Kobe Bryant's True Grit Makes Him Most Deserving MVP Candidate

Kobe Bryant should have been a Golden State Warrior for only one reason. He's a warrior.

He's made a pretty good go of being a Laker, though. His toughness is an amazing thing, and it has carried the Lakers to where they are at. 

Only four guards in the history of the NBA have had more minutes than Bryant, but none of those four have played at the level Bryant is playing right now. In the history of the NBA, Michael Jordan is the only guard to have ever posted a PER better than Bryant's 23.5. 

What makes this more impressive is that Bryant has been doing this with one torn wrist and, since the All-Star Game, a broken face. 

With Bryant, the older he gets, the tougher he gets. Over the first nine years of his career, he missed 111 games. Over the last seven years, he's missed just 16. He might as well be made of leather. The last time he missed a game was April 9, 2010, nearly two calendar years ago.

Bryant might not have LeBron James' record-setting PER, but he has a different set of arguments he brings to the MVP discussion. In terms of the intangibles, he's the clear winner.

It's not like he doesn't have any tangible arguments. He is the NBA's leading scorer. His real merit, though, is his grit, his determination and his leadership. 

Somehow through all the Pau Gasol rumors, the Mike Brown "offense" (I suppose that's technically what it's supposed to be) the locker-room meetings and whatever else is there, Bryant's leadership seems to be the thing that is carrying the Lakers. 

He absorbs all the criticism on the team. He accepts all the responsibility. 

There are different ways of looking at the most valuable player. There's the "best player on the best team" definition, and if you're looking at things that way, it's a race between defending MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

But then there's the "where would the team be without them?" argument. By that standard, Kobe has to be included in the discussion. Where would the Lakers be without Kobe Bryant? Floundering for an offense? That's probably the least of the issues. 

Rudderless is a more apt description. 

He gives the Lakers direction.  Whether he made the shot against the Celtics yesterday or passed for it is moot. He made the decision that won the game. 

His grittiness provides the heart of the team as well. The team has taken on his personality. They don't quit fighting, and they pull out games like they did against Boston because they have a warrior on their team. 

When you're discussing that elusive definition of "valuable" in Most Valuable Player, just about every kind of intangible thing that goes into that is found in Kobe Bryant. You might have a hard time justifying his candidacy based on the numbers, but based on the intangibles, it's hard to deny it.