A chant of "MVP! MVP!" breaks out at every Orlando Magic home game as the 2001-2002 regular season winds down. It is directed at Tracy McGrady and it is more than hometown bias.

The 22-year-old guard from Auburndale has emerged in his fifth NBA season as a legitimate candidate for the league's Most Valuable Player Award. He won't win it this year, but he will get plenty of votes from the panel of writers and broadcasters that determines the MVP.

"One of these years I'll get it," McGrady says. "But it's definitely a great feeling to hear the crowd cheering that." This year's winner is likely to be Jason Kidd, although the New Jersey guard does not have the solid consensus enjoyed by Philadelphia's Allen Iverson last season or Shaquille O'Neal of the Los Angeles Lakers the year before.

Kidd took a forlorn franchise from near the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the top in one season, an accomplishment dramatic enough to overshadow individual statistics.

McGrady himself endorsed Kidd as his MVP choice months ago.

It is, of course, a team game, and Kidd didn't accomplish anything alone. His team won all it could win during the regular season, and MVP votes are cast before the playoffs begin.

"If you look at my team, I really don't have another guy such as myself, like some of those other guys are playing with," McGrady said. "And I'm making these guys better. Jason Kidd has great players surrounding him."

Not since 1988 has a player (Michael Jordan) won an MVP award while playing on a team that didn't win its division. By tradition and convention, the MVP has become the most indispensable player on a first-place team.

"It depends on what you mean by MVP," said McGrady's coach, Doc Rivers. "If your team has to win the title or be one of the best teams, Tracy's not going to win it. But if you're talking about the most valuable player, Tracy should win it."

If the award were based on statistics, McGrady would have a strong case. He may finish the season as the only NBA player in the top 10 in scoring and also be among the top 25 in rebounding and assists.

He may have the most-impressive all-around game in the league and no team counts on any player more in the fourth quarter.

"Besides the points he brings to the table, he opens up the game for everyone else," said teammate Pat Garrity. "Our fourth-quarter play is Tracy starting on that left block and spreading the floor. Without him being able to get to the basket and draw defenders, it doesn't open up a lot of shots for everyone else."

It is no surprise that McGrady gets a lot of MVP support in Orlando. But he also gets plenty around the league.

"He's a level above. Because of his size, he's absolutely unique," Miami Coach Pat Riley said.

"Each time I see him, he appears to get better and I'm not just talking about scoring, I'm talking about the overall game," said New York Coach Don Chaney. "He's a very solid player and he is constantly improving. He does it all. He makes the team a lot better, but that's what superstars are for."

"What he does is legendary-type stuff," said Houston Coach Rudy Tomjanovich. "We've got some wonderful players in this league and he's right there near the top of the list."

Rockets guard Steve Francis had a 29-point game in Orlando on April 8, only to watch McGrady take over in the fourth quarter.

"He made them when they counted," Francis said. "I thought our defense on him was great all night despite how many points (22) he scored."

Teammate Darrell Armstrong says an MVP case can be made for McGrady, who "has been huge. He's learned how to lead this team now. He knows what to expect every day and what we're going to expect out of him every day."

They might even expect an MVP award next year. McGrady knows he will need more help for that.

"It's great just to be among the elite players in this league, to be nominated as an MVP," he said.

"The bottom line is winning," said Kidd after the Nets' overtime victory in Orlando Thursday. "No matter what numbers you have . . . I think this league has always been measured on winning championships and getting your team to the playoffs."

That'll be the last word for now. The winner of the award will be announced sometime during the late rounds of the NBA playoffs.