It’s mid-October, so that means it’s now officially time for anyone with an opinion to pontificate about who will do what this year, and why. Opinions and misguided theories are being shaped as we speak. One particular topic that has gotten many people in basketball circles talking so far is the debate of who will win the league’s MVP award this year. It is a great debate and I think it will be a close race. Depending on who you speak to, it appears to be a two horse race between two-time reigning MVP, LeBron James, and the newest member of the “I’m a bad man” club, Kevin Durant. From what I can gather, it sounds like a lot of people are leaning towards Durant. In fact, in a recent poll given to GMs across the league, 28 of them picked Durant to win the award. Granted, in this poll, LeBron didn’t get much love, but aside from this particular poll, LeBron’s name is getting mentioned. But I have a question: Have people forgotten about Kobe Bryant?
As I just mentioned, LeBron is the two time reigning league MVP. With numbers somewhere in the 30, 7 and 7 ballpark the last two years, it’s tough to argue against him winning the award both times. Even with his new address, there are still some people (not as many as when he was still in Cleveland) who think he will win the award again. To take it a step further, some think he can even average a triple-double this year in doing so. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that the Heat will finish the year with the league’s best record, and as far as I’m concerned, the Heat are LeBron’s team already. Those two are good qualifiers for league MVP.
Naturally, LeBron has his share of haters in light of “The Decision” and the aftermath that ensued such as him taking his time to thank Cleveland and claiming that race played a role in how his decision was covered. Aside from that, those who don’t think he will win the award mainly feel so because he’s playing with another great player in Dwyane Wade, and a good player in Chris Bosh. Despite that, his name is in the mix.
Then there’s Kevin Durant. Talk about a coming out party. This summer at the FIBA World Championships in Istanbul, Durant showed the world (literally) that he is not to be messed with. A guy his size, who is able to do what he can offensively no matter who is guarding him, defies logic. Guys his size are usually banging on the block, not crossing his man up on the perimeter, or knocking down 3-pointers. To say that Durant is a special player would be the understatement of the month.
Even prior to his outstanding performance this summer en route to leading the U.S.A. to a long awaited Gold Medal in Turkey, Durant already asserted himself as a monster in the league. At just 21 years of age, he was the youngest scoring champ in league history, averaging just over 30 points. That alone makes it remarkable, especially when you think that last year should’ve been his senior season as a Texas Longhorn. Not only did he drop 30 a night, but who can forget his streak of 29 consecutive games of scoring at least 25 points during the season. Again, the man should’ve been in college still. Disgusting. Given all of that, it’s easy to see why many have fallen in love with picking Kevin Durant as league MVP this year. It’s a very sexy pick.
But…
Like I said at the top: What about that guy named Kobe Bryant? I hear he’s pretty good too. For my money, Kobe is still the best player in the league today. Nothing that I saw this summer or even last year has caused me to change my mind. Even at the tender age of 32, Kobe still gets it done and above all, Kobe likes to remind people that he is the greatest. He’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that people realize this. If that means running a guy out to town in order to get the spotlight, then so be it. It is what it is. Don’t think for one second that Kobe isn’t hearing people talk already about who will win the MVP award and realize that his name isn’t getting talked about as much as the two aforementioned. Even ESPN.com’s basketball homepage a few days ago had a picture of Kevin Durant and LeBron James with the title “M-V-Premature?” Kobe wasn’t pictured. The guy is still an assassin who routinely makes tougher shots than anyone else.
But of course, it’s very easy to hate Kobe and think otherwise. You can point to his alleged post-season chokes (which I find ridiculous given the fact that he has 5 rings) and the fact that for all of his greatness, he has only won one MVP award. Despite that, I think we’ll see a different Kobe this year. Again, he likes to make it known that he is the best and I truly believe that he is the most skilled guy in the league. Maybe he can’t jump as high as LeBron or doesn’t quite pose the matchup problems that Durant does, but must I say it again? He’s Kobe Bryant.
I’m the farthest thing from a Lakers fan, but I call it like I see it. I don’t know who will win the MVP award this year, but I will say that people need to stop looking past Kobe Bryant in this discussion. If I had to make a pick, however, I’d go with Kobe because LeBron has too much spotlight to share down in Florida, and Durant’s Thunder won’t be as good as Kobe’s Lakers, and they should have comparable stats. And we all know that a team’s success plays in to MVP voting for some reason.
All of that said, it should make for an interesting race.
If you’re looking for your everyday, predictable basketball talk, then go somewhere else, because Kevin Burke of The Kevin Burke Project brings provocative, thought provoking content about basketball as only he can. Kevin also hosts The Hoop Doctors weekly podcast show, which you can subscribe to for free on iTunes. Follow Kevin on Twitter and Facebook
