May 8, 2008...9:14 pm
Does Kobe Bryant Deserve the NBA’s MVP?
The NBA MVP is Kobe Bryant. Winning it over LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett. Lakers fans vouch for Kobe’s performance during the regular season and the Lakers’ top seeding in the Western Conference echelons for the playoffs. He scored, he passed, played effective defense, made the team better in other facets, etc. But, as I was saying on SportsAttitude’s blog, it could have been given as part of the lifetime achievement gig.
LeBron James of the Cavaliers posted up around 8 RPG and 7 APG, with 27-28 PPG on 48.4 percent from the field. Kobe Bryant, for the first half of the year, posted excellent numbers all-around and the Lakers still played at a high level. When the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol, the team became even better and so did Kobe. But that’s not diminishing Kobe’s performances. That’s just adding a level of frustrating on LeBron’s part where he has received less than stellar help in Cleveland. Ben Wallace’s big contract? Check. Wally Szczerbiak’s streaky shooting? Check. Delonte West’s missing layups? Check. Now do you understand the big picture? The speculation that Kobe had better numbers last year is sort of laughable. He’s taken what? Three less shots this year and, with better teammates, vastly improved his all-around game and sharpened it. Not to mention last year his team won 42 games and were beaten to death out of the first round by Suns.
Kobe deserved the MVP, but what about LeBron James? What about Chris Paul? If LeBron had somehow willed the Cavs over top of the enthralling Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference, would this award have been further influenced by LeBron’s part? What if New Orleans had stood atop the Western Conference instead of the Lakers? Would that have supported Paul’s case? It’s difficult to say, folks, but I think you can make cases for both. And that’s what I’m going to do. Hypothetically speaking.
The Lakers finish second in the Western Conference in seeding, with the Hornets sitting at the top of the Western Conference perch, does CP3 receive the MVP award to ensconce it behind all his other basketball achievements?
Kobe was ahead in the MVP voting for a while, I think. Or in my mind anyway. The reason why is because I talked to a lot of sportswriters (who had the highly vied-for ability to vote) who were talking about him being a lock for the MVP. Remember the Lakers/Mavericks game, which I think went to overtime, about a month or two ago? Kobe hits an insanely whacked up layup, Dirk hits the 3 to tie the game, and Kobe puts on a show in overtime to put it away? Remember that? I think that could have had a lasting impact on this decision. But I digress. Chris Paul’s had a year that no other 3rd-year player that I’ve seen in a loooooong time has had. It was definitely not a one man show in New Orleans this year, but Paul prolonged the effectiveness of the team by making it so much easier for the Hornets to stretch the court. However, you have to remember that when you have a healthy Peja Stojakovic bombing 3’s, a healthy David West impacting the game [quietly to casual fans], and, of course, Tyson Chandler bouncing back from last year. He played a little bit with the U.S. team during the summer and, if you ask me, that made him a more confident player. It’s easy to notice in his style of play. So, Paul didn’t do it alone this year, definitely not; but his impact was well noted, and if you would have gave the MVP to him, I don’t think anybody would have detested it.
Say the Boston Celtics don’t have as good of a year as they’ve had the Cavaliers manage to be in first in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs, or at least second — considering the Celtics do have the same type of year. Does this affect LeBron James or does it just give Kevin Garnett that much more credibility than before?
Look at it this way — LeBron James has next to nothing on his team. Now, that may be a statement that might bite me in the ass, because Daniel Gibson is nothing to talk down to. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will give you the occasional solid performance (for how long, though?), and you’ll have the rest of the shooters on the team shooting well. But what do you do when shooting is locked up and you can’t get your teammates involved any more than you have already (LeBron easily does that, though)? They still have Ben Wallace’s ridiculously large contract (and tonight, as we speak, as the Celtics take on the Cavs, he’s sitting out of the game due to dizziness. I hope he’s OK, but that just further argues my point alone). Don’t be a homer, don’t tell me that LeBron has a decent supporting cast, because that’s not true, and we all know it. Cleveland has had five seasons to get him some help. Entering the 6th LeBron season in Cleveland, it’s well known that Cleveland has made a sorry effort to get him help. They gave him a couple of shooters, a Drew Gooden who’d rather post up a defender and turn around for a chipping, bricking fadeaway, and a Larry Hughes who didn’t fit well in the Cavs’ system, or, as I like to say, didn’t enjoy playing Robin to LeBron’s Batman.
Kobe deserves the MVP award, but if you think about it, can you really say that it was a true award, or do you think it was a lifetime achievement? I’m going with the lifetime achievement route. Again, reiterating, I’m not denigrating his performance this past season, but if it was me I would have handed over the award to Chris Paul or LeBron James, two guys who have just as much, if not more [of] an impact on their team as Mr. Bryant does. But, to each his own. Kobe Bryant is the MVP, and if the Spurs lose, I can only hope that Paul puts on a show against the Lakers and throws it back into these MVP voters’ faces.
3 Comments
May 8, 2008 at 9:33 pm
Amazing post. I agree that Paul, if the Hornets beat the Spurs, will toil with the Lakers, though it will be a great series to watch.
By the way, I love the banner. If your blog makes it to the top of wordpress I bet it’s going to be part of it. It’s probably the best I’ve ever seen! Awesome combo too….Jackson, Pujols and Duncan! Awesome!
May 9, 2008 at 3:09 pm
[...] Troy’s Thoughts on Sports questions whether Kobe deserves the award. [...]
May 16, 2008 at 7:52 pm
I agree with James on the banner, Troy. Very nice indeed. And as for CP3, thanks for the link and you know where I stand on this. The guy IS what MVP means. I know Kobe’s one of the best ever to play the game. I just sincerely take the meaning of the award literally and don’t think he was as valuable to the Lakers as Paul to the Hornets, no slight to Bryant whatsoever.
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