NBA MVP
LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, or Paul Pierce. Who is the real MVP? Airxxi.com sports guru Ben Mahtani takes an in-depth look at the MVP for the 2008-2009 season.
airxxi.com sports guru Ben Mahtani
Let’s first define what I’m talking about here. I’m not talking about careers, championships, or potential. I’m talking about the MVP, the most valuable player to his team in the NBA this season. To be valuable to his team, that player must be a huge force on his team, and his team must win (make the playoffs). This gets rid of possible contenders such as Kevin Durant, who on a better team may be in the MVP hunt.
I’ve narrowed the contenders to 6 perennial All-Stars, all future Hall of Famers, all of whom are having great seasons. Feel free to disagree with my rankings and my winners…The NBA won’t when they crown the MVP in a few months. Honorable mentions: Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Brandon Roy, Joe Johnson, Yao Ming.
6. Tim Duncan
The best player on the second place team in the West. You would think he deserves more respect. He has taken a team that hasn’t played with Manu Ginobli for the majority of the season to 2nd place (43-20) in the tough West Conference. Although he has Tony Parker, Duncan has been a dominant force, providing 20.1 pts and 10.6 boards a game to go with 3.7 assists. Without Duncan, the Spurs would be about 25-38, if that. The fact is that Duncan plays an old school style of basketball, efficient and effective. Not being an in-your-face type player drops his stock. Duncan deserves some MVP votes, but he may never win another MVP unless the Spurs get to the Finals again, which I don’t see happening within the next 5 years.
5. Paul Pierce
The best scorer on the 2nd place team in the East also deserves some votes (not KG). The Knife is one of the best basketball players in the world. Think about it. Pierce is not that strong (comparatively), he’s not fast, he can’t really jump high, he’s not a freak athlete (comparatively), and he’s not super tall for the NBA (6′7), yet he averages 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. How good do you have to be to do that with the best defender on the other team guarding you? The only problem is that Pierce’s success is discounted by the prescence of Rondo, Allen, and Garnett. They add so much that it’s hard to realize who actually is the best (jbomb). One of the greatest competitors in the world, Pierce deserves votes, especially if the Celts make the Finals.
4. Kobe Bryant
Once regarded as the next Michael Jordan, the next best player in the world, Kobe has disappointed (to a certain extent). Though he is the best player on the best team in the West, Kobe has too much star power around him to be seriously considered for MVP. While he is regarded as the best jump shooter in the world, and even by some as the best scorer in the world, Kobe lacks the complete package that could take him to the next level. Sure he gets you 28 points, but at 4.9 assists (Screw you Josh) and 5.4 rebounds for a shooting guard who handles the ball every trip down the court, this selfish player (shooting only 47%) is not a “complete package”. While a great athlete and being a hard worker, Kobe’s success is also (rightly) discounted by the presence of players such as (currently) Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, and in the past, The Diesel. A great player for sure, but not really close to the MVP of this season. He will get votes due to his name and past seasons, but he does not deserve it this year (or last year for that matter).
3. Chris Paul
The New Orleans Hornets are actually a pathetic team. While only 6th place in the West, Chris Paul has literally won 90% of those games for them. At 21.4 points (49.5%), almost 3 steals, 11.1 assists, and 5.3 rebounds, Chris Paul is a complete package. Paul basically figures in for 50+ points for his team every night. Look at his team. Peja Stojakovich, David West, Tyson Chandler, and James Posey. Peja is a great shooter, but slumping this year. He provides nothing besides 2 3-pointers a game on passes from Paul. Chandler can do nothing but rebound and throw down oops that…Paul throws him. Posey is basically negligible as he is a solid role player (and a good defender). David West is a solid player, but would be nothing without West. David West would be comparable to Leon Powe without Chris Paul. Chris Paul is irreplaceable as a point guard and teammate, making him the #3 MVP this year. Although Paul is great, Paul may never win a championship, especially on the current Hornets team, and especially not in the next 10 years.
2. Dwayne Wade
Dwayne Wade has the pathetic Miami Heat in 5th place in the East. How is he doing this? Almost 30 points a game (29.7), 7.7 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 steals, while shooting at 49.5%. Another example of the complete package. Wade’s MVP stock has increased tremendously in the past few weeks, where Wade has risen to the occasion and blown up in 2 games against the Cavaliers (although they lost both games). His past 2 weeks have been out of this world, most likely the best 2 weeks of the season for ANY player in the league. Think about his team. Jermaine ONeal, Jamario Moon, Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem. Nothing special. They simply aren’t a good team, yet Wade has them flying high and in prime playoff position to play the Atlanta Hawks. Although Wade has been amazing this past few weeks, Wade has a tendancy to get injured, or in my opinion, to fake injuries and not play hard. This may impact Wade’s overall greatness in my opinion. In fact, this flaw may hurt Wade so badly that he may NEVER win an MVP.
MVP: LeBron James
Is there any question from objective NBA viewers that LeBron James is the MVP of the season? Although Mo Williams has helped greatly, LBJ has indeed stepped his game up as well after being shafted by MVP voters last year. James has the 50-13 Cavaliers (tied for best in the league) in position to win the #1 seed and home court advantage for the playoffs, where the Cavs are 28-1 this season, and have not lost to the Celtics in the playoffs. LeBron is averaging 28.2 points on 49% shooting, 7.5 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 7.1 assists. NO ONE in the world exemplifies the complete package like LeBron does. Not only that, but he has the best record in the league. LeBron does not have “star power” on his team, except for Mo Williams, a 2nd choice all-star backup, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who hasn’t been an all-star since 2005. He also has to play with “stars” such as Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak, Anderson Verajao, and Delonte West. It’s safe to say that without the MVP, the Cavs wouldn’t make the playoffs, and would be looking to get that #1 lottery pick. LeBron is the MVP for the Cavs, the NBA, and basketball around the world. The greatest player in the world is finally being recognized.
March 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
This might be the best thing you have ever written.
“He will get votes due to his name and past seasons, but he does not deserve it this year (or last year for that matter).” - This is exactly what happened last season. The MVP is not a lifetime achievement award, but that is how Kobe got his. He ripped his team and tried to force a trade in the offseason, then gets recognition as the most valuable player to that team he nearly destroyed? Last year was a disgrace.
I am hoping that things are more fair this year. Many analysts are saying that it is a race between Kobe and LeBron, but I agree with you in that the race is between Wade and LeBron. I will even say that as of today the award belongs to James.
However if Wade plays like he has the last two weeks for the remainder of the season and the Heat finish 4th or higher, I think he is the MVP. Either way Wade and James are the best two players this year.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Good article, it’s cool the way you did it. I agree and disagree on several points. I’ll comment more later after Robert Morris (fingers crossed) wins the NEC.
March 12th, 2009 at 11:01 am
Nice work Mahtani. Kobe sucks, All Hail the King!
March 12th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
I wonder why no one commented on Kobe getting blocked by Andrei, and also if anyone notices that when you click a pic, it pops out.
March 12th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
kobe getting blocked was the first thing i noticed. second thing i noticed was an incredible amount of bias.
go deacs.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
First of all, this article is clearly biased. An article written about MVP candidates should be giving them credit for their success. You give everyone a good picture, yet you have Kobe being blocked. This shows you’re very biased against Kobe, disrespectful to one of the greatest NBA players ever, that you’re unable to write or speak about Kobe without ripping him, and that you cannot have a valid argument because of your bias.
Let me now say the things I agree with you about. Lebron is a player of his own. With his size and skill he is unlike anything the League has seen. He continues to improve, and get better as a whole each year. He is arguably the best in the League, and the MVP this year, as of now. Wade has a shot if the Heat finish in the top four in the weak East.
However, and this is directed mainly towards Jbomb, Kobe deserved the MVP honors for certain last year. Here’s a fast fact for Justin (who insists Kevin Garnett should have won, crazy i know. http://www.jbomb.net/2008/05/07/kobe-the-true-mvp/), last year, Kobe demanded a trade because he wants to win. You make him out to be a bad teammate for this. He did go about it fairly unprofessionally, but what competitor does not want the best chance to win? Yet you hail MJ as such an amazing person and player, even though he punched teammate Steve Kerr in the face during a practice for playing tough defense on him? Even though he called rookie 18 year old teammate Kwame Brown a “ni**er” and a “fa**ot” in front of his whole team? You excuse this, but because a competitor wants a better chance to win you declare him as a trouble maker? If you ask me there’s just a LITTLE bit of hypocrisy there.
Back to last year, Jbomb and Xane, both credit the success of Kobe to playing on the best team. The Lakers were the number one seed in the much stronger West, not because of the surrounding players, but because of Kobe. In case you didn’t know, Kobe was the only all-star on the Lakers his MVP season, yet Garnett was on a team with three. It’s evident Kobe deserved it last year.
Another note, I quote, “While he is regarded as the best jump shooter in the world, and even by some as the best scorer in the world, Kobe lacks the complete package that could take him to the next level.” To put things into perspective for the smaller minds, Kobe is arguably the best and most pure scorer in the HISTORY of the NBA, also in his first 12 seasons he was named to the NBA all defensive team 8 times. The “King” has already played five seasons, none of which he received these honors. This means by the time he plays 12 seasons it is impossible for him to be named to the defensive team 8 times. Do the math, it’s not that hard. So to say Kobe is not a “complete package” shows how truly ignorant you are to the sport.
Back to the present, don’t get me wrong, like I said earlier LBJ does deserve MVP this year. Though, you need to stop using the argument his players are not good. Like I said, Kobe was the only all-star from his team last year, yet they won the West. Lebron’s Cavs are sitting in first with in the East, and second in the league (Lakers 51 wins to Cavs 50). This in majority is to LBJ’s ability, however he has a solid core around him right now, with an all-star point guard. I’m not saying they’d be this good without LBJ, because they wouldn’t. He’s the MVP of the league, I just want you to give credit to the rest of the team and stop acting like they don’t contribute.
Besides agreeing with your top two candidates, and acknowledging valid points you made for reasons why they should be named MVP, I just ask you show respect to one of the greatest players ever, regardless of your strong dislike for him.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Lebron has deserved to be the all-defensive team the past 2 years. He will this year for sure. Is there any doubt that LeBron is the BEST help defender in the league? ANY AT ALL?! Also, at the SF/PF position, James is competing with players such as Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan for the spot, so this doesn’t discount not getting on the all-defensive team. Secondly, Pau Gasol was traded to the Lakers AFTER the all-star break last year, so it doesn’t make a difference if he was or wasn’t voted an all-star…cuz he played on a pathetic team. I also agree that I hate Jordan, though I respect him as the greatest ever.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Lebron is in the top three defenders easy, and regardless if he plays SF/PF, you have to play defense at any position, it’s not Kobe’s fault he’s a better defender at his position.
Also, you need to remove Chris Paul from your list, this is not CP3 of last year leading, though still excellent. But like I said last year, Deron Williams is the best point guard in the league, and needs to be considered for MVP.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Deron Williams wasn’t even an MVP…and has never been. Also, Duncan and Garnett are in the top 10 best defenders ever. So it’s hard for a young player such as LeBron to compete with them, but he will win this year and in the future.
March 12th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
First, let me just say that this is clearly a biased article. Secondly, in response the comment “The MVP is not a lifetime achievement award”, I definitely agree. However, this statement clearly infers that previous performances and actions should not be taken into consideration when deciding who should receive the MVP. Given this, since the MVP is not a “lifetime achievement award” Kobe’s actions in the summer of ‘07 should have absolutely no impact on his being named MVP the following season.
March 12th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Luke, let me assure you that I forgotten more about the NBA than you will ever know. I’d like to comment on a few of your comments. First of all, I agree that Mahtani was biased in his write-up of Kobe. He made some ridiculous statements (such as the fact that 4.9 is his career high in assists). However, Luke, Kobe’s career high in assists is 6.0. That’s not very good. Kobe also acted like a huge crybaby a couple offseasons ago. Let’s not forget about the fact that he demanded a trade and made comments like “I don’t know if I can ever wear a Laker jersey again.” These are the types of things that hurt your stock as an MVP candidate, from year to year. Throwing your teammates under the bus, ie. Jordan and Kobe, only hurts your case.
Question, how the heck can Deron Williams be even in the discussion for MVP when he has missed 14 games this year? That’s all I have to say about that, case closed there. The order Mahtani has is pretty decent, though granted Kobe should be number 2 (despite the fact the he might have the greatest supporting cast around him EVER). Chris Paul is a victim of his team sucking hard core and Dwayne Wade won’t get it simply because the Heat suck. The MVP almost always goes to the best player on one of the NBA’s top teams, which is why Lebron hasn’t won an MVP yet.
Just because I also hate Kobe, let me through a few stats at you Luke. For his best year ever, Kobe averaged 35 points a game, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Lebron’s CAREER averages are 27.5, 7.0, and 6.6. He isn’t even in his prime yet, while anyone who has watched Kobe this year knows he is clearly entering the twilight of a great career. Yes, I know Kobe rode Shaq to a few titles, so save your championship arguement Luke.
Finally, MVP’s never quit on their team. Kobe quit on the Lakers last year in the NBA Finals.
March 12th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
This is not a cop out response, it is simply time to put an end to an idiotic discussion driven by a sports “pupu” (pronounced poo-poo). This article should just be removed entirely due to extreme bias and nonsensical logic. If people on here truly believe that this year’s Laker’s team is comprised of the best supporting cast ever then neither you nor your readers know anything about sports.
March 13th, 2009 at 1:16 am
Justin, no one has used any nonsensical logic. And no one said the Laker’s team is comprised of the best supporting cast ever. You should brush up on your literacy and reading comprehension before making such statements. Most of the arguments presented have been factual and well written. I know my evaluation of Kobe is biased. We all know that, but the fact remains that he isn’t the complete players that LeBron, CP3, and Wade are. The Lakers do not have the best supporting cast ever, but please don’t tell me you believe for a moment that Kobe doesn’t have a fantastic supporting cast, maybe the best after the Celtics or the Suns.
PS.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
If people are going to take shots at Jordan this is going to get much more heated. Jordan is better than Kobe in every single aspect of the game. Firstly, Jordan has twice as many rings, and 6 more rings without a dominant force in the paint. Speaking of that force, Jordan has six Finals MVPs compared to Kobe’s zero.
Kobe is getting slurped in these comments as the best scorer we have ever seen. You are right, Luke. Kobe led the league in scoring four times! That must make him, and I quote, “the best and most pure scorer in the HISTORY of the NBA.”
Michael Jordan only lead the league in scoring….ELEVEN TIMES.
If you want to make the case that Kobe is the MVP this season, fine. If you want to say he is a better scorer or player than MJ, you are not only confused but flat-out wrong.
March 13th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I hate Jordan but I at least say he’s the greatest ever until Lebron gets to about 30, which will cement Lebron as the greatest and will have at least 2 rings by that time. Jordan also had Pips, who is without question in the top 10 small forwards ever, with or without Jordan. Lebron has Mo Williams and Z. Did anyone even know anything about Mo until he came to the Cavs? No. Lebron makes everyone else around him better, instead of demanding to be traded to a better team. Sure he wants guys with more skill so they have a higher ceiling playing with him, who wouldn’t? But Lebron makes everyone around him so much better it’s unreal. PS. 6OTs is unreal.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Justin Cady: First off, I only said things about Jordan with his teammates to prove a point that the “greatest” player ever was not a great team guy, since you insist Kobe isn’t.
If you’re going to quote me, please don’t do it out of context and use the whole quote. I specifically said “Kobe is arguably the best and most pure scorer in the HISTORY of the NBA”. The key word here is ARGUABLY. Phil Jackson, one of, if not the best coach ever admitted to Jordan being the greatest player ever, but Kobe to be a greater all around scoring threat. Bill Russel has eleven rings, so is he better than Jordan? Big numbers aren’t everything, you should know this having Big Ben as our qb.
Also, Jordan legalized the carry.
March 13th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I can’t wait till Lebron leaves the Cavs in a couple years when they don’t get any new talent.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
go deacs.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Mark knows nothing about the NBA which is why he has nothing to say.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
or maybe i just don’t need to argue my points because everyone knows them and knows that they are correct. i don’t feel like typing them. lebron is the best in the game right now, but saying that kobe is not a complete player is just straight asinine. and who cares if he wanted a better team, if he wins, he wins. also what’s the different between 20 points and 10 assists and 40 points. as long as the points are on the board who cares who puts them there. i didn’t know this was rec league where you had to make sure everyone got their chance to score and contribute so they could develop into a well-rounded person.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
“also what’s the different between 20 points and 10 assists and 40 points. as long as the points are on the board who cares who puts them there.”
What Mark means is that Wally Szczerbiak is a better player than Steve Nash because Wally’s team puts more points on the board than their opponents at a higher percentage that Nash’s team does against their opponents. We don’t care who on Wally’s team scores. Just as long as his team wins more games than Nash’s team, Wally is a better player. It’s not a rec league to make sure everyone scores or talk about who is a better player, we just want wins.
“go deacs.” again might have been a better comment.
March 13th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
this might make sense if wally scored 40 points for his team all the time
March 13th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
“as long as the points are on the board who cares who puts them there.”
March 13th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
yes, but wally doesn’t put them there. therefore he is not better than nash and your argument just doesn’t apply
March 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Why does it matter if Wally puts them there is it doesn’t matter who puts them there?
March 13th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
it doesn’t matter. if you have more points at the end of the game then the opponent it makes no difference if one person puts them all up or if they are distributed evenly.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Therefore, Mark says every player on every winning team is better than every player on every losing team since all that matters is wins.
March 13th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
what kind of education are your getting at that school. i said if you are comparing two players. let’s say lebron and kobe. if both of them account for the same amount of their team’s points, then they are equal contributors. don’t be stupid with your comparisons.
March 14th, 2009 at 12:14 am
28.2 ppg + 7.2 apg > 28.0 ppg + 4.9 apg
March 14th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
X, don’t question my reading and comprehension skills when clearly yours are the ones that are lacking. Note the post right before my last one, “The order Mahtani has is pretty decent, though granted Kobe should be number 2 (despite the fact the he might have the greatest supporting cast around him EVER).” So yes, someone DID say that, and it’s in all caps too.
Let me just say that I believe lebron is a better all around player right now but that kobe is a better pure scorer. That’s really my entire feeling on the subject. I also hate the argument that Jordan has 6 rings. There are a lot of GREAT players in every sport that never win championships.
Also, as a side note, none of this really matters because Pete Maravich is still the best player to have ever played the game.
March 14th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
No one cares what Pedrozo thinks cuz he has no idea what he’s talking about.
March 14th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
dude!!!! that pic is great!!! i just had to leave a comment and let you know that you look angelic in you authentic indian garb!!! hooray
March 15th, 2009 at 1:17 am
If anyone wants to ignore Jordan’s six rings, that is fine. Ignoring the eleven scoring titles and saying Kobe is the best pure scorer ever is a bit blind though. You might be able to make the case he is the best scorer today, but all-time? MJ is the winner there which is all I was trying to say.