by being clearly better than Casper or Josh B, or Prather, obviously the next Oz player into the NBA, provided they offer a decent contract. ( lol)

He's er, um , like , AMAZING !

Pretty simple imo. Goulding was better than Prather in the wins, and individuals on winning teams will get the votes.

So when Prather was United's best was when there would've been Adelaide players in front of him. When CG was United's best he would not have had Adelaide players in front of him.

Plus today it was Goulding who got them rolling early and had Adelaide on the back foot. Prather made sure of it with a great second half

Goulding won mvp because Melbourne is a fabricated landmass, dreamed up by the Japanese and Soviet Union during the Cold War in an effort to secure fishing rights. I think LK in his true lizard form is behind the whole thing.

LK wants CG back in Melbourne next season, he is the one who made it happen

I would've given it to Casper. I said before the series and all throughout that he was the key to Melbourne's chances and he showed that to be accurate again tonight. I think CG can heat up for a quarter better than anyone but Casper paced United for 4 quarters again and he remains the barometer. When he fires, United wins and when he struggles United loses.

But it was a well deserved MVP by CG. He was my second choice. His ball handling, shot selection, on court demeanour and defense have improved. A little special spot in my heart alongside Barlow- the two remaining Tigers people. Alongside Vickerman of course.

What a three by Barlow too.

Oh dear....

Shapeshifter...

I think it's been well established that most Tigers people are mortified at the thought that Melbourne United are the continuation of the Melbourne Tigers. Technically and on paper at least though, they are.

I'm not feeling the United vibe as much myself. I'm stoked they won, but I'm already home. If this was Tigers I wouldn't have re-appeared in my neighborhood until drearily wandering into 7 Eleven at 7pm tomorrow night for a Powerade and some panadols.

Still, let's indulge in blasphemy and call it Tigers/United for a moment.

Where does Goulding rate in the Pantheon after tonight? Where is he in the history books?

I think the top 4 of this/ these great franchise/franchiseS pick themselves.

But you could easily make a case for CG43 at number 5.

Of the other contenders for #5, one of them walked right past me in the food aisle tonight with one of his many sons- who is also known to Tigers/United family. One still works for United in some capacity although I'm not sure exactly what. One's Canadian.

It's probably those 3 and CG in some order for 5-8.

For me Goulding was 2nd behind Prather in the series, but can see the logic that Goulding was better in the wins, but Prather was better in the losses and still good in the wins, resutling in more votes for CG43

Ware for me didnt do much in Game 4, and shot below 40% in both game 4 and 5, and very few assists, and scored less than Prather and Goulding overall, not a MVP for me, so glad Goulding won

How did he win the award? It is beyond common sense. He had some big early 3s tonight, but beyond that the entire series Prather has easily impacted the game in each game either offensively or defensively compared to Gouling. Gouling didn't remotely play defense. Unless wearing a bandaid like Nelly circa 2006 is considered defence.

Melb deserved that game though, but Gouling didn’t deserve the award

I think it's been well established that most Tigers people are mortified at the thought that Melbourne United are the continuation of the Melbourne Tigers. Technically and on paper at least though, they are.

koberulz if they don't then why did they show all the previous championship efforts for Tigers and Melbourne at the game on the big screen plus also y’all it up on the mic?

The retired Tigers jerseys hang at Hisense and the championship banners.

They continued the Tigers license. Or created a new artificial license and still own the other one. Six of one, half dozen etc

But they also lay claim to every other Melbourne club through rivalry round.

So, in Larry's history books the most recent 5 game series was between Melbourne United and Melbourne United...

It's all a bit confusing really. I certainly don't feel like they're the new Tigers. They're a super franchise who became a legit franchise tonight. But it's interesting to talk about Tigers/United as one for historical discussions like this one

The retired Tigers jerseys hang at Hisense and the championship banners.

Goulding a deserving winner.

Alternatively the refs.

Poor Prather. Better consistent player for united and lost his Larry By someone who just hit a few shots. Potty defence doesn't come into the equation because Prather closed down his opponent tonight. Our only points were coming through whoever had Goulding or aware guarding them.

Melbourne with a title could be sold easily, especially given the AFL interests. I think LK will move bubbles to Brisbane because that side is about to be in the same place they were 5 season ago

How could Ware win MVP shooting @ 35% for the series? United won this series at half time in game 3.

Ware shot 42% in wins.

As I keep saying, The GF series was emblematic of United's season, where Ware shot 41% or so in wins and about 31% in losses.

No one's going to remember games 2 and 4. Not Melbourne people, anyway. Maybe not even Adelaide people. At a minimum, the games that caused the result were 1, 3 and 5. United won the championship so it makes sense to me that the guy who's most responsible for winning them that title wins the MVP. For me that's 1. Ware. 2. Goulding then 3. Prather.

Ware was United's best in Game 1. Teams who win Game 1 rarely lose the series.

Prather had a strong series, for sure. Improved as the series went on. Put the doubts to bed about whether he fits with this team. Got plenty of steals, worried the opposition by attacking the basket hard. nicely done. I'd be happy having him back.

LV you are aWARE that it s best in grand finals award.

But why do you think the Norm Smith has been won by only 4 players from losing teams in 40 years?

Why is the NBA MVP virtually never won by anyone whose team wins under 50 games?(until Westbrook).

In sport, value is primarily shown by winning. Those most responsible for their team's success are most valuable.

..most likely goulding shot the most points in the 5 games ... i would think......

It had to be between Goulding & Prather really. Ware didn't have a good series. I probably would've gone with Prather but Utd need to try and keep Goulding so.

Yeah, If there were 3 guys in the mix (or 2 as most of you think) then it makes sense to choose the Aussie guy who is the face of your franchise and a bigger part of the NBL brand.

Goulding missing in action too often to even be considered, despite being G5 player of the match.

For mine, toss up between Tai Wesley (most consistent over series) or Prather (steadiest performer).

FWIW, Prather shaded Goulding in all statistical categories across the series. They played almost the same minutes. Prather shot more consistently. Goulding's shootign improved over the last 2 games.

Goulding had 2 good quarters that affected the way the games unfolded - the 3rd quarter in Game 1 and the 1st quarter in Game 5. Prather just played at the same level through out the series.

This is the first series for a while where there really was no player who seemed to take the series over or to be the standout MVP.

Goulding was solid in all 5 games and his first half in game 5 sparked the team and the crowd - game winner. Prather a close 2nd.