They're Playing Basketball (and you're voting)

Fans now have NBA MVP Vote
InsideHoops.com

The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that, for the first time ever, fans will have the opportunity to help determine the winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Through a dedicated Web page on NBA.com, fans can submit their votes for MVP, ranking their top five choices. The combined fan vote will count as one vote, with the remaining 124 votes coming from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.The 2009-10 NBA Most Valuable Player of the Year Award will be announced following the conclusion of the 2009-10 NBA regular season.

“The NBA Most Valuable Player award presented by Kia Motors is our league’s most talked about and coveted individual accolade, and Kia Motors is providing an incredible opportunity for our fans to have a voice in determining the winner of the award for the first time,” said Executive Vice President of NBA Global Marketing Partnerships Mark Tatum. “Kia Motors is adding to the honor of winning by continuing its effort to donate new vehicles to charity on behalf of all four 2010 NBA Performance Awards recipients and ensuring that each award will have a lasting impact in its respective community.”

I think this is a pretty good idea by the NBA. I would wager that what little support the NBA still receives it does so because the fans feel involved in the game. They're closer to the action than in any other major sport and they get to vote on important things - like All-Star teams. Plus, giving the fans one vote out of 125 isn't going to skew things too badly like it does in the All-Star game. It's not like the Chinese fans will be able to sabotage this thing and give the MVP to Yao Ming every year. So kudos to the NBA. Now they just need to cut the first round of the playoffs back to a best of five and everything will be a okay.