NBA Roundtable: Who's the NBA's Most Valuable Player?

Michael Whittenberg

Senior Writer Written on February 04, 2008

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Chris Paul (left), Kobe Bryant (middle), and Steve Nash (right) are all being talked about for the NBA's MVP award.

The NBA's Most Valuable Player award is one of the league's most prestigious honors.

Whenever a player wins the MVP, it isn't just based on his numbers, but the impact and value that player has on a team.

So if you had to chose an MVP for the first half of the season, who would you choose?

The decision hasn't been that easy, which is why I turned to six of Bleacher Report's most knowledgeable NBA writers—Erick Blasco, Dave Metrick, Dave Finocchio, Andrew Ungvari, Aaron Keel, and Scott Serles.

Michael Whittenberg

When choosing a MVP, I always look at the key word in that term. Of course the key word is valuable.

So with that said, What is the actual meaning of valuable anyway?

Dictionary.com gives three separate meanings of the word:

1. Having considerable monetary worth; costing or bringing a high price

2. Having qualities worthy of respect, admiration, or esteem

3. Of considerable use, service, or importance

To me, those three meanings have only applied to four guys the first half of the season.

Those guys are Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and LeBron James.

But since only one guy can win the award, I have to go with Chris Paul.

Paul has been the best player on the best team this year (Sorry Boston).

No disrespect to Kobe and Nash, but this guy has taken his game along with his team to another level this year.

Paul is one of three point guards averaging a double-double (Nash and Jason Kidd the others) and leads the league in steals.

Not only that, but the Hornets are (surprisingly) in first place in a division featuring both San Antonio and Dallas.

Take Paul away from the Hornets, and I can't even begin to imagine where they would be standing right now.

His stat line: 20.7 PPG, 10.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG

Erick Blasco

Picking an NBA MVP is always difficult due to the undefined subject of what constitutes an MVP.

Is it the “best player” in the league? Then Tim Duncan gobbles the award up.

Is it the most talented? Then Kobe gets it without a blink of an eye.

Is it the best player on the best team? Then David West (sorry Chris Paul) is the midway point’s MVP.

Is it the player with the best numbers? Then LeBron soars above his competitors.

Or is it the player most important to his team’s ability to win? Then Al Jefferson is the league’s MVP—can you imagine the T-Wolves without him!?!?!?

None of those descriptions accurately define what an MVP really is, but I’ll try my best.

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