In what has possibly been the first March when the NBA has trumped college basketball, the hotly contested race for a Western Conference playoff spot has only been matched by the equally murky debate over this season’s most valuable player.
I’ve gone back and forth from one player to another throughout the months after the All-Star break, and with just over two weeks left in the season the choice isn’t any easier. The field, however, as I’ve concluded, has been whittled down to four contenders: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James and Chris Paul.
Now, KG has restored legitimacy to the Boston Celtics in less than a year—an almost unfathomable notion a couple seasons ago—completely transforming everyone on their roster. His intensity, particularly on defense (the main reason for the Celtics’ success), has been infectious even to teammates who aren’t especially known for their defensive prowess (i.e. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce). That’s why the Celtics continued to win when Garnett was sidelined with an abdominal injury. However, also during that stretch where KG was out of commission, his MVP campaign lost some steam while other contenders seriously picked up their games—like LeBron James.
Since the All-Star break, LBJ has put up Oscar Robertson type numbers. He has been so insane this year that spectators now expect him to post 30-8-8 every time out. If he doesn’t, it’s almost considered a mediocre game. That’s how amazing he has been. And that’s not even mentioning his defensive improvements, though still sporadic, and the fact that he’s been the best clutch player in the league this season. Despite his otherworldly statistics, however, I begrudgingly still can’t shake the .554 winning percentage (record of 41-33), in the lowly Eastern Conference no less. I realize his supporting cast sucks (even the new one after the trade) and LeBron having the Cavs playing this well is in itself a mammoth achievement, I can’t—with a clear conscience—give the MVP to a player whose team didn’t even win its own division. I didn’t think Kobe deserved it a couple years ago when he, while scoring a million points a game, had a horrendous Lakers team hovering around .500; same logic hear.
So, with KG’s injury-induced loss of steam in his argument and LeBron’s lack of team success, it’s a two man race between Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, both of whom have been consistently excellent on winning squads.
25 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Lebron ain't Michael Jordan!
Kobe owns Lebron. Lebron fears Kobe.
Lebron will not surpass MJ and Lebron will not surpass Kobe.
Kobe is 29 years old, yet he still dominates Lebron in every single time!
LEBRON JAMES SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe ain't Jordan too.
LeBron ain't Kobe and Jordan because he's gonna better than them
LeBron would never fear Kobe.
Because LeBron always destroys Kobe when they have head to head match-ups.
Last game Cavs at Lakers.
Cavs won.
Bryant: 33 pts,12 rebs, 6 ast
Lebron: 41 pts, 9, 4 ast, 2 stls
Bryant tried to stop lebron, but he was taken to school. Lebron just scored on him at will.
Bryant can't win the game for his Lakers because he was defended by lebron. Cant even get off a shot. lol
Kobe sucks. He cant win without Gasol or Bynum. He's like a baby crying for help when he's doesnt like his teammates. lol
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
above me, you will eat those words come next season.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I believe Kobe is the MVP. There are two sides of the court, and Kobe is one of the best defenders in the league, and quite possibly the best perimeter defender. Chris Paul gets steals based on gambling the passing lanes, but his man to man defense is horrible. Sure he gets assists, but that's what a PG is supposed to do. Should we name it the MVPG?
Chris Paul has also had a healthy team the majority of the season. With 2 allstars in David West and Chandler playing great all year. Kobe has never played with all his starters together once this season, NOT ONCE. Bynum has been injured for months, Mihm all year long, Gasol out 3 weeks, and Ariza has been out 2 months as well. Kobe is also been playing with a finger that needs surgery, yet he put it off so his team wouldn't fall out of the playoffs (as it would if he was not playing).
I think Kobe has had a much better year when you analyze it, both on defense and offense (as he has made all his teammates better) and the adversity he has faced this year with injuries to him and his teammates proves to me that Kobe is easily the MVP...also the Lakers after so many injuries are only 1.5 games from 1st place.
Kobe is the MVP when one looks at it objectively without bias. Kobe is a polarizing athlete, but truth is truth. This is his year, and it would be ashame if the medias hate for this man comes into conflict with the proper vote.
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
You put forth some good arguments. But here's my rebuttal.
As I wrote in my article, Kobe is the most skilled baller in the league and possibly it's best two-way player (though Tim Duncan has a decent case). I don't think any rational person would deny that. But, in my opinion, the MVP isn't given to the most outstanding player; it's given to the most impacting player. And under that general criteria, Chris Paul is the MVP.
Watching CP3 play, you can see that he doesn't just get assists (which he does--prolifically). Stats are merely numbers that never fully tell the story. No, Paul breaks down defenses, rendering them unsure of whether to collapse and defend against his scoring ability or stick to their man. If they collapse, Paul never ceases to find the open player; and if they stick to their guy, Paul is almost unstoppable one-on-one. He has an answer for whatever a defense throws at him. His grasp of the game on offense is nearly complete, and no one makes their teammates better. So no, Paul doesn't just get assists.
You claim that Paul has had his team intact all season, which is true; but the only all-star on his side is David West (Chandler has never been an all-star). The fact that West, who benefits greatly from playing with Paul, was never selected until this year is tangible evidence of how Paul makes others around him better. Kobe doesn't quite have the same effect on his teammates as CP3. Kobe's main game-changing threat to opposing teams is more singular--his scoring (though he is a very good passer). Both have dominated this season in very different ways, but I feel that Paul's dominance has been slightly more all-encompassing.
In the end, what really does it for me is if you replace Kobe and Paul with relatively decent players at their respective positions, I think the Lakers--who probably have the best bench in the league--ultimately fare much better than the Hornets.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
"but the only all-star on his side is David West (Chandler has never been an all-star)"
Peja is also a 3 time all star. Despite what everyone seems to believe the only all star besides Kobe on the Lakers is Gasol who made it only once a couple of years ago. Odom, Fisher, Bynum and the rest have never even come close to making it. and Chandler may not be an all star but hes on the olympic team
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
I'll give you peja, but he's far from his all-star days. And I still credit his semi-resurgence (if you can even call it that) to Paul's penetration which gives him a lot of open threes. As for Tyson Chandler, if it wasn't for Paul's effectiveness in the screen and roll and his picture perfect alley-oops, Chandler would be a one trick pony.
And though Odom has never been an all-star he's definitely more talented with a vastly more versatile skill set than anyone on the Hornets. I also still maintain the Lakers have a better overall supporting cast, with much greater depth.
Additionally, while I see the likes of Tyson Chandler, David West and Peja benefiting directly from Paul's play, I can envision many of the Lakers' players thriving--as much as role players can--without Kobe's presence. Mainly because I see the Kobe's main game-changing threat as being more singular--his prolific scoring. Not to say that he's one-dimensional. Far from it. But it's what opponents fear most. Simply put, as dangerous as Kobe is as a scorer, he doesn't improve his teammates as much. But the threat of CP3 is his scoring prowess and his ability to create for others, thus having a greater impact, albeit slightly, overall.
But when everything is said and done, i'm not going to be upset if Kobe wins the MVP. He's just as deserving as Paul, Garnett or LeBron. I simply think Paul has been the single most indispensable player in the league this year.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe & CP showdown next friday. One game to decide the MVP. Lakers will be playing at home but will be on the 2nd night of a back to back. Hopefully everyone will be healthy by then
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
"I also still maintain the Lakers have a better overall supporting cast, with much greater depth."
Ok the lakers have a better supporting cast WHEN theyre healthy, but that hasnt been the case this season. Bynum alone has missed 40 games and counting. Pau has missed 10 since he joined the team. Radmanovic has missed 17, not to mention Ariza and Mihm who have only played about 20 games each. Compare that with the Hornets whos starting 5 have missed a COMBINED total of 22 games only. So ok, on paper the Lakers are better but the reality is that until they get all those guys healthy enough to play together theyre nowhere near as good as people think.
Consider this: the Lakers have gone 11-9 in games where neither Gasol or Bynum played. Other teams could have easily dropped below .500 in games without their main big men but the Lakers still managed to post a winning record in these games. Kwame or Turiaf started at center and played extended minutes in these 20 games and they still won. Now who do you think kept the Lakers afloat during these games? (I bet some wiseass is going to say Odom or Fisher) Id like to see how well Chris Paul and the Hornets would do in 20 games without West and Chandler.
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
When I say better supporting cast, it also includes the players beyond Pau, Bynum and Odom. It extends to the likes of Fisher, Walton, and even Sasha and Farmar. So when Bynum and Pau went out of commission, the Lakers' "fall" was cushioned by their bench's play. Not to say Kobe didn't play any part in it; the bench merely made Bynum and Pau's absence less catastrophic. With the Hornets' reserves, Paul doesn't have the benefit of a cushion and has a lot less with which to work.
And I, too, would be interested in seeing New Orleans play without West and Chandler for a bit, that would be telling and make this argument a lot shorter. And you may be right in your implication that they wouldn't do as well as the Lakers' mark of 11-9 without Bynum and Pau. But again, this hypothetical scenario links back to overall supporting cast. The Hornets don't have an Odom or Walton or Fisher to step up. No doubt Paul would maximize the play of whoever is in the game, but no one on the New Orleans roster has the potential of the aforementioned Lakers players.
So, to finish, what I'm saying is this: without Kobe and Paul, respectively, I'd take even a banged up Lakers squad over a healthy Hornets team.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Attention to the Laker "team injuries" theorists:
Lakers are 5-5 without Bynum and they are 5-5 without
Bynum/Gasol. They are a .500 team without those two.
That's WAY out of the playoff picture in the West and
even below the baby Blazers.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edit Comment Cancel
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kobe fears LeBron.
LeBron owns Kobe.
Kobe won't surpass MJ but LeBron has now surpassed Kobe.
KOBE BRYANT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
To the idiot who keeps going to every MVP article on the internet saying the Lakers are 5-5 without Bynum...get a clue man. Bynum has been out for 3 months now. In that small brain of yours try to understand that the Lakers play more than 10 games in 3 months. What a loser you are.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe Bryant deserves MVP:
They are 1 1/2 games back of New Orleans (1st place).
They Lakers are only one game worse at home than New Orleans
The Lakers are one game worse on the road than New Orleans
They Lakers have a better division record and they have the exact same record against the Western Conference.
The Lakers have a larger margin of victory than the hornets.
I think any reasonable person would look at the results of all this and conclude that the Hornets and Lakers are roughly a similar quality team.
BUT: Pau Gasol has been a Laker for 31 games. That means he's been on the roster for about 41% of the Lakers season so far (31/75). He's missed 12 games. The 10 starting at New Orleans and ending with Washington. And he's missed 2 games where he was a Laker but hadn't been acclimated to the system (Toronto, Washington). So he's missed 12 of those 31 games or 39% of the games he's been a Laker.
So look at that. Pau Gasol has been a Laker for over 40% of the Lakers' season, but has missed over a third of the games he has been on the roster.
Andrew Bynum has been on the roster all year. He has played 35 games this season. That means he has missed 40 games! He has missed 53.3% of the season!
The Lakers have played 20 games without either Bynum or Gasol in the lineup. That's 26% of the Lakers season! To put in perspective, that's over a quarter of the Lakers' NBA season with almost no frontline.
Now look at the Hornets:
David West has played in 68 of 74 games. That means he's played in 92% of New Orleans' games so far.
Tyson Chandler has played in 71 of 74 games. That means he's played in 96% of New Orleans' games.
Peja has played in 69 of the 74 games. That means he's played in 93.2% of New Orleans' games.
That would be enough to put the Lakers injury situation into context versus New Orleans, BUT WAIT, there's more.
Peja missed games on 12/9, 12/12, 12/15, 12/17, 12/19
Tyson missed games on 11/21, 2/6, 2/9
West missed games on 1/5, 3/5, 3/7, 3/8, 3/16, 3/17
What is interesting here is that of Paul's top 3 supporting players NONE OF THEM EVER missed a game on the same day. Not once. Ever. It happened to Kobe for over a quarter of the Lakers' seasaon (20/75). It NEVER happened to Paul.
Yet the Lakers are only 1 1/2 games back from first in the West.
And you say Bryant isn't the MVP compared to Paul? Now that's laughable.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
"Attention to the Laker "team injuries" theorists:
Lakers are 5-5 without Bynum and they are 5-5 without Bynum/Gasol. They are a .500 team without those two. That's WAY out of the playoff picture in the West and even below the baby Blazers."
ABSOLUTELY WRONG.
Before the arrival of Gasol they were 6-4 in games without Bynum. Since Gasol joined the team the Lakers are 5-5 in games without Bynum and Gasol. So for the entire season the Lakers are 11-9 in games without either big man. A winning percetage of .55 may not be enough to get in the playoffs but its still respectable considering the absence of their main big men. I would love to see how many other teams, if any, could post a winning record without one, let alone 2 of their main big men. I wonder how well the Hornets would do without West or Chandler, the Spurs without Duncan, Utah without Boozer or Okur, Phoenix without Amare or Shaq.
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
You honestly can't compare Bynum and Gasol to Duncan, Boozer or Amare. The latter play significantly greater roles on their respective teams. I see what you're trying to say, but the analogy isn't quite balanced.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Some of you are acting like the Hornets OWNS the West. Cmon they lead by 1.5 games, thats almost nothing. Theyre lucky that the Lakers and Spurs have had all those injuries. If not for those injuries there is no way the Hornets would be leading the West. If the Lakers and Spurs were able to stay as healthy as the Hornets they would be approaching 60 wins by now.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Kobe's not going to get MVP purely for his image.
How does it look like if the MVP of the NBA is involved with a rape scandal? Even if it wasn't rape, it most certainly was adultry. It may not be criminal to commit adultry but it's not exactly the kind of role model you'd want for your kids.
What kind of image are we setting for young basketball fans if we make the MVP someone of that morale caliber?
Anyways, that's just my 2 cents. I know people get emotional about these kinds of things but in the end, basketball skills don't count for everything in a basketball player -- there's things like class, attitude, and character that separate the good basketball players from the true Greats.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
MJ and Magic were guilty of adultery too but they are still considered basketball gods. Most sport fans dont care about players personal lives, its only what they do on the court that matters. Whether its morally right is something else, but in general sports fans can separate these two aspects.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
The NBA has 2 awards for "role model" players: the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award which "honors an NBA player or coach for outstanding service and dedication to the community" and the Sportsmanship Award which "honors a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court -- ethical behavior, fair play and integrity." The MVP is for entirely something else.
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Chris Le about 1 year ago
The anonymous poster six posts up provides a pretty good breakdown of the Lakers' injury situation. And also shows that the Hornets have been healthy all year. But I'm still not swayed that Kobe is the MVP.
Kobe most definitely has to be credited for keeping Los Angeles afloat, but as I've stated before, you have to also give some props to their bench, which is possibly the best in the NBA. Kobe has a lot more to work with. Consider the stats provided in this link:
http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/08/7/diffeff/1-1
The Lakers' bench is 7th in points per game and 5th in efficiency, while the Hornets are 30th and 29th respectively. The New Orleans bench is almost non-existent.
And taking into account that Paul has a greater ability to make those around him better (particularly the starting rotation), CP3 has been more irreplaceable than Kobe this year.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Chris Paul's MVP acceptance speech: "Id like to thank Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol and Tony Parker for this award. Without their injuries the Hornets would not have been able to win the conference with the barest of margins which was the only reason why I was even considered for this award in the first place."
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