Lebron and the MVP… was he robbed?
In a word: yeah!
Was Lebron James this year’s Most Valuable Player? Yeah!
Did Kobe Bryant deserve it? Yeah!
Should Chris Paul have won it? Yeah!
The fact there’s no wrong answer to this question is a very good thing. It says the NBA is finding its stars again, just as it did in the 1980’s with Magic, Bird, Jordan, Dr. J, etc… Today the league is scoring high marks with its phenomenal young talent---Kobe, Lebron, Dwight Howard and coming soon, Greg Oden (plus many, many more)! In my opinion, James is the leader is this strikingly strong group and was MVP caliber this season.
Consider he led the NBA in scoring average, the lone player to average 30 points or more per game. But he’s also a master of the triple-double, tallying at least one a week this season! He makes the spectacular plays and the boring ones with the same proficiency. And James is developing into a firey defender, just like that other #23 was. In my view, he’s clearly the finest basketball player in the world, and may some day be called the greatest ever. His MVP, when it comes, will be well overdue.
Kobe Bryant has rebounded from a downturn in his personal and professional life to earn this season’s MVP. His scoring and defensive work have led the Lakers to greater heights than most expected this year. So I’m using this litmus test: who would win a game of one-on-one...Kobe or Lebron? My guess: James. He’s younger, bigger, more athletic and a surprisingly good shooter. Bryant would struggle getting off shots against James, IMO.
But did Lebron get robbed? Nah… it’s an award, and as long as the guy winning it was not recently in jail, David Stern could not care less. James is far from jail and further from average. One of the most remarkable athletes of our time is playing in his prime, and it’s time the NBA reward him (i mean with awards, not money--he’s good there).
