The Most Valuable Player is the pinnacle of individual accomplishment in sports, and a key distinguishing factor in establishing an athlete’s marketability. Using E-Score Celebrity, we looked at what separates the reigning MVP’s in Basketball, Football, Golf, and Baseball.

Sign up for our weekly research brief here and receive the latest research like this from E-Poll direct to your inbox.

• Among reigning MVPs Steph Curry is the most popular. His 50% Awareness score among sports fans is 2.5 times higher than the next MVP, Matt Ryan.
• Each of the reigning MVP’s are extremely appealing to sports fans, with all scoring above 50% for Appeal. Dustin Johnson comes in at the top with 74% Appeal.
• NL MVP Kris Bryant is the most Dynamic and Exciting reigning MVP. Additionally his Appeal score (72%) is 13 points higher than his American League counterpart, Mike Trout.

Basketball MVP’s (Hardwood Heroes)

MVPs often see an explosion in awareness and appeal from winning the award, like the reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry. With the 2017 NBA MVP race dwindling down to a two-man contest between Russell Westbrook and James Harden, we wanted to see how each of the current candidates stacked up against each other as well as Curry. Does one of these players have what it takes to be the next face of the league?

• Russell Westbrook’s 56% Appeal is 10 points higher than James Harden. However, both fall well short of Steph Curry’s pre-MVP Appeal score of 72% during the 2015 season.
• James Harden is more popular than Russell Westbrook, evidenced by his Awareness (37%) being 13 points higher than Westbrook’s. This is due in part to The Beard’s previous relationship with Khloe Kardashian.
• His 37% Awareness is also nine points higher than Curry’s was during his 2015 MVP season. Curry’s popularity shot up dramatically after his MVP win, increasing by 20 points. This year’s winner will have to wait to see if there is a similar effect.
• Russell Westbrook is currently considered as Talented (61%) as Steph Curry was before winning his first MVP award in 2015. Harden is considered slightly less Talented at 56%.

Takeaway

Understanding how milestones affect the viability of celebrities is important when looking for potential clients and brand partners. E-Score Celebrity helps brands and agencies understand the potential synergy with celebrity endorsers.

Sign up for our weekly research brief here and receive the latest research like this from E-Poll direct to your inbox.

Methodology

Lists were created using E-Score Celebrity data fielded after January 1, 2016.

Sports MVP list fielded among respondents who identify as “Casual” or “Avid” fans of the NBA, NFL, MLB, or PGA.

NBA MVP list fielded among respondents who identify as “Casual” or “Avid” fans of the NBA. List includes Russell Westbrook and James Harden outlined to indicate they are up for 2017 NBA MVP consideration. Stephen Curry is included for comparison, as he is the 2015 and 2016 NBA MVP. He is not in consideration for the 2017 MVP award.

Resources

Feel free to utilize these infographics in your social shares or other uses. To download, simply click the image and right-click, or pull the full sized image.