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Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Although the NBA does not name a postseason MVP outside the Finals, the playoffs just wouldn't be the playoffs if we didn't rank the most meaningful contributions from the league's best stars.

Much like the regular-season honor, our postseason ladder has a subjectivity problem. No concrete set of criteria can be used to determine what constitutes an MVP.

Evaluations will vary by person. Some still want to hero-worship the best player on the best team. Others consider MVP pecking orders a discussion about indispensability, or about which stars have drastically exceeded expectations.

For others still, this is a matter of identifying the best players who have waded through the most adversity. Anecdotal context is big by this measure. Key injuries and poor showings from critical co-stars prop up those arguments.

Our official trip down Unofficial MVP Lane seeks to juggle it all, from the anecdotal to the analytical to the glaringly obvious. Only one rule is set in stone: Candidates must come from teams that are still hooping. Everything goes after that.