Kobe does it all, deserves MVP

Tim Povtak
Kobe does it all, deserves MVP
Published April 23, 2006


Kobe Bryant is the best basketball player in the world today. He deserves to be the NBA Most
Valuable Player.

In any other season, LeBron James or Steve Nash or Dirk Nowitzki could be a deserving winner, but
anyone other than Bryant this season would be a real injustice.

He might not be the politically correct choice -- Eagle, Colo., never will go away -- but the
award is not about the past or about potential.

It's about now. And no one does more for his team than Bryant does.

Anyone who can carry a team with as little talent as the Los Angeles Lakers have into the
playoffs -- something that stars such as Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, Paul Pierce and Tracy
McGrady failed to do -- deserves his due. It's not his fault the Lakers also start Smush Parker,
Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. To win 45 games -- 10 more than last year -- is a major accomplishment
with Luke Walton as a scoring option.

Bryant had the NBA's highest scoring average (35.4 points per game) in 19 years. He scored 62
points in three quarters against Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. He had 50 points or more six
times. And he had that absolutely amazing 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. He rarely has an
off night.

Only two other players in NBA history (Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan) have scored more
points in a season than Bryant did (2,832). His average is the highest since Jordan averaged 37.1
during the 1986-87 season. He made it fun to watch Lakers games. And he plays better defense than
James, Nash and Nowitzki combined.

Speaking of Jordan, guess how many NBA championships he had when he was Bryant's age (27)? Zero.
Bryant has three, his first scoring title and the prospect of his first MVP Award. He's become
Jordan all over again.

He is the reason -- the only reason -- the Lakers are being viewed today as a dangerous
first-round opponent for the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.

He takes the shots not because a scoring title excites him. He takes the shots because it's the
best way for the Lakers to win games. And that's no reason to deny him the MVP.

Runners-up: Nash, James, Nowitzki.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Chris Paul.

It's hard to imagine now how anyone passed on the chance to take point guard Chris Paul, who might
be the next Isiah Thomas. Paul wins in a landslide after leading all rookies in scoring (16.1
ppg), assists (7.8 assists per game) and steals (2.24 steals per game).

The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets took Paul with the fourth pick in the 2005 draft -- which is
a little embarrassing now for the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz, who chose Marvin Williams and Deron
Williams, respectively, in front of him. Paul is the only one of the bunch who can say
definitively that he will become an all-star very soon.

Runners-up: Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva and Raymond Felton.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Avery Johnson.

To win 54 games with Amare Stoudemire out and Joe Johnson in Atlanta is a good reason to sing the
praise of Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix. And everyone loves the up-and-down style he plays with Nash
and his track team.

Flip Saunders didn't miss a beat when he took over the Detroit Pistons, kind of dimming the star
of Larry Brown, who got so much credit in Detroit from the previous two seasons.

Yet Johnson gets the nod because he brought something new -- defense -- to a franchise that hardly
bothered in past seasons. The Mavericks have become a gritty team, winning 60 games. They stayed
right with the San Antonio Spurs all season, and they might be the team to knock off the Spurs,
too.

Runners-up: Mike Dunleavy, Saunders, D'Antoni.

SIXTH MAN: Mike Miller

Anyone who sends boxes of M&Ms to the voters deserves some serious consideration, but Mike Miller
probably didn't need the help. It was a new role for him, and he did it well, giving the Memphis
Grizzlies a legitimate threat in reserve as the second-leading scorer (13.7 points) on a
low-scoring team. Once Rookie of the Year with the Magic, Miller would be a nice fit today with
his 3-point shooting ability. He also has learned how to rebound and drive the ball.

Runners-up: Jerry Stackhouse, Alonzo Mourning, Speedy Claxton.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Boris Diaw.

Maybe it was just a change of scenery, or maybe it was point guard Nash, but Boris Diaw hasn't
looked like the same player in Phoenix as he was in Atlanta. Viewed as a throw-in during the
sign-and-trade deal that brought Joe Johnson to Atlanta, Diaw has made the Hawks regret giving
away more than they needed to give to get Johnson. Diaw went from 4.8 points and 2.3 assists to
13.3 points and 6.2 assists and wins the award easily.

Jameer Nelson made a late-season rush in Orlando, but like the Magic in the playoff chase, it was
too late. Nenad Krstic gives the New Jersey Nets some hope in the front court, and Mehmet Okur
does the same in Utah.

Runners-up: David West, Nelson and Krstic.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ben Wallace.

Ben Wallace didn't have a great year blocking shots, but he was the only player to finish among
the NBA's top 10 in steals (1.78 spg) and blocks (2.21 bpg). Maybe success has softened him a bit,
but he's still the guy you want in the post defensively in a big series. His tough-guy image took
a hit when he declined to re-enter that game in Orlando, but there isn't an NBA team that wouldn't
take him as a free agent.

Utah's Andrei Kirilenko is becoming a complete player, blocking 3.19 shots every game and adding
to his offensive prowess.

Runners-up: Kirilenko, Bruce Bowen and Marcus Camby.

Around the rim

Shareef Abdur-Rahim of the Sacramento Kings tried to act cool, but he was smiling inside. After
744 regular-season games, he finally got his first playoff appearance Saturday against San
Antonio, snapping the longest current streak in the league. Abdur-Rahim had been with the
Vancouver Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers before getting this shot in
Sacramento. "I'm not going to waste this opportunity,'' he said. He was closing in on the NBA
record held by Tom Van Arsdale, who went 929 regular-season games without a playoff appearance.

How about wild-man Ron Artest of Sacramento? He said his No. 8-seeded Kings should be the
favorites against No. 1 seeded- San Antonio. Better believe Manu Ginobili is a little bit worried
about what Artest might do.

There obviously is something wrong with the system when the Los Angeles Clippers tanked their
final couple of regular-season games, wanting to drop into the No. 6 seed instead of being at No.
5. By falling to No. 6, they got a matchup with the No. 3 Denver Nuggets, and they also got the
home-court advantage, based on a better regular-season record. If they had stayed at No. 5, they
would have been traveling to Dallas to open the playoffs.

A Final Thought: It's time for NBA money ball. Playoff performances will propel some careers and
set others back.

Tim Povtak can be reached at tpovtak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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No heart? I'm all heart, MOTHERFUCKA!!!

Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell in "Jerry Maguire."


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