He is arguably the most skilled player on the planet and now that his team is winning, Kobe Bryant is on the top of many MVP lists.
It seems that every season Kobe Bryant’s name comes up when the MVP award is mentioned, yet somehow, after all the votes are tabulated, the prize always ends up in another player’s trophy case.
Why?
The league has never defined the criteria for the Most Valuable Player award so subjectivity guides the voters and that’s exactly what the NBA wants. It all makes for a good argument.
Is the MVP the best player in the league, the most skilled? Is it the guy that without him, his team would be terrible, or how about the best player on a winning team? Nobody knows, and that’s what will have the debate raging forever.
With regards to Bryant, the rationale ranges on both sides of the fence. Some have maintained that Kobe is too selfish and he doesn’t involve his teammates enough. The counter argument suggests if he had a better supporting cast he would trust them more and he wouldn’t have to score as much.
But in the end, it all boils down to winning. After all, this is a team game and the bottom line is putting up victories.
This season Bryant has arguably become a better leader and a better teammate; just watch him interact with his teammates. He encourages them and commands respect to the point where they do not want to let him down.
But above all else, Bryant has once again demonstrated that regardless of what happens off the court, he will give his best as one of the fiercest competitors in the NBA.
Remember the travels back and forth to the courtroom in Colorado after being charged with rape, and how he played during that season? And how abhout the start of this campaign when he wanted to be traded, then rescinded the demand after talking to management?
In each case Bryant has always given his best and has never tried to "sulk" his way out of town. This season he said, "If I’m here I’m going to play hard" and that he did while Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak worked to acquire Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bryant’s skills on both sides of the court were never in question, but now he has the ultimate trump card; his team has a winning record, and at the time of this writing, Los Angeles has the best record in a very competitive Western Conference.
There are others in the MVP discussion. Cleveland’s LeBron James is next in line followed by the likes of Chris Paul (New Orleans), Tracy McGrady (Houston) and Kevin Garnett (Boston).
But this year it’s Kobe’s turn and hopefully all the voters will look at things objectively. Remember three seasons ago when Steve Nash won his first MVP award by narrowly edging out Shaquille O’Neal? Well one voter left Shaq off the ballot and didn’t vote for him as one of the top five. Ridiculous!
LeBron will get his share of votes. He is on pace to become the first player since Michael Jordan in 1988-89 to post averages of 30 points per game, eight rebounds and eight assists – James currently sits at 31.0 ppg, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.4 assists.
No question LeBron deserves his share of recognition, but in these eyes, he falls short in one key area as his team sits in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference.
Celtics GM Danny Ainge begs to differ somewhat with the extent to which winning should be considered in the MVP debate.
"I think that we get confused sometimes by winning records," said Ainge when asked about the Lakers record with Gasol and his own Celtics and their lofty perch. "I think that’s why LeBron is so magnificent.
"He does so many things offensively, defensively, rebounding, setting his teammates up. He takes the responsibility away from everybody and he led his team to the Finals last year on his coattails," said Ainge.
But even Bryant is still a work in progress. There is talk in Lakerland that he still needs to work on the timing and the extent to which he "takes over" a game, treading that fine line between doing too much and leaving teammates stand and watch and stepping forward when needed to produce as the team’s best player.
He’s not perfect, but for now, he’s good enough to get my MVP vote.
