists of 124 members.
When it comes time to vote, the panel votes for the particular defensive player that they think deserves the award.
With such a large panel, it’s unlikely that they’ll ever receive a unanimous vote.
Who Votes For The Coach Of The Year Award In The NBA?
The NBA also has an award to recognize its coaches.
The award got started in 1962 after Red Auerbach led the Boston Celtics to an incredible series of wins.
Between 1950 and 1966, the team won nine NBA championships.
He also won a trophy in 1956 while he was coaching the St. Louis Hawks.
However, it was with the Boston Celtics that he earned the most NBA awards.
The NBA wanted to award coaches who showed particular skill and leadership with their team and other NBA players.
They’ve continued to give the award to this day.
The way they vote for who will win the award has changed over the years.
At first, the NBA had two sportswriters who worked in each NBA divisional city to count the votes.
In 1969, they broadened it to other media writers who could count ballots.
Essentially, a team of sports media writers chooses who the best coach was for that particular year.
Who Votes For The Executive Of The Year Award In The NBA?
Besides coaches and players, the NBA also wanted to recognize the role that executives play in the game.
They decided to establish the Executive of the Year award in 1973.
Initially, only the league officials decided who should earn the award.
However, it has since changed to incorporate the 30 executives, themselves.
They vote amongst themselves to decide who worked the best with their staff, coaches, NBA players, and other teams.
The executive who receives the most votes earns the Executive of the Year award.
Who Votes For The Most Improved Player Award In The NBA?
Playing basketball professionally isn’t easy.
Players are among the best and play against the best.
Most new players start out a bit weak but then grow as they gain more experience.
The NBA wanted to recognize the growth that some players have established between the seasons.
That growth doesn’t just happen.
It requires countless hours in the gym and on the court training and practicing and growing stronger.
The NBA created the Most Improved Player Award during the 1985–1986 season.
The award winner is selected by sports media writers and broadcasters from both the United States and Canada.
They come together and vote for the players they believe deserve first place, second place, and third place.
The player who receives the most votes for first place earns the Most Improved Player award.
Who Votes For The Sixth Man Of The Year Award In The NBA?
A final award that the NBA gives out every year is the Sixth Man of the Year award.
It recognizes a player who gave incredible off-the-bench contributions to their team.
The NBA started to give this award out in 1983 and has continued to award it since.
Like the other awards, a panel is selected to vote for players.
NBA sportswriters and broadcasters come together to come up with the top five players they believe deserve the award.
They then vote for the particular player for first place.
The player who receives the most votes from the panel wins the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Who Votes For The Coach Of The Year Award In The NFL?
The NFL doesn’t only have the annual MVP award.
The Associated Press has a large number of awards that it gives out every year during Super Bowl week.
One of those awards is the Coach of the Year award.
The award goes to the coach who performed the best and worked the best with their players and other NFL teams throughout the season.
To determine who wins the award, the Associated Press brings together 50 sportswriters in various media formats.
They vote for the single coach they believe deserves the award instead of voting for first place, second place, and third place.
The coach who receives the most votes receives the Coach of the Year Award.
The coach who has received the most Coach of the Year awards is Don Shula.
He received four during his career while he coached the Baltimore Colts and the Miami Dolphins.
There are two coaches behind him with three awards each.
Those coaches include Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick.
Who Votes For The Offensive Player Of The Year Award In The NFL?
The Offensive Player of the Year award goes to the offensive player who performed the best during the NFL season.
Not only did they make the most moves, but it might also mean that they scored the most points or assisted others who then scored points.
The Associated Press’s panel comes together and votes for the offensive player they believe deserves the award.
Like the other awards, they vote on a single player rather than voting for first, second, and third places.
The offensive player with the most votes earns the award.
While the Associated Press presents the award at the NFL Honors program, they’re not the only ones who give the award.
The Pro Football Writers of America and Sporting News also give out Offensive Player of the Year awards.
The NFL recognizes them as well.
It’s possible for a player to receive an award from all three organizations.
Both Earl Campbell and Marshall Faulk have the most Offensive Player of the Year awards.
Each earned three during their careers.
Who Votes For The Rookie Of The Year In The NFL?
The Associated Press started the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1957.
The award recognizes a player who started their first year with the NFL and showed incredible performance during that season.
The rookie usually showcases incredible talent and sportsmanship.
The Associated Press uses their 50-person panel to determine who the best rookie offensive player was for that particular year.
The same goes for the Defensive Rookie Player of the Year award.
They didn’t start giving out this award until 1967.
The award goes to the rookie defensive player who showed incredible talent and skill on the field.
They also use their 50-person panel to decide who receives the reward.
Conclusion
Both the NFL and NBA have a series of awards that certain players receive each year.
The most prestigious of those awards is the MVP award.
In the NFL, the Associated Press vote for the player who most deserves the award.
In the NBA, a series of sportswriters and broadcasters decide on the MVP winner.
If all voters decide to vote for the same player to win the MVP award, then they have a unanimous vote.
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