MVP Debate

The NBA MVP race is as intriguing as it's ever been. The award will undoubtedly fall into the hands of reigning MVP Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Dwayne Wade (with apologies to Chris Paul, Paul Pierce, Dwight Howard, and Chauncey Billups). The argument can be made for any of the three, but most have disregarded Wade because of his team's mediocre record (43-39). Somewhere along the line, this award became the best player on the best team instead of the most valuable player. Not since MJ in '88 has a player from a non-division winner taken home the hardware. In fact 17 of the last 20 winners have come from teams that finished 1st in their conference (the other 3 finished in 2nd). In the true sense of the award, Wade would be the winner. The Heat were 15-67 last year because Wade was injured. Wade led them to 28 more wins this year with little support from his teammates. In fact, the Heat started two rookies (Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers) much of the year and have a rookie head coach (38-year-old Eric Spoelstra).

The MVP is also an award that you sort of have to wait your turn for. For example, Kobe (the best basketball player on the planet) didn't win it until last year. How he didn't win it in 2006 is beyond me, although his case was sort of like Wade's is this year. Kobe was playing on a whole nother level and led a terrible team to the playoffs. The award went to Steve Nash, who had D'Antoni inflated stats for a team that had the 3rd best record in the West (1 of the 3 times in the last 20 years that a player from a non one seed won the award- The Suns got the 2 seed that year because they won the Pacific Division).

Last year Kobe won the MVP because his Lakers beat the Chris Paul led Hornets on the last day of the season to claim the top spot in the West (Paul finished second in the voting). This year, LeBron's Cavaliers edged out the Lakers for the best record in the NBA. Cleveland finished 66-16, whereas the Lakers finished 65-17. Therefore I think LeBron will win the MVP, but he actually deserves it, and that's coming from a Kobe Bryant apologist.

Stats

Numbers don't lie (Although it should be noted that you can construe stats to say just about anything). LeBron averaged 28.4 points (2nd in the NBA behind Wade), 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.15 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game. Kobe averaged 26.8 points (3rd in the NBA), 5.2 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.5 steals. As much as I'd like to say these numbers are a wash, LeBron's two more rebounds and assists per game are more significant than they seem.

Many, myself including, knock LeBron for settling for too many jumpers. With his size, he should just attack the rim and save the challenged jumpshots for later on his career like Jordan did and like Kobe has done. Kobe has a significantly better jump shot than LeBron anyway though, right? Wrong. LeBron shot 49% from the field and 34% from behind the arc this season compared to Kobe's 47% and 35%.

Perhaps the most impressive stat is that LeBron is one of only four players since 1974 to lead their team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks, and steals. The other three were Dave Cowens in 1978, who? Scottie Pippen on the Bulls in 1995 (MJ came back during that season). And Kevin Garnett in 2003 (A note to all the bandwagon Celtics fans out there. Garnett did this as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves). As impressive as the stat is, none of the previous 3 won the MVP.

The stats aren't all in LeBron's favor though. He shot just 78% from the free throw line (Kobe shot 86%) and turned it over much more than Kobe did.

Supporting Casts

Let's just say that they actually factored in who is more valuable to their team. Just look at the rosters of the Cavs and the Lakers and try to tell me that LeBron isn't more valuable. The Cavs second best player is Mo Williams, who was only named to the All-Star team this year as an injury replacement (In fact, he was the snubbed for the first injury replacement spot and only made it when someone else went down). The Lakers second best player is two time All-Star Pau Gasol. The Cavs third best player is either Delonte West or Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Lakers third best player is either Andrew Bynum or Lamar Odom. If that doesn't say it, the Cavs next best player is named Boobie. Bottom line, Kobe is surrounded by formiddable talent and LeBron is surrounded by a bunch of role players.

LeBron led the Cavs not only to the best record in the NBA, but also to a 39-1 record in the home games that he played in. So he's clearly the best player on the best team, right?

Well not so fast. That lone home loss was at the hand of Kobe (who was sick during the game) and the Lakers on February 8th. LeBron shot just 5-20 from the field in the 101-91 loss. The Lakers also beat the Cavs in the Staples Center back on January 19th 105-88.

Defense/Leadership

LeBron has been a beast on the defensive end all year. How many times have you seen a highlight where he pins someone's breakaway layup from behind? Where did LeBron develop this defensive feistiness? Much of it comes from his head coach Mike Brown, who is a disciple of the defensive minded Greg Poppovich, but the point was really hammered home by Kobe (named to the NBA's 1st team All Defense 5 times) while playing together on Team USA this summer in Beijing. Kobe, the best offensive player in the world, took it upon himself to shut down the best perimeter player of each team that the Redeem Team faced. LeBron took this lesson to heart and took his game to the next level defensively. This commitment to defense has made the Cavs, and LeBron, elite.

The reason I give LeBron the edge when it comes to defense is because his teammates have bought into it. Kobe's been doing his thing on defense for years, but his teammates (outside of Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza) haven't consistently displayed the effort that it takes. Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, and Mo Williams play intense defense for 48 minutes. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Sasha Vujacic only play defense in spurts. They are more concerned with scoring than stopping the other team from scoring.

I'm not saying Kobe's a bad teammate, I'm just saying the LeBron is the perfect teammate. He is a gregarious leader that knows how to convince his teammates to sacrifice their stats for the betterment of the team. LeBron hosts sleepovers with his teammates like he's in 5th grade and Kobe takes helicopter rides back to his house in Orange County to watch his daughter's soccer games. I respect Kobe for being a family man, but the camaraderie that the Cavs have formed is out of this world. Look no further than their pre game antics.



Conclusion

If I was to start a playoff series tomorrow, who would I rather have on my team? Kobe

Who would I rather have take a game winning shot? Kobe

Who would I rather have shooting free throws with the game on the line? Kobe

Who will I be rooting for in the playoffs? Kobe and the Lakers

Who will be and deserves to be the MVP of the league this year? LeBron