An Examination of NBA MVP Voting Behavior: Does race matter?

B. Jay Coleman; J Michael DuMond; Allen K Lynch

doi:10.1177/1527002508320653

An Examination of NBA MVP Voting Behavior: Does race matter?

B. Jay Coleman, J Michael DuMond, Allen K Lynch

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The selection process of the most valuable player (MVP) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was recently questioned as to whether African-American players were treated unfairly based on their race. Using NBA voting data from the 1995-2005 seasons, we develop two empirical models in order to examine the role that a player’s race plays in the determination of this award. Our estimates imply that after controlling for player, team, and market characteristics, there is no statistically significant effect of race on the likelihood that a player will appear on an MVP ballot or on the number of votes he will receive.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	606-627
Number of pages	22
Journal	Journal of Sports Economics
Volume	9
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1527002508320653
State	Published - Dec 2008

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous)

Keywords

Discrimination
Basketball
Tobit
Probit

Disciplines

Business
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

Access to Document

10.1177/1527002508320653

Cite this

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title = "An Examination of NBA MVP Voting Behavior: Does race matter?",

abstract = " The selection process of the most valuable player (MVP) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was recently questioned as to whether African-American players were treated unfairly based on their race. Using NBA voting data from the 1995-2005 seasons, we develop two empirical models in order to examine the role that a player{\textquoteright}s race plays in the determination of this award. Our estimates imply that after controlling for player, team, and market characteristics, there is no statistically significant effect of race on the likelihood that a player will appear on an MVP ballot or on the number of votes he will receive.",

keywords = "Discrimination, Basketball, Tobit, Probit",

author = "Coleman, {B. Jay} and DuMond, {J Michael} and Lynch, {Allen K}",

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AB - The selection process of the most valuable player (MVP) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was recently questioned as to whether African-American players were treated unfairly based on their race. Using NBA voting data from the 1995-2005 seasons, we develop two empirical models in order to examine the role that a player’s race plays in the determination of this award. Our estimates imply that after controlling for player, team, and market characteristics, there is no statistically significant effect of race on the likelihood that a player will appear on an MVP ballot or on the number of votes he will receive.

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