Well, who would have thought this when the season started? After what was a tumultuous summer in which Kobe Bryant demanded a trade out of Lakerville, then rescinded the demand, then left it up to everyone to figure out, the Lakers played out their 82-game schedule in remarkable fashion that ended last night with a rout of Sacramento, pushing them to the top of the conference and giving them home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs. The Lakers finished the season 57-25 and head into the playoffs, which begin this weekend against either Dallas or Denver (to be determined tonight), having won 8 of their last 9 games. On top of all this, Kobe is on target to win his first MVP award in his career (although Chris Paul might still have a say in it).
Kobe should win the MVP this year for several reasons. One, after all he put the team and the fans through last summer, when it came down to playing the games, he kept his mouth shut once training camp started and maintained his focus on trying to help the Lakers win. Second, he might have had his most important season of his career because of what happened in the summer, and perhaps had his best all-around season of his career in spite of everything else that happened. Third, the team made a dramatic turnaround from last season's debacle and came out on top in a a very tough and grueling conference in large part because of Kobe's commitment and willingness, and several players became better players and improved drastically because of Kobe.
It should be noted that Lamar Odom had one of his best all-around seasons of his career, finishing with career highs in field goal percentage and total rebounds per game. Andrew Bynum was well on his way to having a stellar third season when he went down with that freak knee injury that has sidelined him since January. Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar improved dramatically from last season. And Pau Gasol has been an offensive force (the Lakers were 22-4 with him in the lineup) since he was acquired from Memphis. All of these things can be attributed to Kobe's presence, and his willingness to make players around him better.
Kobe Bryant, congratulations on earning your first career regular season MVP award. Keep doing what you've been doing all season and the Lakers will win their 15th NBA title and you'll earn your first NBA Finals MVP, as well!
Kobe should win the MVP this year for several reasons. One, after all he put the team and the fans through last summer, when it came down to playing the games, he kept his mouth shut once training camp started and maintained his focus on trying to help the Lakers win. Second, he might have had his most important season of his career because of what happened in the summer, and perhaps had his best all-around season of his career in spite of everything else that happened. Third, the team made a dramatic turnaround from last season's debacle and came out on top in a a very tough and grueling conference in large part because of Kobe's commitment and willingness, and several players became better players and improved drastically because of Kobe.
It should be noted that Lamar Odom had one of his best all-around seasons of his career, finishing with career highs in field goal percentage and total rebounds per game. Andrew Bynum was well on his way to having a stellar third season when he went down with that freak knee injury that has sidelined him since January. Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar improved dramatically from last season. And Pau Gasol has been an offensive force (the Lakers were 22-4 with him in the lineup) since he was acquired from Memphis. All of these things can be attributed to Kobe's presence, and his willingness to make players around him better.
Kobe Bryant, congratulations on earning your first career regular season MVP award. Keep doing what you've been doing all season and the Lakers will win their 15th NBA title and you'll earn your first NBA Finals MVP, as well!
