Top Dawgs In The NBA

by Bodog Sportsbook | Apr 15 2008

For 12 years he has graced our television sets, magazine covers, tabloids and hearts. Loved by many, hated by others and shrouded in controversy and squabble for much of his career… Could this be the year that Kobe is finally crowned the top dawg in the NBA? Or is there another more deserving player?



Top Dawg

Black Mamba, The Assassin, Killer Kobe, one-man team, best player on the planet, selfish, rapist… Kobe Bryant’s name has been associated with each of these monikers. Strangely, the one phrase that is missing from his resume since being drafted in 1996 is the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. To Kobe’s credit, after showing the world in the summer that he was the best player on Team USA, he has followed up with a phenomenal 2008 NBA season. It’s just that this year happens to feature a number of other players who have been simply amazing as well. Just because Kobe is considered the best player in the league and his team is in position to take top spot in the Western Conference, we’ll go ahead and put him as the frontrunner. But history has shown that being the frontrunner doesn’t mean a whole heck of a lot when it comes to MVP voting (more on that later). For now, let’s take a look at the other top contenders for the 2008 NBA MVP award.

Top Contenders

If you love basketball, then you love Kevin Garnett and everything he stands for. After joining Boston in the offseason, K.G. has changed the entire identity of the Celtics and has bolstered them to the top overall record in the NBA. If you look at the contrast in the turnaround from last year’s Celtics, who were among the worst teams in the league, to this year’s championship caliber Celtics team, and then combine that with the MVP numbers K.G. is throwing up, you have to like his chances at taking home the Top Dawg award. Playing with two other superstars, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, always helps as well.

> 2008 NBA MVP betting in the Bodog Sportsbook.

Chris Paul. Chris Paul. Chris Paul. Remember that name. Not since Isiah Thomas has the NBA seen a point guard of this caliber or of this magnitude. CP3 is one competitive son of a bitch. He is skilled in every single way; just watching the little things he does with the ball when he dribbles is entertaining. Paul has turned Tyson Chandler into a star, made David West a force to be reckoned with, revamped Peja Stojakovic’s career and has given the city of New Orleans a new reason to cheer again. Paul is averaging 21 points per game and almost 12 dimes per contest. It’s difficult to think of a player who is more valuable to his team than Chris Paul.

LeBron James is at it again. There is nothing LeBron doesn’t do for his team, and it’s not like he gets a lot of help night in and night out. All of the other MVP candidates we have just mentioned at least have a clear cut second and third scorer or top performer to back them up. Who does LeBron have? Zydrunas Ilgauskas? Wally Szczerbiak? Delonte West is a good pickup, but nobody does more for his team from game to game than LeBron James, the NBA’s leading scorer. I guess when there isn’t anyone else on your team scoring more than 15 points a game, you kind of have to. And yet, King James and the Cavaliers remained Eastern contenders, finishing fourth in the conference and earning home court advantage in the first round. I know, I know, it’s the East. But at 30 points per game and on the verge of winning the league’s scoring title, go ahead and make LeBron a sleeper pick for MVP honors.

The Field

The MVP award is such a difficult one to pinpoint. A solid case can be argued for any of the top players in the league to win the award. Let’s go ahead and toss names like Allen Iverson, Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Tracy McGrady, Deron Williams, Manu Ginobili, Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan into the mix and the debate heats up even further.  

Nothing Guaranteed

One thing is for sure: As we said earlier, being the frontrunner for the NBA MVP award means absolutely nothing. Last year, Disco Dirk Nowitzki pulled off the MVP award despite not leading the league in any statistical category - albeit, Dallas did boast the best record in the NBA in 2006. In 2005, Steve Nash won the second of his back-to-back MVP awards despite not having the best team in the league but leading the league in assists and free-throw percentage. So there is no clear cut formula to determine how valuable a player is to his team versus another great player. Snubs are commonplace when it comes to MVP voting. Just look at how many times Shaquille O’Neal was overlooked in his career: The Big Aristotle, now known as Big Cactus, has only won the award once! How about the 1996-97 season: Michael Jordan led the league in scoring while his Bulls went a league best 69-13 after going 72-10 the previous year, only to have the Mailman, Karl Malone, who did not lead the league in any statistical category and whose team finished 64-18, take home the MVP award. So go figure.