Kobe Bryant has always been my pick as MVP for this season, but Chris Paul was a close second.
On April 1st in Orlando, Chris Paul missed two free throws that, in my mind, clinched the MVP award for Kobe.
With the Hornets up by one with 6.8 seconds left, Paul had two free throws that would have at least guaranteed them overtime if Orlando was to make their next shot. Paul missed both free throws. Luckily for him, Keyon Dooling left his game winning jumper at home.
You can’t give LeBron the award because his team hasn't won enough games. Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant both have superb numbers and are key parts to their team, but Paul’s failure under pressure surely means Kobe gets the award.
Kobe has the edge over Paul when it comes to producing the goods down the stretch. Sure, Paul produced the game winning assist in their win against Cleveland, but how often can anybody find an open man at that stage of a game?
Personally, if I could choose anybody to take that game winning shot, it would definitely be Kobe Bryant. He can create his own shot better that anyone else in the league and has hit plenty of game winners in his time in the NBA.
For this reason I think Kobe is the MVP. This is the last season I see Kobe having any chance of getting the award, because LeBron James will only get better over the summer and will be unstoppable in 08-09.
28 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Anonymous about 1 year ago
Let's see... you're refusing to give the MVP to Paul because?... he missed two free throws??? Get real man, how about his overall (incredible) stats taking a playoff (un)hopeful candidate at the beginning of the season into a powerhouse in the highly competitive western conf. If he does it again and again not closing out games you'll have a point but you until then you might want to watch his last game against the Cavs...
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Akoma Rodriguez about 1 year ago
First of all this is a blog, not an article, you should expand on your thoughts a little more (i'm just trying to help). Secondly -- how can you possibly base the entire argument for MVP off of two free throw shots that Chris Paul missed? Kobe Bryant has missed his share of clutch shots as well, but this is not the MVCS (Most Valuable Clutch Shooter) award, so you can't base the argument on a single factor such as clutch shooting. Even with that said, just because Chris Paul misses two free throws in the final 25 seconds of a single game, does not mean that he is a bad clutch shooter -- that is only one scenario in 82 games of ONE season.
Do you know that Lebron James is averaging more clutch points (59.1) than Kobe Bryant (52.3) this season? If that were the criteria than Lebron James should win the MVP. Chris Paul is sixth in the league averaging 41.8, and he is a point guard, that's pretty good is you ask me.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
How about Kobe's incredible 30% shooting performances against powerhouses such as Charlotte and Memphis? Should we vote him out of the MVP race for that?? Two missed free throws?? Come on let's be serious...
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
His shooting average between those two games was 44%. Decent when you have double and triple teams flying at you.
But yes, this arguement is ridiculous.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I really think Kobe will go down as the best player to never win the MVP award. He has a good chance of getting a few more rings, but as far as this award, I don't think he'll ever get it. I really wish he would have the absolute perfect season, so nobody could find an excuse to not give it to him. (Averging 30/6/6, while leading his team to first place in the West) But I can see that this year Paul, Garnett and even LeBron are legitimately deserving of this award. So although Kobe is a major factor in this year's MVP, more so than years past, I still don't think that the majority of writers who vote have Kobe as their MVP. However if Kobe does not finish 1 or 2, then this award is a travesty (which it already pretty much is). I think Kobe will trade an MVP for championship any day.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I agree with this. I only wish that Orlando had made that last shot, so everyone could hear about how CP3 choked at the free throw line.
Kobe does more for his team, and would do more for any team, than any other player in the league.
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Tony Kukoc about 1 year ago
The think that Chris Paul is the most valuable point guard in the game today(but not that far ahead of Nash and Deron) but Kobe is the most valuable player. Kobe has been carrying a Laker team that has suffered too many injuries to it’s most important players and has been doing it the latter half of the season with torn ligaments in his shooting hand. Chris Paul’s team on the other hand has been relatively injury free( at least to it’s core players).
The result of this Chis Paul for MVP talk, really, is that not enough credit is given to the gigantic improvement the rest of the Hornets players have made in their game, particularly Chandler and West. I also think that the assist is the most overrated stats in Basketball because, in reality, it only deserves 20 to 25% of the credit for each made basket. Most of the assist given out in today’s game are to jump shooters and how hard is it to pass out a ball to somebody who is open.
Compare this to making a three pointer driving for a layup with two defenders hanging all over you. The most overlooked value that Kobe brings to a game happens when he is not even part of a play. A lot of the Laker offensive plays not involving Kobe that are successful are those where one or two defenders are completely out of position on the weak side sticking to Kobe.
The only knock on Kobe is how hard he seems to be on his teammates when they are not making plays. You did not see this when Magic was running the Lake show. He seems to lead thru intimidation rather than through encouragement.
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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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Akoma Rodriguez about 1 year ago
First of all this is a blog, not an article, you should expand on your thoughts a little more (i'm just trying to help). Secondly -- how can you possibly base the entire argument for MVP off of two free throw shots that Chris Paul missed? Kobe Bryant has missed his share of clutch shots as well, but this is not the MVCS (Most Valuable Clutch Shooter) award, so you can't base the argument on a single factor such as clutch shooting. Even with that said, just because Chris Paul misses two free throws in the final 25 seconds of a single game, does not mean that he is a bad clutch shooter -- that is only one scenario in 82 games of ONE season.
Do you know that Lebron James is averaging more clutch points (59.1) than Kobe Bryant (52.3) this season? If that were the criteria than Lebron James should win the MVP. Chris Paul is sixth in the league averaging 41.8, and he is a point guard, that's pretty good is you ask me.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Don't worry, New Orleans won't have the top seed. It will be either San Antonio or Los L.A. Lakers.
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John Graham about 1 year ago
i wouldnt be so sure of that. New Orleans is still at the top and dont look like having and end of season collapse but you never no. anything is possible in the western conferance.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
are you kidding me, u lakers fans have got to be the blindest in the world. chandley an allstar caliber player thats the dumbest thing i'v ever heard why dont you take a look at your own team pau gasol is head an shoulders better than west and peja and i'm not even going to insult the ex-grizlie by mentioning chandlers name in the same sentence. and what about lamar odom? hes a more an allstar than any of pauls team mates. i'm sorry but the whole hornets are a better team argument doesnt fly if your trying to argue that against the clearly better lakers cast. cp3 deserving of mvp.
and as my fav player is TMAC my argument is based on logic lakers fans not some inherent and ignorant bias!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
^ You are an idiot. Tyson Chandler is on Team USA, and one of the best rebounders in the game, while David West is an All-star. Peja is the best 3pt shooter in the game and an all star himself, who was an MVP candidate just a few years ago. There is nothing worse than someone who downplays his own teams players in order to prop up Chris Paul. You are what you call a groupie, with no logic. By the way, Pau has missed the last 3 weeks, and only played with the Lakers for 1 month this entire season so your logic is very flawed. Bynum has missed 3 months, and Ariza has been out as well. Kobe has lifted this team on his back to one of the best records in the league.
You are letting your hate for Kobe cloud your judgment, and that is pathetic.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
No player has ever won the MVP award on a team that has not won at least 50 games since the media took over voting in 1981, so that precedent has already been set; and the fact the Lebron plays in the weak East only proves that point as his team would not even make the playoffs in the West. The Lebron James for MVP Hype is not logical. The award is not based on offensive stat numbers, it never has been.
Kobe is the MVP.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
To the person talking about Lebron clutch numbers. That is the most asinine stat I have ever seen. Do you know why LBJ has better "clutch" stats this season? Because his team sucks and they are playing tooth and nail to the very end against garbage teams, while Kobe has sat out more 4th quarters because of blowouts this season than all of LBJ's career games combined. Context matters. It's hard to rack up "clutch" 4th quarter stats when you are too busy putting up 3rd quarter "clutch" stats on the way to killing teams. I'll take the latter.
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Akoma Rodriguez about 1 year ago
I can understand your point, but the clutch stats I referenced are calculated with specific criteria: 4th quarter, less than 5 minutes left, and neither team ahead by more than 5 points. This reduces error in the stats by excluding garbage time in blowout games. Nobody is claiming it is fool-proof, but it paints a better picture of who consistently performs well during the final minutes of a game and definately leverages the argument we are all trying to make here.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
I guess it's impossible to make an argument for Kobe as the MVP without looking like an inbred moron.At least I haven't seen one yet.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Akoma,
This is exactly the argument against this clutch stats. If a team is good and is consistently blowing out other teams, then they more than likely have a lead of more than five points in the last minutes of the game. Hence, no opportunity to pile up these stats. This was the case with the Lakers in the first 60 games of the year.
I give Lebron props, however, for being the most athletic player in the NBA ever. I don't think Kobe even compares when it comes to pure athleticism. Lebron is just a freak. This is why I kike Kobe's game. He's head and shoulders above everybody becasue of his skills.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
^ that guy is an idiot
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Chris Paul is this year's MVP hands down. I don't even understand the argument. How could anybody BUT CP3 win? Like it or not, Steve Nash won back-to-back MVP's. Chris Paul's numbers this year FAR surpass those of Nash's in those two years, and the teams had similar successes. This is coming from a huge Nash fan. CP3 blew Nash's numbers out of the water. Players average the kind of numbers Kobe has every year (28, 5ish, 5ish is not all that impressive, or uncommon). And I live in LA. I get to watch Kobe (and his plethora of idiotic shot attempts and career pathetic fg percentage) on a nightly basis. You know why people think he's clutch? Two reasons: 1) he takes so many stupid shots throughout the game (the bricks) that every game ends up being close when LA should have run away with them, and 2) you only hear about the clutch baskets. Nobody reports on the games they lose because of his final shot attempts. The story is winning, who cares about the losing shots from a superstar, right? So espn and the like show the good without the bad. KB has the lowest fg% of all the real candidates for MVP (lower than CP3 and LeBron), he does not lead in any single category, and isn't even the MVP of his team (best player on his team, yes, MVP, no). Look at the team difference since Pau arrived (and now look at the injured time as well). Pau is the Lakers MVP, despite his very short time in LA. CP3's numbers haven't been seen since the early 80's (I believe it was 84). Chris Paul is the MVP, it should be unanimous.
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Jason O about 1 year ago
saying Pau is the Lakers MVP is just stupid. Hes a great player and is contributing well but hes not the most valuable player in the Lakers team. Kobe is hands down the MVP of the Lakers and the NBA.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
chris paul don't "crack" under pressure... and yeah kobe should get MVP
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
to the moron that copy and paste, you should get a f*cking life. or change your line up a little all you do all day is comment on how kobe can't supass jordan and how lebron has surpassed kobe. while kobe is in the nba making hundreds of millions and your on bleacher reports commenting hopelessly hoping one day some idiot may agree with you. you giva us lbj fans a bad rep...
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Richie Dureau about 1 year ago
You have to be joking. You sway a top american league MVP award on two missed free throws? So if Kobe misses two free throws at the end of a close game he can't be MVP either? Lets just hope LeBron, KG, Dwight and Nash or any other top player don't miss two free throws at the end of a close game otherwise you'll have to give the award to Ben Gordon, who shoots over 90% from the line.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
this article is week
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Justin Damasiewicz about 1 year ago
I agree with pretty much everyone else here. It is ridiculous to base your MPV argument on 2 free throws Paul missed in a game they won anyway.
Is there more to your argument? Let's hear a legitimate reason Paul shouldn't be the MVP. Kobe seems to be the frontrunner, but it is definitely not a one horse race.
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Jason O about 1 year ago
You need to be able to count on your most valuable player to come up big in close games. Your MVP is the go to guy in the fourth quarter he needs to be able to hit crucial free throws. at least get one.
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John Graham about 1 year ago
Jason, I agree with you. you need to be able to rely on your best player to hit free throws at the end of a close game. has kobe missed 2 free throws in that situation before??
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