In sports, a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests. Initially used in professional sports, the term is now also commonly used in amateur sports, as well as in other completely unrelated fields of endeavor such as business and music awards.

The term "Most Valuable Player" is typically only used in Canada, the United States and South Korea. In many sports, some MVP awards are presented just for a specific game or match (in other words, a man of the match award), while others are awarded based on an entire season or year. The gender neutral term "Player of the Match" is usually substituted for "Man of the Match" in women's team competitions.

Specific North American examples include (first regular season, then playoffs):

• Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, World Series Most Valuable Player Award, and League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award
• National Football League Most Valuable Player Award and Super Bowl MVP Award
• National Hockey League Hart Memorial Trophy (regular season) and Conn Smythe Trophy (playoffs)
• National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award and Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Award
• Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award and Women's National Basketball Association Finals Most Valuable Player Award
• Major League Soccer MVP and MLS Cup MVP

One award is commonly referred to as an "MVP" award, despite the fact that its official name does not match the "MVP" initialism:

• NCAA Basketball Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award

In the Australian Football League, the AFL Players Association awards a "Most Valuable Player" award now known as the Leigh Matthews Trophy, voted by peers and considered by many observers of the game to be more indicative of the Best and Fairest player than the Brownlow Medal. In the Canadian Football League they also have the CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award (regular season) and the Grey Cup Most Valuable Player (playoffs). The Philippine Basketball Association also awards its own Most Valuable Award.

Non-sports uses

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences makes "Most Valuable Player" awards annually in a number of instrumental categories.

MVP is often used in business to designate a valued employee. In this context, sometimes the "P" in "MVP" is something other than "Player." So, for example, Microsoft uses MVP to mean Most Valuable Professional. The term is applied to recognized, credible, and accessible individuals with expertise in one or more Microsoft products who actively participate in online and offline communities to share their knowledge and expertise with other Microsoft customers.

It is also used in video game terms, such as the game Call of Duty 4 contains challenges to kill the "MVP" of the opposing team a certain amount of times and Halo 3 to mean the person with the highest score or amount of kills. In Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift an MVP title is awarded to a character at the end of each battle based on how well they performed the role of their job.

It was also used in a Disney Channel Original Movie, MVP: Most Valuable Primate.

See also

• Athlete of the Year
• Player of the year award

References

1. See for example 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Final