We learn from HoopsHype that Yi Jianlian is the 2012-13 MVP of the Chinese Basketball Association. Huzzah! Yi has made it!
Yi Jianlian wins Chinese league MVP award, which is not open to foreign players
Hurray! Yi Jianlian is the MVP! Wait ... he’s only the MVP because foreign players are ineligible? Well that seems fair.
Marc Lecureuil
Wait ...
Yi Jianlian has been named MVP of the Chinese League, where only local players can win the award.
Oh.
Can we retroactively put this rule in place in the NBA? American citizens only for MVP consideration. (Please ignore that basketball was created by a Canadian and that the NBA has a team in Canada. I'm trying to do something here.) So we can finally give the 2005 NBA MVP that Steve Nash won back to Shaq, its rightful owner. LeBron James can grab what should have been his first MVP in 2006 (sorry Nash!). Unfortunately, the deserving Dirk Nowitzki needs to give up his 2007 trophy. Nash was ridiculously the runner-up that year -- nearly a three-peat! -- so we'll go to third place Kobe Bryant. By virtue of winning the 2007 trophy, voters no longer need to grant him the 2008 MVP to cover their own arses, which means Chris Paul gets it. (Or Kobe can have two. I'm not picky.)
Consider that this rule might be in place solely so that Stephon Marbury never wins an MVP on any continent. The Illuminati goes hard.
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