As March Madness minus Georgetown rolls on and the NBA makes a mad dash to the finish line, one columnist has basketball on his mind. But because I can’t bring myself to revisit the tragedy of Black Easter, it seems like a good moment to take a look at an exciting end to the pro-circuit’s season and its ultra-tight MVP race.
The NBA’s MVP race is much more exciting than those in other professional sports leagues. Everyone is eligible, which opens up the competition: the NFL, for example, has awarded its MVP trophy to a quarterback or running back every year since linebacker Lawrence Taylor claimed the prize in 1986. In the NBA, every player laces up against every other player at some point during the 82-game slate, so it’s relatively simple to compare statistics, and it’s easy for even a casual viewer to spot which players are dominant. This season’s race has dwindled to a three-way battle between LeBron James, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant.
“The Chosen One,” Lebron is putting up typically monster numbers (30.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game) for the fourth-place Cavs. If the award was for the best player in the league, rather than most valuable, LeBron would undoubtedly be the runaway winner. His combination of size and skill is unmatched and he has the ability to end his career as the greatest player ever. But after Cleveland GM Danny Ferry finally made a shrewd deal to get James some help by adding Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak, his responsibility to his team has been slightly diminished.
The other two frontrunners, all-stars Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, hail from the superior Western Conference and represent two of its best teams. Bryant has had quite the dramatic year: after demanding to be traded over the summer because he didn’t think the Lakers were trying to win, he’s now the centerpiece of one of the league’s best teams alongside Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. His averages of 28.3 points and 5.4 assists per game are no surprise for the abundantly talented Bryant, but his leadership has taken a giant leap forward this year and helped the cohesion and development of the Lakers into a legitimate championship contender.
However, if the season ended today the award would have to go to the leader of the surprising Hornets, point guard Chris Paul. He has even stepped up in the last few weeks, including big home wins over the Celtics and the Spurs, and has backed up his play with solid numbers (21.7 points, 11.2 assists and 2.7 steals per game). He has almost single-handedly made frontcourt-mates David West and Tyson Chandler into legitimate threats, helping mold West into an All-Star and Chandler into a Most Improved Player candidate.
Paul gets the nod for leading his team to the top spot in the Western Conference, even if that lead is tenuous. If you took Paul off the Hornets’ roster, they may be struggling to make the playoffs in an ultra-competitive confrence. The Lakers, on the other hand, would still have all-star caliber players down low in Odom and Gasol, veteran guards like Derek Fisher and a three-point marksman like Sasha Vujacic, not to mention the soon-to-return Andrew Bynum. Under the tutelage of Phil Jackson, they’d still be in the thick of things without Kobe.
Either way, the NBA MVP and playoff races should be much more enjoyable than watching Stephen Curry’s quick release plastered all over TV while his proud papa smirks in the stands.
