David Robinson and Larry Bird transformed their respective franchises quite dramatically in one season, but it's hard to argue with your points on Kevin.

Remember when Barkley beat out Jordan for MVP? It was based on the improvement of the Suns that season compared to the last, hence him being so valuable to that team. Was a shock at the time, but in hindsight, right call I think.

Apart from Jordan, who else has won DPOTY and MVP in the same season?

One guy won ROTY and MVP in the same season, anyone know who?

Slightly off topic but I really want to know, with all those incredible stats in last few years, who was the last guy to get a quadruple double in an NBA regular season game?

Good discusion Lockstock.

Garnett was 36th in the league in blocks and 23rd in steals this year.

With those two stats he wins the DPOTY?

To me it looks like there wa a meeting and they voted on the MVP and then remembered they had to give Garnett something for turning Boston around.

Although if you give me Ray Allen and Paul Pierce with Cassell of the bench i reckon i could turn my social team around too.

Phizzer - did Wilt win ROTY and MVP? Robinson the last quadruple double? As for DPOTY & MVP - Duncan?

Good point Kent - seems everyone had Garnett as a lock for DPOTY but why?

I just think that Garnett turned his team around in more ways than wins. He changed the culture singlehandedly..

Garnett didnt have much of a culture to change.. Only 3 or 4 guys from last years team are still their!!

Seriously what more does Kobe need to do? There is no better player on the planet right now!

The Lakers will probably with the Title this year, why? Because of Kobe! Shouldnt that be enough?

Kent, I saw an article somewhere that discussed opponents shooting percentage against Garnett and every play that come's up against him has a lower shooting percentage than usual, even though he doesn't lead the blocks, rebounds etc but the amount of shots he changes and his actual defence is phenomenal.

Everyone go on Espn and read Bill Simmons' article on the MVP race. I agreed with every single thing he said, he is pure genious.

IMO kobe shouldnt get it. The lakers were always good during the regular season...they became great when gasol came to town.

1) Garnett
2) CP3
3) Kobe
4) Lebron

Garnett's stats arent that great for a reason!!! Its because the celtics would beat teams in 2 and a half quarters, allowing Garnett to rest and prevent himself from injury. He is the driving force of that team and deserves the MVP.

As for the DPOTY just because garnett doesnt get a lot of blocks and steals doesn't make him an average defender.

I recall Charles Barkley once saying "just because you get a lot of steals doesn't mean your a good defender". Its the defensive presence that Garnett brings. Good players dont score a lot on him. They hold teams under 80 or 90 regularly. They must be doing something right defensively.

Battier should have got it. He's been the best perimeter defender in the league for a while now, but he was also the leader for houston, unlike Garnett he didnt have the best defensive assistant coach in the league in Tom Thibodeau, who't teams have finished in the top 10 in team defense 14 out of his 17 seasons. Not all the credit can go to garnett.

Check out the Mavs Hornets game 2 boxscores for your MVP.

Ben Fitz he never did shit like 40 and 20 in the regular though.

KG wont get it.

Lebron wont get it.

2 man races between KB24 and Chris Paul.

tmagz03 - Bill Simmons has the blinders on regarding this one. Firstly, he's a massive Boston fan (so he already dislikes the lakes) Secondly he had Paul Pierce @ number 10? Was he ever not going to put the Big Ticket at number one?

I Thought Willis Reed won MVP and ROY. Didn't Oscar Robertson win ROY over chamberlain?

i say kobe should win it. there is no way garnett is the mvp. he has been good but his numbers are down from other years. if he really was the mvp this year, then why hasnt he wo it in the previous years?

i never knew he was diehard boston fan so i guess it could provoke some bias. I had garnett at no. 1 before i read his column anyway though.

If CP3 got it i would agree with it also, his numbers have been astonishing. First two games in the play offs and he is averaging 33 and 14?? thats crazy.

Garnett just has so much passion for the game, you can tell he has as much love and desire for the game of basketball more then anyone else out there.

It could potentially be any of the big 4. This is the closest MVP race ive ever witnessed in my lifetime.

tmagz who cares what chris paul does in the playoffs it doesnt count and should detirmine shit all.

Bryant For MVP.

Seems we have a testy die hard kobe fan who can't stand to hear anyone else's name mentioned in the MVP discussion. Everybody knows that playoff performances do not count towards the regular season MVP but maybe tmagz is alluding to the fact that his last 2 games are an indication of what he is capable of and his value to his team - he has been doing it all year long you know.

Kobe wins it for me, I think people are too quick to take away his achievements and either devalue him, or hand them off to others on his team. Top of the West and if you look Gasol played in alot less than half of those games, and Kobe started 82. Kobe has made Gasol better not the other way around

M Dizzle Of Corse They Dont Count.. I Was Just Letting Our Friend Here On Thaat Little Tip.. Chris Paul Is Exploding But Bryant Gets It For Regular..

Anon I Just Said His Exploding In The Playoffs.. I Think Thats Recongnising Him..

"i say kobe should win it. there is no way garnett is the mvp. he has been good but his numbers are down from other years. if he really was the mvp this year, then why hasnt he wo it in the previous years?"

Because he wasnt on the best team in the league, and please people stop mentioning numbers, they aren't the ultimate factor in any award.

Simmons isn't having a bias opinion. He is a professional and gives very, VERY valid points as to why he has KG number 1...how can anyone say that KG, Kobe and Paul CANT or SHOULDNT win it...either of those 3 is fine, and Paul Pierce at number 10 - whats the problem with taht - think you'll find him inside the top 10 in most MVP ranking sites...its only bias when people claim theres no way this guy can win...or if this guy doesnt win its a joke

Every new word doesn't require a capital letter...

Champ selects

Chris Paul

Kobe close runner-up

Not Unless There's Concealed and Amusing Subtleties Enclosed

=] I Enjoy Writing Like This.

Its All About Opinions, And Mine Is That Its Easily A Two Man Race. CP3 And KB24.

Jules - Are you honestly saying journalists are never biased? He had Pierce ahead of Amare, McGrady and Howard!!!!

Believe me, tmagz is well aware that the regular season MVP is only awarded on regular season play. I was simply stating as to why he may of alluded to CP3s playoff performances so far. Did you even read my post, or was it ineligible as only the start of each sentence was denoted with a capital letter?....hehe

Llyod - did you read the explanations or just the list...he makes some very strong points - and like I said - EVERY MVP rankings site has Pierce in the top 10. Why wouldn't you? Hes the leading scorer on the best team in the league?

Lloyd makes a good point - Amare, Howard and TMac are the MVPs of their teams and definietly more worthy of MVP candidacy than Pierce

Howard Is The One Were You Go - WHAT THE!. Should Defintly Be In The Top 10 IMO.

Kriss, I think Oscar won ROTY over Jerry West. Also think Wes Unseld won ROTY & MVP in same season, not Willis Reed.... i think?

How come people will come out and say "Judge Kobe on what he's done this season, not his career (It's not a lifetime achievement award)" when the argument of whether Kobe should receive the MVP because he hasn't won one before comes up, but when people talk about Kevin Garnett, people are more than happy to say "He shouldn't win it, his numbers are down from other seasons."

Either a players' career comes into the decision or it doesn't.

Career doesnt Come Into It At All.. When People Say Kobe Hasnt Won Won A MVP He Deserves To Win It For That Reason.. I Think People Are Meaning If He Doesnt Win This Year, Doubt He Will Ever Get Another Oppurtunity So Huge.. People Will Feel Sorry For Him For The Fact He Has Been The Best Player On The Universe For 2 or 3 Strait Years And Never Mon An Mvp.. Makes Sence..

That's irrelevant. Just like the argument that Nash couldn't threepeat as though it would create some sort of "most awesome player ever" precedent.

I dont feel sorry for Kobe. Hard to feel for him when he's already won 3 championships and making 20 mil a year

At the moment I can't really seperate CP3, Kobe and Garnett.

Kobe has taken the Lakers to the elite of the Western Conference without his starting centre for the majority of the season. Bynum has played only 35 games. The major trade deadline trade for Pau Gasol has only resulted in 25 games being played by Pau. Kobe has well and truly carried the Lakers this year.

Would CP3's stats be as good if Chandler went down for a the same length of time as Bynum and David West only playing 25 games???

I guess it comes down to terminology and who is the most valuable to their team. The Hornets without Paul are lottery bound. Chandler and West ain't the players they are today with Paul and Stoj could never carry the Hornets.

What Garnett has done for the Celtics is beyond belief. He had taken a broken down, disheartened franchise and made it a contender. I'm not sure if Kobe joined the Celtics could of achieved what Garnett has done.

I'm also not too sure if it was CP3 joining the Celtics if it would of made a happy Paul Pierce (remember the trade was prior to the season and Paul was injured last season) or if Ray Allen would of agreed to the trade.

End of the day I'm leaning towards Garnett, but any of the 3 are worthy of this years MVP and I won't be disappointed with whoever they choose.

Kobe to win the MVP because he led the Lakers to the top of the West. KG in a close second, because of the games he missed and the relative ease that Boston had in the East. KG's defense has been amazing and had an incredible impact on the rest of the team (PP has easily played the best D of his career this season)and he rightfully has been rewarded with DPOTY.

For what its worth I think KG will get the NBA Finals MVP.

For what it's worth i think KB24 will take the title this year. Sometimes (although they wouldn't admit it) I think they 'reward' players with an MVP if they have been around the mark for the last two years or so.

Can anyone find a valid description of just what the MVP is. is it MVP of the league, team...

For everyone saying that kobe doesnt deserve it because he has great players around him, they were a really good team BEFORE Gasol, and everyone had them picked as a boarderline playoffs team before the season started - just like the Hornets. The stellar play of Bynum was a reason for that success, but that was very much a result of Kobe making him better.

Kobe will win it without a doubt, the league will pick him because he has never won one in his career and he's a veteran, wheras paul and lebron are young and will win it in the future. Garnett won't win it because his stats are down eventhough he could easily put up MVP stats if he took the shots and minutes that Kobe and Paul had. I don't agree with this it is just the way the league usually does it.

Phizzer, pretty sure Hakeem and his Dream Shake won DPOY and MVP in the same season (as well as finals MVP if I recall).

um does anyone remember how bad the Lakers were pre Gasol when bynum was out. Kobe didnt lead anyone. He had the worlds biggest whinge and now hes on a good team again and now everyone wants to give him an MVP. Boo i say. I hope kobe goes down and they win without him. (which they probably would, being such a deep team!)

And i dont know why more people arent voting Lebron!?!?! what did he do wrong exactly? Shoot too many shots on his woeful, woeful team? Dribble the ball too much, because if he didn't, Larry Hughes or Damon Jones would have to? Man, when Lebron went out, cavs were the worst team ever. The worst shooter in the league (Hughes) the worst decision maker in the league (Gooden) and the slowest man in the league (Big Z)!!!

For those playing at home, I believe Wes Unseld won MVP and ROTY in the same season, 1968-69. After Wilt did it in 1959-1960.

And quadruple double, I think no-one has come close since The Admiral in 1994.

Kind of agree with ELG there. Kobe needed help just to be competitive. Without a big man, Lakers went on a bad run, and there were plenty of people saying that the season may have ended with Bynum going down. Plus, I'd say that having Odom, Bynum/Gasol, Fisher and some decent guys off the bench isn't too bad of a supporting cast.

Then there is also the fact that all the Lakers fans on here were telling us how good their depth was earlier in the season.

Was it better than NO's? Probably not, but you can't say that Tyson Chandler, David West (no matter how well he played this year) and Peja were anything out of the ordinary.

mr clutch, how exactly did Kobe make Bynum better? If Kobe had his way, Bynum wouldn't have even been in LA. All the work that was put into Andrew by Kareem made him better, Kobe's on court play wasn't anything special....

'kobe's on court play wasn't anything special' are you daft? of course Kobe is a gun and his on court play is special, everone knows that. Im pretty sure that if any team in the league lost the second best player on their team they would be in a lot of trouble. Ginobili, West, Amare, Pierce, Carmello/Iverson, Kidd/Howard ... the list goes on - all teams including new orleans would be a lot worse off.

Chandler, West and Peja are some pretty damn good 2,3,4 players. Better than Bynum/Gasol (they havent played together this season and likely wont for the playoffs) Odom and Fisher, so dont agree with you and certainly wouldn't say they're 'nothing out of the ordinary'.

If you actually bothered to watch some games and not just look at the assist totals on box scores you'd realise that the majority of Bynums points came from easy buckets from passes directly from Kobe or pass sequences initiated by Kobe. I'm not knocking Bynum i think he'll be great but it was only after he started putting up big numbers that they decided to give him the ball in one on one post up situations, in which he was inconsistant.

I think you severly misunderstood my comment on Kobe's play. So, you're saying that if it weren't for Kobe, Bynum wouldn't have been as good as he was?

I'm not saying that Kobe should've been winning every game without a big man, but to say that he carried the Lakers by himself isn't true. He had lots of good help, then when Bynum went down, the team had a horrible run. Then Gasol came in, oh my, they were good again.

List of quadruple doubles, and near misses

My MVP vote is Chris Paul.

Just on that list Issac i believe if they were keeping records of quad doubles in Wilts day i would say he would have gptten a few in the season he led the league in assists.

I don't think blocks were recorded until after wilt retired or shortly before

CP3 for me . or maybe thats only cause i want my hundred bills from mr lockstock .

Correct me if I'm wrong - but typically the MVP comes from one of the teams who finishes in the top one or two of their conference which is why I think LeBron wont get it (and also why Kobe didn't win it a couple of years ago when he carried a shocking team to the playoffs). So this year it is between Kobe, CP3 and Garnett. My gut feeling is that CP3 wont get it because he has a couple of things going against him: NO gets less exposure and he is still young (even though those things SHOULDN'T matter).

So maybe Kobe gets it because he hasn't won it yet (would he be the best player to never have one MVP if he doesn't win it before he retires?)

Or does Garnett get it for rekindling Celtic Pride? (would that make him the worst ever winner based on individual statistics only?)

I like one of Bill Simmons' categories which asks how well the team would have gone if you swapped that player for an average player (eg swap CP3 for Devin Harris). In that case you would probably say that LeBron wins closely followed by CP3 and Garnett then Kobe last.

For me I think CP3 should win but I think Kobe will, with Garnett second, CP3 third and LeBron fifth.

dammit

Lebron 5th now? It seems you HAVE to be in a 50 win team to even be in contention for MVP these days.

hmm lets see... Lebron plays 75 games this year. the 7 games he is out... Cavs go 0-7!!! Is that even a surprise? So if he plays in 82 games, they win 5 of those 7, is Lebron an MVP? what a stupid award

Should have been LeBron at fourth.

Just out of interest tho, who should get fifth?

Amare, Manu, Howard?

Amare IMO

49 and 10 from Bryant today, Massive!. Pitty its irrelevent. Howard for 5th IMO.