Upon receiving his first career MVP, Kobe said he wasn’t sure if he would ever win one.
In fact, he stated a few weeks ago that the award has changed so much over the years. It used to be an individual award, but now it’s based on leadership, team success, making teammates better, and other outside factors.
Well let’s take a look at things that actually matter in determining the value of a player.
Everybody knows about Kobe scoring 81 points in a game. There was the time he scored 62 on the Mavericks in only three quarters. He scored 30 points on the Jazz in one quarter just a week after Kirilenko decided to compliment his own defense on Kobe. There are too many instances to count.
What do these historic performances have in common? They’re demoralizing. They were also blowouts by the time Kobe was finished. You would be a fool to argue that Kobe isn’t one of the most explosive and deadly scorers in NBA history, but see, that is just one of his great abilities.
Let’s rewind a few years, when Kobe was a sidekick to the diesel. He was the second option.
Sure, he was probably the best second option the NBA has ever seen, but he was still a second option. So in the eyes of many, he was riding the coattails of an all-time great center.
What people failed to see was how he excelled in a role that was not at all limited to scoring.
Did you know that Phil Jackson said his overall floor game was better than that of one Michael Jordan?
Did you know that he has led three championship teams in assists per game?
Sure, the actual numbers weren’t breathtaking (five to six assists per game for those three years), but the fact that he was basically the point guard on one of the NBA’s great Lakers dynasties is rather impressive for a guy known for scoring and his inability to involve teammates and be a leader.
Oh, and that point guard gives you about 25 to 30 points per game, by the way, and since your franchise player can’t hit free throws, he is your go-to guy in the final six minutes. This has yielded several memorable performances that has given him the reputation of ultimate finisher.
The variety of things he has accomplished over the course of his career has made him the most feared and respected man in the game.
In a poll that Sports Illustrated did earlier this year, they asked 242 NBA players who they fear playing against most. Kobe finished at the top of the list by a large margin. He received 35 percent of the votes, and a distant second place finished at only 12 percent.
What all this does is paint a picture of what he can do when he needs to. It speaks of the depth of his basketball abilities and basketball IQ.
Look, value is not about what you’ve done in an allotted amount of time. It’s about what you are. It’s about what you can do. A dollar is still worth a dollar even if you only need 75 cents of it.
Kobe may not have used his entire arsenal this season, but it’s still there at his disposal. He can’t lead the league in assists like Chris Paul, but he can run a team from the point and be successful. He has done it and won a title.
He didn’t lead the league in scoring this year like LeBron, but he has before.
He wasn’t defensive player of the year like Garnett, but he has proven that he is one of the best defenders in the league when he wants to be. He has shut down premiere players on more than one occasion.
He was never the leader that Tim Duncan or Steve Nash has been, but he is now.
Doesn’t that scare you? He can do anything he wants to do, and up until this point in his career, he has.
Kobe has the league in his grips right now. Anything is possible for this gym rat. If you want to talk value, it’s not even close. He is too complete, too experienced, too determined, too smart, too talented, and has too huge of a presence.
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2 months ago
Wicked. Good shit.
2 months ago
That was a breath of fresh air in this plague-infested MVP-talk season. That was some good logic and insight-I salute you bro, for that insightful, take-no-hostage-kinda foresight and reflection-sure does good to dispel all those Kobe-hating pricks out there.....come on, the guy deserves a break, and before you know it, it could very well be him vs the Celts in a month's time, who knows, right?
But for sheer value, intimidation, fear, dominance, mental disintegration, you have to give it up for that ultimate competitor-Jordan. As much as I appreciate Kobe, it's just plain impossible to look beyond Jordan. He was an animal, a shark, and mostly, he had that class, that grace, and that impossible will and determination. Kobe still has time, it's all up to him. But great article, man.....I'm a fan. Keep up the good insights!
from 2 months ago
Kobe deserves nothing. Professionally, he is one of the best basketball players of all time. But seriously, if he doesn't win the NBA Crown this year, all this butt kissing he's doing would have been for nothing.
from 2 months ago
Ron Ron Ron. what are you smoking? Kobe deserves everything hes getting. he finally got the MVP which he definitely should have got this year. If they dont win this year, the lakers will be favorites next season with fisher, bryant, odom, gasol and bynum as their staring line up. and kobe already has 3 rings, some of the best ever players have ended their career with none.
2 months ago
Awesome article man!
Really enojoyed it, keep them coming. Lol!
Peace.
2 months ago
kobe is not suppose to be MVP
the real MVP is post to be Chris Paul
but my fav is Allen Iverson.
2 months ago
Interesting take, you brought up some points I hadn't considered.
But if you take Kobe away, the Lakers still have Pau, Odom, Vujacic, Fish, Walton, who would've still gotten in the playoffs, maybe even made a run.
Take away Chris Paul, and there's no one else to pay attention to, execpt for David West. No one to suck the defense into the lane to give Peja his threes. No one to feed Tyson Chandler his alley-oops.
Kobe might be the best player in the league, but he's not the most valuable to his team.
from 2 months ago
I really don't know if you actually meant what you're saying there: " Kobe might be the best player in the league, but he's NOT the most valuable to his team"...umm....I think you're probably watching another Los Angeles basketball team or something.
Get your words right and please support em well.
from 2 months ago
Part of the point I was trying to make is that looking at their teammates to determine who is more valuable doesn't speak of their actual value, because their teammates also determine how much they have to expend. If he has great teammates and doesn't have to use every last drop of his talent, that doesn't mean that talent isn't there. Value shouldn't be determined by what you do, but bywhat you can do, and what you are.
That is mainly why I hate seeing people compare supporting casts. How about comparing the actual players?
from 2 months ago
The supporting cast is extremely relevant, since the award has at least something to do with a team, since the winner is the most valuable to his team. While the Patriots this year were great, you replace Tom Brady with Carson Palmer (an above-average player), and the Patriots maybe win 10 games.
Khalid, you're going to tell me with a straight face that the Hornets would have gotten 2nd in the West (or even made the playoffs) with someone like Delonte West running the point?
You replace Kobe with Turkoglu, and the Lakers still do just fine.
from 2 months ago
The award shouldn't have to do with team though. When I think value, I think that if I had to start a team from scratch, and win a title in 8 months, who am I going to pick? It's about overall individual value to me, not your value to your current team.
The Bulls without Jordan won 55 games, and the Jazz without Malone or the Rockets without Hakeem would have fallen flat on their face. This shouldn't put a dent in Jordan's value.
2 months ago
Good article, John.
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