King James for MVP!

Unlike every other writer and analyst in the universe, I do not have Kobe Bryant as the MVP of the 2007/08 NBA Season. I think his numbers have been great, he’s arguably the most talented player in the league, and he’s led the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference. Instead, I’d give the MVP to LeBron James, who has had a much more impressive season.

First of all, statistics are always a significant factor in the league’s MVP voting. Although their numbers are very similar, LeBron’s are better in every offensive category. James has scored more points per game than Kobe (30.2 to 28.6), he’s gotten more rebounds (7.9 to 6.4) and he’s dished out more assists (7.3 to 5.4). The fact that LeBron has nearly two more assists per game simply amazes me, due to the fact that Kobe has a MUCH superior supporting cast… seriously, it’s not even fair what LeBron is working with.

Speaking of their respective squads, have you noticed who Kobe plays with? I think another deciding aspect in the voting should be how each team would fare without the MVP candidate. The Lakers are a great team this year, especially with their mid-season acquisition of Pau Gasol, who is averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds this year. Although he’s been out a few games due to injury, he’s played great when he’s been healthy, and has typically been the go-to-guy in every season of his seven year career. Without Kobe, Gasol would be expected to carry the scoring load, and it probably wouldn’t be much of an issue. Los Angeles also has Lamar Odom, who consistently puts up solid numbers in every offensive category, and the up-and-coming Andrew Bynum, who was averaging 13ppg and 10rpg before his unfortunate injury. What I’m trying to say is that even without Kobe, the Lakers would be a playoff team. They’d have a pretty impressive starting lineup consisting of Derek Fisher, Sasha Vujacic, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. Would they be at the top of the west? Doubtful, but I guarantee they could still be extremely competitive.

The Cleveland Cavaliers would be a completely different story if they didn’t have LeBron James on their roster, in fact, I’d be amazed if they would finish off this season with a better record than the Miami Heat. They’d have a starting lineup featuring Delonte West, a young, unproven combo-guard that’s mediocre at best (pending Daniel Gibson is still injured); Sasha Pavlovic, a very inconsistent, often-injured shooter; Wally Szczerbiak, a shooter that brings nothing else to the table; Ben Wallace, veteran forward well past his prime, who couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat; and Zydrundas Ilgauskas, an ailing center that’s a liability on defense and hasn’t left the ground in ages. Ouch. Not to mention the fact that they have no depth on their bench, including two players recently brought up from the NBADL. Without LeBron, who would be the leader on this team? Who would take the last shot? Would ANYONE be qualified to do so? I don’t think so. It’s safe to say that without King James, the Cavs would be a horrendous team.

Finally, the overall record of each team obviously plays a big part of the voting. Kobe’s Lakers would have the edge in this category; at the moment, the Lakers are 53-25 and LeBron’s Cavs are 42-35, a ten game discrepancy. More impressive is the fact that Los Angeles plays in the uber-competitive west, in probably the tightest conference race the NBA has ever seen, whereas Cleveland is the 4^th seed in a weak eastern conference. However, this still doesn’t change my perspective, favoring LeBron as the MVP. It all relates back to the players that James has surrounding him. Although the Lakers may have more wins, it’s because they have a better team – Kobe isn’t winning any of these games by himself. He doesn’t need to, because on the court with him, he has other players that consistently play great basketball night in and night out. In addition, the Lakers have an outstanding bench they can rely on in Ronny Turiaf, Luke Walton, and Sasha Vujacic. As for Cleveland, the only one they can continue to rely on is LeBron James, who’s led his team in scoring in 64 out of the 71 games he’s played. Big Z scores about 14 a game, and Daniel Gibson contributes almost 11, but other than that, there isn’t anyone else that’s even in double figures.

Yes, Kobe Bryant may arguably be the best player in the NBA right now, but he's not the MVP of the league this season. LeBron James is putting up substantially better numbers, he's single-handedly led his mediocre squad near the top of the conference, and let's face it, without King James, the Cavs would not be preparing for a playoff run... Instead, they'd most likely be lacing up their golf cleats.

- Scottie