NBA All-Star Game 2012: Kevin Durant and Most Likely Candidates to Take Home MVP

The NBA All-Star Game is little more than a defense-be-damned dunk fest, but you're crazy if you don't think the MVP award matters to basketball's brightest stars.

While the ASG showcases the best talents in basketball, it also features some of the sports' biggest egos. And when you pack all the league's alpha dogs onto one court, a heated showdown for the throne is inevitable.

Kobe Bryant is the reigning king, and an unprecedented fifth MVP award would establish his place as the greatest player in ASG history. However, he'll have plenty of competition.

Here are the top threats to Kobe's crown.

Kevin Durant

KD is my pick to take home the MVP award this year.

He was clearly gunning for it last year, taking 23 shots in 30 minutes. He dropped an impressive 34 points, but if he would have connected on more than four of his 11 three pointers, he would have snatched the award away from Kobe.

This year, Durant will be on point. He's hungry to cement his status as the best scorer in the game and he knows that the best players of all-time have an ASG MVP award on their resume.

I also just watched the dude sit through 40 minutes of hell as Dwight Howard's team, led by a 5'2" comedian, throttled his team in the NBA Celebrity Game on Friday night. You better better believe KD is blood-thirsty for revenge after that.

LeBron James

LeBron already has two ASG MVP trophies on his mantle, and according to Bovada Sportsbook, he's the favorite to take home another.

Bovada has him at 13/2 odds to win the award, and it's easy to see why. James, with his flashy passes, filthy dunks and overall scoring ability, should put up plenty of highlight plays on Sunday.

Last year, he put up 29 points despite missing all three of his shots from behind the arc. I'd be shocked if he misses all his deep bombs this time around.

James is a fun-loving guy, but he's a fierce competitor as well. Don't be surprised if he wins his third MVP, and raises it like a proverbial middle finger to his legions of haters.

Carmelo Anthony

Anthony has largely been an afterthought this season, as he has nearly drowned in the tidal wave that is Linsanity. However, he's still one of the top three pure scorers in the league, and I'm expecting him to come out firing Sunday night.

He was quiet in last year's event, scoring just eight points on 4-for-10 shooting. That won't happen again this year, as Anthony has a Shaq-sized chip on his shoulder.

It was planted when ESPN didn't vote him as a top ten player in October and it grew as Jeremy Lin's emergence raised questions about Anthony's value in New York.

Bovada has Anthony at 18/1 odds to take home the award. Given his scoring ability and newfound hunger, those odds should be much higher.