Dwight Howard: Crank Dat MVP

This year, the NBA's most valuable player will NOT be Chris Paul, and sure as hell won't be Kobe Bryant.  The 2008 NBA MVP is going to be Dwight Howard.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, Dwight Howard.

You may think I’m crazy for saying this, but don’t worry because I have legitimate reasoning behind my MVP vote.

With basically the same roster, the Orlando Magic, with the help of Howard, continue to be a playoff contender.  They haven’t lost any juice transitioning from 2007 to 2008. 

D-How is averaging 20.9 points per game, which is rather impressive for a man of his stature, and Howard’s athleticism tops others of his position.

On top of these impressive offensive numbers, Howard is grabbing 14.3 boards a game.  He’s doing exactly what he’s supposed to be doing.

Kevin Garnett, who is actually in MVP contention, is only averaging 19.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.  Now, Garnett is a power-forward, but Boston has 14 more wins than Orlando, and Howard still has better numbers than him.

KG will always be a great player, but Dwight Howard really belongs on the MVP voting ballot.  Not only does he deserve to be in the running, but Most Improved Player (MIP), should be in his favor too.

Howard makes quite the case for himself for the MIP award.

Last year, Howard only averaged 17.6 points and 12.3 rebounds per game.  He also improved defensively, as his blocks per game went up from 1.9 to 2.2.

He is also really crashing the boards and helping his team out.  Last season, he averaged 8.86 defensive rebounds a game.  He's brought that up to 10.85 per game.  That’s more than we can say for KG.  He is only averaging 7.37 defensive boards a game.

You may come to KG’s defense saying that he needs a break because he’s in a new city.  He only played six more games last year than he did this year and his points per game and his rebounds per game decreased.

All I’m saying is that Dwight Howard has the numbers and the athleticism to be considered as the next NBA MVP.  Superman has my vote as the 2008 NBA MVP.

So, either take someone off that is not as worthy as you may have thought, or just add Dwight Howard to the list of candidates.