If the Lakers Won the Championship, Would Andrew Bynum Hoist the MVP Trophy?

Since Bynum's return, it is clear he is on a mission to make up for lost time. After serving his four-game suspension, Bynum has entered 2012 playing the best basketball of his young career. He has posted gaudy numbers in his three games, including a 21-point, 22-rebound performance in his last game.

Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant is still putting up impressive numbers late in his NBA career, recently putting together his best game of the season with 37 points, eight rebounds and six assist.

The Lakers are not necessarily the favorites to win the title this year, but with Bynum back, they have been looking much better than they did in their 2-2 start.

This is to be expected.

However, what people didn't expect was for Bynum to come back playing with the fury, aggressiveness and passion that he is playing with. Maybe the fact that he was not the subject of trade rumors during the offseason gave him the new-found confidence that Lakers fans have been waiting for him to play with.

It is clear something has switched for the young talent.

It would not be a miracle if the Lakers managed to come out of the West once again considering their road to the finals would not be as hard as premier teams in the East.

I know we aren't far into the season at all, but is it ever too early to speculate and ask these questions? With Kobe Bryant, the bottom line is you will always have a chance to win.

That being said, let's say the Lakers do win it all. If Bynum keeps playing like he's been, will he be the one hoisting the MVP trophy at the end of the day like Shaq did with each championship he won with Kobe?

Bynum is a more efficient scorer and arguably gets you better looks in a halfcourt set than Kobe does. I've even heard people say Bynum has the chance to surpass Dwight Howard. Now, I am not one of the people who believes that, but I do believe he is playing some great basketball and is a very close second.

For now, we can only sit back, watch and see if he continues his great play as he looks to develop some more chemistry with Kobe and compete for a title once again.