How Kobe finally earned his first MVP
At long last...
Kobe Bryant has been creeping up the MVP ballots his entire career. A look at his stats and voting finish since he first registered in 2000.
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For starters, during the most recent Lakers championship seasons (2000-02), Kobe shared the spotlight with Shaq. And despite Shaq's peace-making public announcements that the Lakers were "Kobe's team," there was no question that the Big Enchilada was the piece d'resistance. Simply because he was so dominant in the middle, defenses had to load up to prevent Shaq's dunkers, flip-hooks and baseline push-shots. This in-the-paint focus meant that Kobe was rarely double-teamed.
So it was that the Lakers were able to play inside-out basketball, with even the threat of Shaq's power game setting up just about everything the Lakers wanted to accomplish on offense.
Once Shaq was dealt to Miami, the Lakers were truly Kobe's team. Trouble was that they were either mediocre or sometimes even worse. And without Shaq's immense presence, Kobe ran amok — routinely breaking the offense, beating the ball to death while his teammates spectated, passing only when no shot was available, playing sometimes-defense and upon occasion, publicly denigrating the skills of his teammates.
For sure, he was still the league's premier player for several reasons:
Even so, the writers and broadcasters didn't take kindly to Kobe's selfishness, arrogance and petulance. He was still seen as Shaq's sidekick, who despite his on-court genius, was too big for his britches. Besides, how valuable could Kobe be if, with Shaq elsewhere, the Lakers had failed to make the playoffs once and failed to survive the first round twice?
To say nothing of Phil Jackson's opining that Kobe was "uncoachable."
Throw in all the other sideshows — the rape charge, the demand to be traded — and Kobe was deemed to be a great player but a poor teammate. Perhaps the Most Volatile Player, but definitely not the Most Valuable.
The question remains: What changed between then and now?
2008 NBA Finals
Thursday's Game 1
Analysis
- Kriegel: Kobe needs to be like Mike
- Boeck: West revisits the rivalry
- Kahn: PG matchup could be key
- Goodman: Ainge focused on present
- Kahn: Phil, Red the ultimate rivals
- Rosen: Comparing historic Big Threes
- Whatifsports.com: Finals simulations
- Rosen: One of Jackson's best jobs
- Kriegel: Don't forget to credit Kupchak
Photos
- Finals pics: Game 2 | Game 1
- Celtics-Lakers through the years
Video
Also
For all of these reasons, Kobe could smell another championship, one in which he (and not Shaq) would be the prime mover. So he became the model of decorum.
For certain, Kobe is still somewhat arrogant. Count all the times he informs an opponent that nobody can guard him. "No, no," he'll say, with a wagging of his head after he's scored still another amazing bucket. And he's usually right — when his mojo is working Kobe cannot be defended. But to a certain degree, all high-profile scorers require a well-formed ego in order to do what they're supposed to do.
In the past, Kobe wanted to be a leader, but none of his teammates wanted to follow him. This season, however, he's begun to fully trust his teammates, and they've responded by fully trusting him.
So whatever "Most Valuable Player" really means, it's still an award that the players appreciate even more than the fans do. And after all these years, the best player finally deserves to be honored as the most valuable.
For Kobe Bryant, the trophy is indeed an honor, but it's also a responsibility.
Let's see how he responds during the next few weeks.
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