Counterpoint: Ricky Rubio is Timberwolves’ MVP
By Ben Beecken
The Dunking With Wolves staff voted overwhelmingly for Karl-Anthony Towns to be named Timberwolves MVP, but the real MVP is Ricky Rubio.
I’m not here to argue that Ricky Rubio is the best player on the Timberwolves. That title belongs to Karl-Anthony Towns, of course, and it isn’t close.
I’d also like to be clear that we’re going to steer clear of the MVP-doesn’t-mean-best-player argument in terms of league awards; that’s a testy one. But in terms of which player is most valuable to the team, well, that’s a different question to pose.
It really boils down to how the team might perform with or without a specific player on the court. And yeah, the ability and production of his backup will have a direct impact on just how valuable the player in question is to the team.
Which, of course, paves the way for Rubio to edge out Towns in this debate.
Once again, Towns is the best Timberwolf. But it’s nearly as obvious that, as of today, Rubio is the second-best all-around player. (No, I’m not entertaining the idea that Andrew Wiggins, as of the end of the 2016-17 season, is better than Rubio. And no, neither is Zach LaVine.)
We could cite any number of statistics (which are admittedly flawed when standing alone but provide valuable context) to paint a picture of just how solid Rubio was this season; he was second on the team in win shares per 48 minutes. Rubio also held the 11th-best Real Plus-Minus among NBA point guards — ahead of the likes of Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, and Jeff Teague.
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The word choice above of ‘solid’ was intentional; Rubio is not a superstar. (Therein lies one of the large-scale issues with the Wolves, by the way: their second-best player is merely a good, solid, above-league-average starter. Beyond Towns, there are no true stars to speak of.) But the drop-off between Ricky Rubio and his backups, which was primarily Kris Dunn in 2016-17, is significant.
Towns was part of a solid big man rotation that included Gorgui Dieng, a fellow starter but also a true center, Cole Aldrich, a fantastic per-minute big man who is only deployed when match-ups are ideal, and Nemanja Bjelica, a stretch-four with good rebounding skills who seemed to finally be figuring out the NBA game prior to a season-ending foot injury. Add in veteran Jordan Hill, who only saw the floor for garbage time in seven games all season, and the Wolves were stacked, albeit with average-ness beyond Towns, at the four and the five.
But in the back court, there simply wasn’t much behind Rubio. And other than hot streaks from Luke Ridnour and J.J. Barea, that has been the case throughout his Timberwolves career. It’s only accentuated just how much better the Wolves have played with the Spaniard on the court versus when he’s been seated on the bench or injured.
Another completely un-quantifiable characteristic that gives Rubio an edge over Towns for the team MVP award is his on-court demeanor and the obvious example he sets for his teammates. This oozes from his work ethic, as noted by Tom Thibodeau in his end-of-season press conference, as well as the way he commands the team on the floor. While nobody would question Towns’ leadership ability or will-to-win (he’s 21 years old, after all), Rubio is still the heart and soul of the squad and has been for quite some time.
In summary: Towns is the Wolves’ best player. Rubio is the second-best, but the unquestioned on and off-court leader. The drop-off between Rubio and Towns and their respective backups was significant enough to warrant my Timberwolves MVP vote going to Ricky Rubio.
Next: The Five Best Timberwolves Games In 2016-17
Of course, we can only wait and see for what KAT may have in store for us in 2017-18…