Kobe Bryant's Finest Season? Hardly

Kobe's first MVP hardware will inevitably be presented to him sometime next month. He's led his team to the best record in arguably the toughest conference this league has ever seen. He started in all 82 games, despite playing with a torn ligament in his finger, and being the second-oldest player behind Derek Fisher. He's still putting up numbers with averages of 28.3 PTS 6.3 REB 5.4 AST.

A lot of pundits say this has been his year. They talk about his growth, maturity, and leadership now more than ever in his illustrious 12-year career. Do you really believe this is his best season? Absolutely...not.

I think this season is his best in terms of the success of his team since the departure of he who is known now as "The Big Cactus." Kobe has been playing pretty much the same as last year. Anytime you replace two scrubs such as Smush Parker and Kwame Brown with Fisher and now Pau Gasol, to call it an upgrade would be an understatement. Plus, the emergence of Bynum and improved bench play, particularly Farmar and Vujacic, have made winning 57 games this year very reasonable.

I thought this guy should have won MVP honors last year, or certainly the '05-'06 season. Two numbers: 81, which needs no explanation, and 35.4, his scoring average that year, which is the highest since MJ's 37.1 in '86-'87.

With all of that being said, anybody who has followed Kobe's career closely would know that the '02-'03 season was clearly his best, at least from an individual standpoint. He averaged 30.0 PTS 6.9 REB 5.9 AST, while starting all 82 games. His 6.9 RPG, along with 2.2 SPG, 41.5 MPG, and 38.3 three-point percentage are all career highs to this day. Let's not forget, he set the NBA record for three-pointers made in a game with 12 during that year, as well as those nine-consecutive games of 40 points or more.

While it remains to be seen whether Kobe can finally win one without "The Big Fella," he's more than determined to get over that hurdle. If Kobe can lead Team USA to a gold medal after winning his first MVP and Finals MVP...then this would be his finest...calendar year.