MVP? One, Two & Three

As the NBA season winds down, there is as interesting race going on for the Most Valuable Player award.

The debate is as old as the game itself. Should it be based on statistics? Must their team make a significant run in the play-offs? How valuable are they.....to their teams' wins?

Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul , and LeBron James will finish one, two, and three in this years' voting (though not necessarily in the order just mentioned).

Let us take a look at what these three .....and their teams .......have accomplished this season......then .....you be the judge.

LeBron James...... 30+ points per game, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists. Cleveland's record as of today is 43-36 and holds the 4th seed in the play-offs. LeBron is the teams' leader in defensive rebounds, assists, steals, and scoring. He has played in 73 of the 79 games played and leads the team in minutes per game at 40:23. LeBron leads the league in scoring (30.0) and is 9th in assists (7.2).





Chris Paul.......21.1 points per game, 4 rebounds, and 11.6 assists. New Orleans' record is the best in the western conference at 55-24. Chris has played in 77 of the 79 games played, and leads the team is assists, steals, and points. In only his 3rd NBA season, Chris (only 6' 0" tall) has led the once hapless Hornets into becoming one of the elite teams in the west.



Kobe Bryant...........28.5 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. The Lakers are 55-25 with the 2nd best record in the west. Kobe has played in all 80 games. He leads the team in minutes played (almost 40 per game), scoring, assists, and steals. Very few people expected much from the Lakers this year, yet Kobe has led this team to a Pacific division title despite playing without budding star Andrew Bynum who missed over half the season.

So..................will it be Kobe? Or Chris? Or LeBron?

My choice? Chris Paul .......... then again..........Kobe is the games' best player.....

But then LeBron is leading the league in scoring.......

A case can be made for each of these guys. May the best man win.