Well the NBA regular season ends tonight and as expected, the West rankings are still not set. It has been a good year for the NBA, excluding the unbelievable disappointing season for the Bulls. The most prestigious award in the NBA, aside from winning the championship, is the MVP, and there has been a good group of contenders this year. Below are some of the most important statistics for the 4 contenders (NBA ranks are in parentheses). All this data is correct as of April 15th.
Kobe has really had a great year and has had convincing statistics to back it up. He has never won the MVP before, but this might be his best chance thus far. His scoring ability is not in question and he has shown pretty good defense (steals), but when you look at the guy who handles the ball almost every single possession, his assist and turnover numbers do not look good.
Kevin Garnett is a workhorse and is one of the most underrated players in the game. Unfortunately, going to a team with so much talent (Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, among others) has reduced his scoring. Although he has a great field goal percentage, the only statistical category he leads for the Celtics is rebounds, which was expected. Bottom line, he is still as talented as ever, but is masked by too much talent around him. He probably doesn’t mind since he has a legitimate shot at the championship for the first time.
LeBron James is extremely fun to watch and shows how good he is night in and night out. This is shown by being the overall scoring leader. For being very similar to Kobe in his early career, LeBron has shown that he can pass the ball (assists) and play defense (steals) better than Kobe could at that age. He has also almost single handedly turned around the Cavs with much less help than Kobe got this year.
Chris Paul is amazing, and that’s an understatement. He is arguably the best point guard in the league by leading the NBA in both assists and steals. As a true point guard should, he thinks pass first, shoot second, and that shows with his high assists and moderate scoring (21.1 ppg is not anything to laugh at though!).
One other statistic I forgot to include was the number of double-doubles.
Chris Paul – 54 (2)
LeBron James – 31 (19)
Kevin Garnett – 29 (21)
Kobe Bryant – 20 (38)
My Vote:
1) Chris Paul
2) LeBron James
3) Kobe Bryant
4) Kevin Garnett
In summary, Chris Paul should be the unanimous decision for MVP. Not only does he lead the NBA in assists and steals, he has fewer turnovers than both Kobe and LeBron. He also has more double-doubles and a better free throw percentage than the other three contenders. He has also helped to bring a worthless 2006-07 New Orleans team to 2 wins away from a #1 seed in the West this year. LeBron finishes 2nd in my book because he is a better scorer, better rebounded, better passer, and better shooter than Kobe. As aforementioned, Kobe has had a great year and very similar statistics to the other 3 contenders, but Kobe has not had the team challenges that Paul and James have had. If Kobe gets the MVP, he should have to split it with Pau Gasol. Kobe has had too much talent around him to make him the most valuable player in the NBA. This is the same situation for Garnett, not to mention his stats being overshadowed by his own team and by the other 3 contenders. Unfortunately, since the Lakers won the West, Kobe will probably get it. Bottom line: Chris Paul is the most deserving and outstanding player in the NBA, regardless of how his team does and the talent (or lack there of) that he has around him.
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