Kobe wins MVP

[MajicMan]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-kobe3-2008may03,0,6643435.story


Karen Tapia-Andersen, Los Angeles Times

The Lakers season started off with a bit of uncertainty. Kobe Bryant said during the summer he wanted to be traded and publicly voiced his displeasure about team's direction. Here he is surrounded by the press during the annual Media Day in El Segundo.
Email Picture
Stern will make the official presentation to Lakers star next week.
By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 3, 2008
It took 12 seasons, but Kobe Bryant has finally been selected the NBA's most valuable player, The Times has learned.

Sources familiar with the outcome who were not authorized to speak publicly about the award until the official announcement from the league said Commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles next week to present the trophy to Bryant.

[Mavs<Spurs]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-kobe3-2008may03,0,6643435.story

Totally deserved it.

For one thing, he is a very good defender (which is why I always thought he should have gotten over Nash).

He makes his teammates better.

He is just an incredible basketball player.


Best choice.
:toast

[robbie380]

finally....it has been a long time coming for him. he is an amazing player.

[JoeTait75]

Well-deserved. Kobe is the best player in the Association. This was a long time coming.

[SAtown]

Congrats to Kobe finally getting it. It's a shame Utah will spoil the party, but it's still better than getting it in a press conference, right?

[duncan228]

Congrats to Kobe. He's an incredible player, he and the Lakers have had a great season. :toast

[MajicMan]

Congrats to Kobe finally getting it. It's a shame Utah will spoil the party, but it's still better than getting it in a press conference, right?

back handed compliment. way to ruin a thread.

[urunobili]

i am happy for him... he showed this season that he is classier than average and hand an unforgettable basketball run with the Flakers this season!

[Chief]

Kobe is expected to be a great player year after year. This year he won it because all the other years he didn´t get it ? sorry i´m not buying it. This year he had an emerging star Bynum, He also received Pau Gasol.

This should´ve gone to Chris Paul, Nobody thought his team would be in the 2nd round of the playoffs, and his team has maintained the #1 seed the majority of the season. He makes his team better by dishing out those assists, getting those steals, and when he has a chance, he´s known to score a lot too.

[kingsfan]

CP was robbed, without him Hornets would be in the lottery.

[BiZNicK]

Waiting for this to be shown on nba.com......

[50 cent]

He's my favorite non-Spur in the league.

Greatest player on the planet right now.

[JamStone]

Congrats, 24.

[DAF86]

Great player but he didn't deserve the MVP this season. Did Garnett recieve more 1st place votes than Paul? if that's true this ballot's a joke

[SpursDynasty]

How about that, Chris Paul? Idiot. You're not winning anything. Prepared to be swept by an average of 15 points by the Spurs.

[JoeTait75]

Great player but he didn't deserve the MVP this season. Did Garnett recieve more 1st place votes than Paul? if that's true this ballot's a joke

Man, it's Kobe Bryant. You really can't go wrong giving the man an MVP.

[TheNextGen]

Gratz Kobe. Definately the right choice. Best player on the #1 seed team in the west.

[Armando]

Chris Paul deserved it more. He has done more with less talent then Kobe.

[resistanze]

Chris Paul deserved it more. He has done more with less talent then Kobe.
Kobe had less talent in 2006 and it was used against him.

It was either between KB24 and CP3, both are deserving.

[DAF86]

Kobe had less talent in 2006 and it was used against him.

It was either between KB24 and CP3, both are deserving.

Kobe'd have won it in 06 but not this year

[Allanon]

CP3 had less talent than Kobe on his team? You gotta be kidding me. CP3, David West, Peja and Chandler are All-Star talent. That's the best starting 4 in the West just like the Pistons.

Before Gasol came to the Lakers in February, the Kobe had 0 All Star players on the team.

CP3 is good but he had the #2 seed, should have gotten #1 if he wanted to be #1. Simple as that.

[Armando]

It will be great to see the Lakers lose Game 1 after KB24 MVP presentation.

[MI21]

Tim Duncan forum.

:)

[JamStone]

Chris Paul deserved it more. He has done more with less talent then Kobe.

Peja missed 69 games last year. David West missed 30 games last year. The Hornets still won 39 games. People act like the Lakers added Gasol and the Hornets are the same exact team as last year. The Hornets improved their roster too, but it was just from injuries. This season between Kobe and Chris Paul, only David West was an all star teammate of either.

Kobe absolutely deserved it this year. Chris Paul was deserving as well, but he wasn't more deserving. It was a toss-up between the two, and Kobe was a perfectly acceptable choice.

[ducks]

CP was robbed, without him Hornets would be in the lottery.
so would the lakers without kobe
THINK

[Nahtanoj]

THINK

That's one of the main problem with a lot of sports fans.. the inability to think.

[TheMACHINE]

Chris Paul deserved it more. He has done more with less talent then Kobe.

LOL...done more...last time i checked, he came second in the west with a team with no injuries.

[Medvedenko]

Finally...

[Steve_Javie]

Finally...

You are the biggest fucking homer on this board. Canada sucks. Just like you.

[Deuces88]

Chris Paul should of been MVP but Kobe has more fanboys around the world, so he would have gotten it sooner or later. Kobe didn't deserve it. He has skill, but I don't respect anyone who goes...

"I wanna trade because my teammates suck....oh we got some good players, okay I'll stay"

That's not MVP quality. Especially since Kobe is the reason his teammates don't play at their best. He takes like half the team's shots. The others players don't even have a chance to show what they can do. Only now after they are getting the ball and are getting passes does Kobe realize he has quality players.

With Paul on the other hand, he is the heart of the Hornets, has better defense (leads the league in steals), has an insane Assist-Turnover ratio seeing how many assists his averages which means he takes care of the ball REALLY well. The only thing Kobe has over Paul is PPG and that's expected seeing as Paul would rather pass than shoot. Kobe is shoot and if he is off that night, he doesn't care and keeps shooting.

Kobe attempted 400 more FG than Paul (Kobe attempted 160 more 3's) and Kobe attempted 350 more FTs than Paul. However, Paul has a better percentage in all three of those stats.

Stat-wise, Paul betters Kobe in everything but shooting and rebounds. Shooting is obvious because Kobe shoots the ball WAY more and Paul is a pass-first-get-his-team-involved player. Rebounds weren't impressive from either side and that's to be expected so I don't count them. So stat-wise Paul > Kobe.

In making the team better, Paul > Kobe because without Paul, the Hornets crumble. Without Kobe, the Lakers won't win as much, but they will still have a winning record as they have Bynum/Odom (Yea, Bynum is injured but he's still a strong center; Odom does good with his 14 and 10) and Gasol. With Fisher also there, they'd definitely still have a winning record even if Kobe sat out.

Paul's passing makes his team shoot so much better and gives them more confidence to play better. Kobe has good players around him already. Bynum was and will be strong after his injury, Gasol is strong, Odom is decent, Fisher is decent. Furthermore, those 4 don't need to feed off of Kobe to get their points. Players like Chandler, West, and Peja need to feed of Paul's decisions and leadership to get their stats up.

Since Paul > Kobe in stats and in making his team better, what criteria are they using to justify this decision? Fan base? Experience? Age?

[Allanon]

Chris Paul should of been MVP

"I wanna trade because my teammates suck....oh we got some good players, okay I'll stay"

That's not MVP quality.
This is a season award, not pre-season. Once the season started, he got down to business. You think Chris Paul would be happy if his team sucked for 4 years? Kobe kept his mouth shut for 4 years...if you were unhappy at your job, would you wait 4 years to say something?


Only now after they are getting the ball and are getting passes does Kobe realize he has quality players.
They sucked last year, Kwame Brown...Smush Parker...what do you expect them to do when they get the pass? You see how poorly EVERYONE shot last year? Would you rather see Kobe shoot or watch Kwame fumble a pass? Or maybe you want to see Smush Parker break the backboard with his brick shots? Kobe passed, nobody made the shots.


The only thing Kobe has over Paul is PPG and that's expected seeing as Paul would rather pass than shoot. Kobe is shoot and if he is off that night, he doesn't care and keeps shooting. Kobe attempted 400 more FG than Paul (Kobe attempted 160 more 3's) and Kobe attempted 350 more FTs than Paul. However, Paul has a better percentage in all three of those stats.

Kobe is a SHOOTING guard, CP3 is a POINT GUARD. It's CP3's job to make assists and it's Kobe's job to shoot :D



Paul's passing makes his team shoot so much better and gives them more confidence to play better. Kobe has good players around him already. Bynum was and will be strong after his injury, Gasol is strong, Odom is decent, Fisher is decent. What criteria are they using to justify this decision? Fan base? Experience? Age?

Odom sucked last year, Gasol is here THIS year. CP3 has 3 All Star type guys with him this whole year.

Again, CP3 is a POINT GUARD who is supposed to pass...you want to give CP3 the MVP because he's doing his job? :downspin:

[Johnny RIngo]

Kobe deserves it, especially after being robbed of the award in '06.

[Deuces88]

@Allanon: Do you know what Point Guard means? He guards the points. In other words, he makes the best decision for the score. If he thinks the best decision is a pass, he passes. If he thinks the best decision is to shoot, he shoots it.

Kobe just shoots when he feels like it. Shooting guard means you're a good offensive weapon. It doesn't mean shoot every time the ball touches your fingers.

You said Odom sucked last year. By saying "last year," you admit he's good this year and now they have Gasol and Bynum played a good portion of the season. So basically, the team as a whole is better than last year and it wasn't because of Kobe. You proved my point, thanks.

[Allanon]

@Allanon: Do you know what Point Guard means? He guards the points. In other words, he makes the best decision for the score. If he thinks the best decision is a pass, he passes. If he thinks the best decision is to shoot, he shoots it.

Sure, it's his job to make the pass, and he did a fine job of it. He shouldn't get extra brownie points because he did his job well. Just as Kobe did his job well too. Kobe scored more points and got more rebounds, that's his job. CP3 had more assists and steals, that's HIS job.



Kobe just shoots when he feels like it. Shooting guard means you're a good offensive weapon. It doesn't mean shoot every time the ball touches your fingers.
Kobe only shot 20 shots per game. There are about 80 per game. Sounds like the right number for your superstar SHOOTING guard.



You said Odom sucked last year. By saying "last year," you admit he's good this year and now they have Gasol and Bynum played a good portion of the season. So basically, the team as a whole is better than last year and it wasn't because of Kobe. You proved my point, thanks.

Last year's team was horrendous. It wasn't that they didn't get shots, they weren't making them.

They improved by themselves and with Kobe's motivation and trust. Who's to say they DIDN'T get better because of Kobe? It takes two. Kobe's a much better leader this year, that probably accounts for alot of the team success. 1 man can't do it alone, MVPs always have help so Gasol and Bynum as added bonus is pointless. CP3 had David West, Peja and Chandler (all of whom are good players). Again both guys needed help.

The fact remains that the Lakers are a MUCH better team and it starts with the leader, the MVP, Kobe Bean Bryant.

[Allanon]

You know, this argument will be easy to fix.

First of all, CP3 failed to get a better team record than the Lakers. CP3 failed to win in a pivotal late series game against the Lakers. But let's ignore all that.

If CP3 is that good, he will bring his "much improved team" and meet the Lakers in the WCF and beat the MVP out of Kobe. If he beats Kobe in the WCF, he should have gotten the MVP. If he doesn't, we know which player deserved the MVP.

Let's see which MVP candidate made their team (more) better.

Simple as that :D

[Deuces88]

Sure, it's his job to make the pass, and he did a fine job of it. He shouldn't get extra brownie points because he did his job well. Just as Kobe did his job well too. Kobe scored more points and got more rebounds, that's his job. CP3 had more assists and steals, that's HIS job.

Getting more rebounds isn't his job. Besides he only average 2 more boards than Paul so that's pretty insignificant. Paul has a better shooting percentage but Kobe has more PPG. If they shot the same amount of shots, then Paul would score more. The fact that Kobe has more points meaning he has to shoot A LOT more to overcome Paul's better shooting percentage.

No one has a specific job for stats. Point Guard doesn't automatically mean a lot of assists and steals. It means he GUARDS THE POINTS.

Parker is a great PG and he only averages 7 assists and 1 steal. He is still great at guarding the points and making the right decisions. If a decision means passing to Player A, who passes it to Player B for the score, Player A gets the assist but the PG still makes the right decision. Paul going above and beyond in the assist category meaning he has great court awareness and realizes opportunities quickly.

Being a PG doesn't mean you're good at steals. Stealing is a defensive stat that anyone can do good in. Ron Artest came in 2nd in steals and last time I checked he isn't a PG. He is just a great defender and both Artest and Paul are better defenders than Kobe. Hands down.



Kobe only shot 20 shots per game. There are about 80 per game. Sounds like the right number for your superstar SHOOTING guard.

Shooting guard means you're a good shooter and should be an efficient shooter. It doesn't mean take a lot of shots. 20 attempts PER game is different from 20 attempts a game. There are games he takes less and are games where he takes way more.

LeBron, who averages more than Kobe in points (1.7 more points), shot 48 shots LESS than Kobe. Allen Iverson and Melo, who scored 1.9 and 2.6 points less, respectively, than Kobe also (along with LJ) have better FG% than Kobe. With Iverson and Melo, it's the same comparison with Paul. Kobe would need to shoot a lot more to overcome having a worse FG%. With James, it's really bad because James attempts less, but scores more.

Like I said, shooting guard means you are a good offensive weapon and an EFFICIENT shooter. Kobe takes too much shots and isn't as efficient as he should be.


Last year's team was horrendous. It wasn't that they didn't get shots, they weren't making them.

They improved by themselves and with Kobe's motivation and trust. Who's to say they DIDN'T get better because of Kobe? It takes two. Kobe's a much better leader this year, that probably accounts for alot of the team success. 1 man can't do it alone, MVPs always have help so Gasol and Bynum as added bonus is pointless. CP3 had David West, Peja and Chandler (all of whom are good players). Again both guys needed help.

The fact remains that the Lakers are a MUCH better team and it starts with the leader, the MVP, Kobe Bean Bryant.

Kobe attempted 1757 shots last year and 2173 the year before. They weren't getting the ball. He was shooting every time the ball came near him.

There is nothing that implies that Lakers did better because Kobe is a better leader. Lakers have better players so they did better.

Hornets, on the other hand, have decent players and Paul. If Paul has a bad passing game, you'll see everyone else's stats suffer. If Kobe has a bad game, I don't think that's going to affect what Odom, Gasol, and Bynum do because Kobe isn't primarily a passer so if he has a bad passing game, Gasol and Odom are still going to get their points.

[Deuces88]

You know, this argument will be easy to fix.

First of all, CP3 failed to get a better team record than the Lakers. CP3 failed to win in a pivotal late series game against the Lakers. But let's ignore all that.

If CP3 is that good, he will bring his "much improved team" and meet the Lakers in the WCF and beat the MVP out of Kobe. If he beats Kobe in the WCF, he should have gotten the MVP. If he doesn't, we know which player deserved the MVP.

Let's see which MVP candidate made their team (more) better.

Simple as that :D

I was enjoying our debate until you put this piece of garbage argument out. This is the dumbest thing I ever heard. You think being 1 game behind the Lakers means anything? Spurs are 3rd seed and trust me when I say Spurs will be picking the Lakers apart if Lakers somehow survive against the Jazz (frankly Gasol cannot deal with Boozer and Deron is too good of a PG).

IMO, it will be another Spurs-Jazz WCF. But let's say Lakers get by the Jazz and lose to the Spurs. All that would be proved is that both Hornets and Lakers lost to the Spurs.

"CP3 failed to win in a pivotal late series game against the Lakers."

That game isn't as pivotal as you think. Home Court Advantage isn't a big deal to strong players. Look at the Spurs. You think they give a crap about home court advantage? They showed the Suns that it means nothing as they came into the Suns home game 3 and whipped their asses.

Smart basketball fans know that home court advantage does not affect much of the play. It may affect the more inexperienced teams who run on emotions, but not good teams. Hornets may be inexperienced, but they aren't running on emotions.

[Allanon]

Like I said, shooting guard means you are a good offensive weapon and an EFFICIENT shooter. Kobe takes too much shots and isn't as efficient as he should be.
He's not efficient "as he could be" because he gets double and triple teamed.


Kobe attempted 1757 shots last year and 2173 the year before. They weren't getting the ball. He was shooting every time the ball came near him.

Again, Kobe shot 27 maximum shots, there were still 40+ shots available and nobody else was making them, just look at their FG%



There is nothing that implies that Lakers did better because Kobe is a better leader. Lakers have better players so they did better.

Nothing implies that CP3 made his team better, but we know he did, just like Kobe did.



Hornets, on the other hand, have decent players and Paul. If Paul has a bad passing game, you'll see everyone else's stats suffer. If Kobe has a bad game, I don't think that's going to affect what Odom, Gasol, and Bynum do because Kobe isn't primarily a passer so if he has a bad passing game, Gasol and Odom are still going to get their points.

Peja, Tyson and Chandler are more than decent, they're very good players.

But there's no point arguing, you can't prove EITHER one made their team better with numbers. Let's see who wins:

First of all, CP3 failed to get a better team record than the Lakers. CP3 failed to win in a pivotal late series game against the Lakers. But let's ignore all that.

If CP3 is as good as you said he is and made his team so much better than Kobe, he will bring his "much improved team" and meet the Lakers in the WCF and beat the MVP out of Kobe. If he beats Kobe in the WCF, he should have gotten the MVP. If he doesn't, we know which player deserved the MVP.

Let's see which MVP candidate made their team (more) better...this argument will be settled in a few weeks.

Simple as that :D

[Deuces88]

He's not efficient "as he could be" because he gets double and triple teamed.

So you're further proving my argument? If he's double and triple teamed and STILL shoots then he's a moron and is FAR from being an efficient scorer. Being triple teamed is an automatic pass.


Again, Kobe shot 27 maximum shots, there were still 40+ shots available and nobody else was making them, just look at their FG%

Funny because I remember Bynum scoring 13 PPG on 63% shooting. Gasol with 22 PPG with 59% shooting and Odom's 12 PPG with 53% shooting.


Nothing implies that CP3 made his team better, but we know he did, just like Kobe did.

A lot implied CP3 made the team better. He averages the most assists and when he has a bad game, so do they. Passing is pretty much the best quality for getting your team into the game. That's what being unselfish means: Passing.


Peja, Tyson and Chandler are more than decent, they're very good players.

But there's no point arguing, we shall see:

You know, this argument will be easy to fix.

First of all, CP3 failed to get a better team record than the Lakers. CP3 failed to win in a pivotal late series game against the Lakers. But let's ignore all that.

If CP3 is that good, he will bring his "much improved team" and meet the Lakers in the WCF and beat the MVP out of Kobe. If he beats Kobe in the WCF, he should have gotten the MVP. If he doesn't, we know which player deserved the MVP.

Let's see which MVP candidate made their team (more) better.

Simple as that :D

Peja, Chandler, and West have their stats influenced by how Paul plays. Furthermore, your argument here is increasingly terrible. It's probably the most flawed argument I've seen on these forums.

[Allanon]

So you're further proving my argument? If he's double and triple teamed and STILL shoots then he's a moron and is FAR from being an efficient scorer. Being triple teamed is an automatic pass.

Yes, that's why he's passing this year and is winning the MVP? Makes sense to me.



Funny because I remember Bynum scoring 13 PPG on 63% shooting. Gasol with 22 PPG with 59% shooting and Odom's 12 PPG with 53% shooting.
Kobe takes up the defensive pressure so these guys are much more open. ie Makes his teammates better.



A lot implied CP3 made the team better. He averages the most assists and when he has a bad game, so do they. Passing is pretty much the best quality for getting your team into the game. That's what being unselfish means: Passing.

Yes, your passing is your point guard's JOB.



Peja, Chandler, and West have their stats influenced by how Paul plays. Furthermore, your argument here is increasingly terrible. It's probably the most flawed argument I've seen on these forums.

Hahah, that's the best you can come up with? I look forward to seeing YOUR MVP beating Kobe in the WCF :lol

[Deuces88]

Yes, that's why he's passing this year and is winning the MVP? Makes sense to me.


Kobe takes up the defensive pressure so these guys are much more open. ie Makes his teammates better.



Yes, your passing is your point guard's JOB.



Hahah, that's the best you can come up with? I look forward to seeing YOUR MVP beating Kobe in the WCF :lol

1. Paul is a better passer. That point of yours fails
2. Shooting while triple teamed in taking off defensive pressure? Wow, you know nothing about basketball. Another of your points fails
3. Still don't know that a PG's job is only to guard the points and not necessarily pass? Oh you don't know about BBall? I forgot. Another point fails.
4. I invalidated that weak argument but I'll break it down for you again

Obvious point is that they have different routes to WCF. Paul has a harder one:

Mavericks > Nuggets
Spurs > Jazz

Lakers aren't even going to get past the Jazz. I won't say anymore, just watch the game. Hornets won't get past Spurs either.

Now if Lakers do survive the Jazz and lose to the Spurs, nothing will be proven because both would have lost to the same team.

Those 3 points makes your argument here invalidated and again fails.

I realize you are a Kobe fanboy who will suck him off no matter what he does throughout the years. Not even the facts will change your mind so there is no point arguing with a person who is in love with Kobe and doesn't even know about basketball

:lmao
:rollin

[Allanon]

Lakers aren't even going to get past the Jazz. I won't say anymore, just watch the game. Hornets won't get past Spurs either.

Now if Lakers do survive the Jazz and lose to the Spurs, nothing will be proven because both would have lost to the same team.

Those 3 points makes your argument here invalidated and again fails.

I realize you are a Kobe fanboy who will suck him off no matter what he does throughout the years. Not even the facts will change your mind so there is no point arguing with a person who is in love with Kobe and doesn't even know about basketball

:lmao
:rollin

Gettin' a little angry aren't we? :downspin:

Sure we'll see if the Lakers beat your mighty Spurs as obviously you believe your "MVP" won't make it. :D Make sure you bump the thread then.

[Deuces88]

Gettin' a little angry aren't we? :downspin:

Sure we'll see if the Lakers beat your mighty Spurs as obviously you believe your "MVP" won't make it. :D Make sure you bump the thread then.

:lmao
:flag:

[lefty]

I used to hate Kobe, but I think he totally deserves it :toast

[TheMACHINE]

In making the team better, Paul > Kobe because without Paul, the Hornets crumble. Without Kobe, the Lakers won't win as much, but they will still have a winning record as they have Bynum/Odom (Yea, Bynum is injured but he's still a strong center; Odom does good with his 14 and 10) and Gasol. With Fisher also there, they'd definitely still have a winning record even if Kobe sat out.




LOL. A winning record but not in the playoffs. This is the west. Without Kobe...10th place.

[MONTENEGRINO]

Totally deserved it.

For one thing, he is a very good defender (which is why I always thought he should have gotten over Nash).

He makes his teammates better.

He is just an incredible basketball player.


Best choice.
:toast
He deserved it at least in 2 out of last 6-7 seasons...
:toast:toast:toast

[ElNono]

This MVP was long overdue. CP3 will get his eventually.
That said, I bet this is part of Stern's plan for the Lakers-Celtics finals.

[MajicMan]

This MVP was long overdue. CP3 will get his eventually.
That said, I bet this is part of Stern's plan for the Lakers-Celtics finals.

Not if the Hawks can help it.

[CP3 Dynasty]

What a fluke, it's all just a big publicity stunt.