At some point in the coming weeks, you will read the following sentence: “Kobe Bryant named NBA MVP.” It’s a done deal. A fait accompli. The fat lady is singing. Then the media, NBA brass and Laker Country will all rejoice.
Unfortunately, Kobe Bean Bryant is not the most valuable player in the National Basketball Association.
Yes, Bryant has finally started to embrace a more team-oriented concept of basketball after years of individuality and deriding teammates. But that change alone should not automatically earn him the Maurice Podoloff Cup, and yet, it seems it will.
Bryant’s statistical output this year has been similar to that of past seasons. His “Roland Rating” ““ an estimation of player value from the popular metrics site 82games.com ““ is sixth best in the league, behind every other notable MVP candidate.
Most importantly, Bryant embodies the opposite of an MVP ““ he has been a malcontent who can’t make his teammates better and struggles to coexist with others. Two years ago, he verbally abused Luke Walton after a close loss, even though it was Bryant who was in the midst of a three-year stretch where he missed 25 of 32 game winning shots. He quit on his team in Game 7 against the Suns in 2006. As recently as last summer, Bryant demanded a trade, ripped general manager Mitch Kupchak and criticized center Andrew Bynum in a profanity-laced diatribe.
Some team player.
The true MVP of the NBA this year is Kevin Garnett. I’ve spent the last few weeks constructing arguments against Garnett, but it’s impossible to deny that he is the tsunamic force behind the biggest turnaround in NBA history. The Celtics won 42 more games than they did last year without Garnett, en route to a league-best 66-16 record.
Garnett is the closest thing to Bill Russell the league has ever seen. He is a consummate professional and team player, even working with the last man on the bench to improve his game. Garnett has convinced the Celtics to play every game like it’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Boston finished 25-5 against the vaunted Western Conference. The Celtics were the league’s top defensive team by a landslide; Tracy McGrady called them the best defensive team he has played against in his 11-year career. They play with a passion and unselfishness that is utterly unrivaled in professional basketball today. It’s all thanks to Garnett, who is the league’s premier defensive player to boot.
So why is Bryant going to claim the award? Expectations.
He has always had support from a group of media members, finishing in the top five in voting five times. They’ve been eagerly waiting for Kobe to return Los Angeles to glory, and now that the Lakers are legitimate contenders, Bryant is a shoe-in for MVP.
Writers will vote to confirm what they have been claiming for some time: Kobe Bryant is the king of the basketball world (despite his failure to win a playoff series without Shaquille O’Neal).
Conversely, Garnett’s trade to Boston was questioned by numerous pundits, some of whom doubted that the Celtics would win 50 games. In meshing so quickly and dominating the league, they proved all the so-called experts wrong. If the Celtics had won 70 games, would it have even fazed the voters who were mesmerized by the Lakers’ ascent to the top of the standings?
Furthermore, Bryant is the sentimental favorite because he has never won the award, while Garnett has.
Bryant only became a front-runner for MVP when Pau Gasol joined the Lakers. Los Angeles has an .808 win percentage with Gasol, .636 without him. Strangely, it seems Gasol’s brilliance has guaranteed Kobe the MVP.
Although Bryant will win his first MVP trophy, Garnett has the better chance of hoisting a more coveted trophy: Finals MVP.
Here’s hoping they bring back the short shorts and that the Lakers meet the Celtics for the championship.
E-mail Taylor at btaylor@media.ucla.edu.