Kobe Bryant: NBA MVP Candidate

With the 2006-2007 NBA All-Star Weekend almost upon us, we mark this halfway juncture in the professional basketball season with a look at one of the league's top candidates for MVP: Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant has been a perennial front-runner for the MVP, which is the league top award for individual play. However, despite being the NBA's best individual player for several years now, the NBA's MVP award has eluded Kobe Bryant and he has failed to win the award so far in his career.

Kobe has several high-profile, marquee names to contend with for this years trophy, such as Cleveland's LeBron James, Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, and the two-time defending MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. So why does Kobe Bryant deserve the award more than any of these fine players? Bryant has answered the critics of his game in a major way this season. Often criticized for his "me first, team second" mentality on the court, Kobe has responded this season by dropping his points per game total from 35 to 28, a difference of over 7 points per game, while adding almost an assist per game on average. But some might still ask, "How does that show that Kobe Bryant is better?" The truth of the matter is that any spectator of Lakers games this season has seen the change in Bryant from a scorer only into a multi-faceted player who can share the basketball when it helps the team.

Kobe Bryant has pulled the Lakers to a somewhat surprising fifth best record in the NBA this season. The Lakers have missed key players such a Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown for significant portions of the season, yet they have persevered because of Bryant's newfound ability to maximize his team's potential on the court. Such an ability is the reason Bryant is so far deserving of the NBA MVP crown this season. Bryant has single-handedly made his teammates better than their natural abilities could have. This elevation of talents is inherent in the name of the award itself, MVP: Most Valuable Player. Take Kobe Bryant away from the Lakers and they most assuredly would not be in the playoff picture at this point in the season, much less resting with the fifth best record in the NBA.

Another key to Kobe's MVP candidacy is his ability to still be the Kobe Bryant of old. Even though he's shown the beginnings of Michael Jordan-like success in Phil Jackson's share-it triangle offense, Bryant has still shown that he can turn it on for 40 or 50 points any night the Lakers need it. Although, many of the NBA's marquee names are having outstanding seasons, Kobe Bryant is the most deserving candidate at the halfway point of the 2006-2007 NBA season.