Last week, my partner in crime wrote a column about how uncomfortable she will be when Kobe Bryant receives the 2008 MVP award. Well, no disrespect to Jemele (Ms. Hill to those of us who know her), but Kobe Bryant will not win the MVP this year. And if recent history proves consistent, he might finish behind Alonzo Mourning in the voting.

Truth is Kobe Bryant will never win the MVP of the league. He is hated too much. Hated by those who cast votes. Hated too much by those he plays against. And the two All-Star Game MVPs he's won, well, they don't count in this scenario. Voting Kobe as the best basketball player in the world for a day is one thing, honoring him with that same title for an entire season … in the infamous words of Bobby Brown's ex-wife: "Oh, hell to the No!"


Writers won't honor Kobe like that, not even when in good consciousness they want to or would like to. As one writer said to me when the subject was brought up in conversation, very apropos for an election year, "Kobe's electability quotient is zero." In other words, he's Ralph Nader.


How is hate justified? Easy, by being consistent. Which is why this year will be no different than the past two. Because if we are honest (and this goes to Jemele's point), if we look at what Kobe Bryant has done in the past two seasons without winning the MVP, there should be no way he can win it this year. Which leads us back to the hate: A man averages 35.4 ppg, the eighth-highest average in the history of the league; he gives you 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.8 steals; he has 27 games of 40-plus points, has one month where he averages 43.4 ppg, scores 81 in one game and outscores an entire team in another (the 62-point game against Dallas where he sat out the fourth quarter); he is on the all-defensive first team (something not one of the other players in the MVP running is included on); and he leads a CBA-built team to the playoffs. The man has a season that no one is likely to see for another generation and he comes in fourth in the MVP voting that year.

That same man, the very next year, averages 31.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.4 steals for the "fedora trick"; he has 10 games of 50-plus points, only the second person in NBA history to do so in a single season (including a four-in-a-row stretch that hadn't been seen in more than 20 years); he makes the all-defensive first team again; and this time he takes a YBA-built squad to the playoffs. In a season that many claim is more "complete" than the season before, the man this time comes in third in the MVP voting.

How bad is it for Kobe? In a 2004-05 season in which Kobe averaged 27.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.0 assists, P.J. Brown -- yes, you read right -- received more MVP votes than he did, and Brown received only one vote. How many games did the Hornets win that year? 18.

(And it's not just the sportswriters. In that never-to-be-seen-again 2005-06 season, the GMs around the league, who have their own MVP voting, had Bryant fifth on their ballots.)

And nothing is going to make this season any different.

So yes, there is an "earned the right" clause that goes on in all MVP voting, just as there is that same "clause" that exists in all professions and walks of life. But it will not apply to Kobe Bryant. Not this year or any other year. He's not Denzel, and this isn't "Training Day." And although there are those who say that Kobe is in a different place now, that the world does not "resent" him the way that it did, that the Colorado incident is behind him and that the Kobe who wears No. 24 is different than the one who wore No. 8, their delusion will only make the situation worse. For it brings false hope. In sticking with the Academy Awards analogy: Kobe Bryant is Martin Scorsese … before "The Departed."


So the reality is this: As nice -- and I mean nice in a This-dude-is-on-some-beyond-Steve-Nash level -- as Chris Paul's game has been all season long (his full name during broadcasts and highlight shows has become "MVP candidate Chris Paul") his season can't compare to Kobe's past two. Yes, he's elevated his team to a height that no one expected, but can you name one player on the Lakers (not including Kobe) over the past three years who is as good or has played as well as David West has this season? Hell, name one who has played as well as Peja Stojakovic or Tyson Chandler.


Plus how will the voters justify not giving CP3 the MVP in a season when his numbers are better than Nash's were the two seasons he got back-to-back MVPs? Paul's 21.5 points, 11.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 2.5 turnovers are better in totality than the 15.5, 11.5, 3.4, 1.0 and 3.3 Nash put up in 2004-05 and the 18.8, 10.5, 4.2, 0.8 and 3.5 he posted during the 2005-06 season. And CP's team is in position to do what Nash's team did when he came back to Phoenix: earn the top seed in the West. So if Nash won 62 games and the West in '05-06 with inferior numbers to Paul's, how does the league not give Paul the award if his team wins 60 and has the best record in the West?

And trust, CP3's electability is off the charts compared to Kobe's. His MVP approval rating is sic, while Kobe's is sick. So Chris, congrats, enjoy the Maurice Podoloff. The voters love you.


And that's not necessarily because of who CP (or KG if you want to toss him into this conversation) is as much as it is because of who Kobe is: the "8" they love to hate. Someone less understood than a villain, and someone for whom those who vote have less tolerance when it comes to separating what he does from who he is. It's the same reason why upon eligibility into the Hall of Fame, Roger Clemens will receive more first-ballot votes than Barry Bonds. It will have more to do with how much more Roger was/is/remains beloved than Barry by those who will have the power to vote them into immortality than it will race or the level of crime either one committed while playing.


Is it right? Fair? Impartial? No. It's life. And for Kobe, it's become his life.


In sports, in the end, whether we want to acknowledge it honestly or not, athletes put their legacies in the hands of those who have the power to hate them. And in those situations, what they do on the court or field, whether we are talking MVP or Hall of Fame (or Oscars), what they do takes a backseat to who they are. Their careers become a popularity contest, a "likability" raffle lying in wait for the hate to die. Which it never really does. And in the past five years in professional sports, no athlete (with the exception of maybe Bonds or T.O.) has been more hated and hated on than Kobe Bryant.


Don't believe me? Watch what happens when he doesn't win the MVP … again.


Scoop Jackson is a columnist for Page 2.

Read this yesterday...sadly Kobe is the guy everyone (players, coaches, fans, media) loves to hate!!!

He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

Scoop is on point. I just don't see Kobe winning it.

I heard some fools on the radio this weekend saying that Gasol should be the MVP on the Lakers.

He won't win because Chris Paul will

I'm surprised by this article. I think it's maybe two years late. The Kobe hate has died down with time...as has the Terrell Owens hate...and coming to a theatre near you, the Barry Bonds dies too story. Hell even the Kobe hating Charles Barkley has come around.
Nuff said...give Kobe the trophy!!

Hate and what fuels it is a fleeting marvel. Let's look at the hated three and what fuel it and assess why it's now running out of that same fuel.

T.O. - Hell...ESPN created their own T.O.; Chad Johnson and found new toys with the Bengals and Pacman. All of a sudden T.O.(with his clean as a whistle rap sheet) is the darling player that will shed a tear for his QB. While others are suspended and incarcerated. Hmmmmmmm.

Barry Bonds - Uh....Roger Clemmons, Jose and a wife with "Abs"? Too freaky....let's leave Barry alone. Heck, even saw an article the other day pressuring MLB owners to give Barry a shot. Why isn't he playing they ask? Boy things have changed.

and Kobe - Scoop Jackson; the author of this long outdated desperate piece of writing needs to think about this. The media has re-evaluated the Kobe vs Shaq trade and Buss wisdom and the overwhelming opinion is Dr. B got it right. Look at the pitiful Miami Heat. Look at Shaq...who had to be traded(again)just to get his fat azz motivated. Shaq marriage probably could stand a rape trial right about now. Oh and btw....Shaq now admits the trade was Jerry Buss's idea not Kobe's. Fine time to tell us Lucille!

Scoop is late as hell. Most observers are saying Kobe should have been the MVP at LEAST one..some say two of the last three years and with the excitement in the loaded Western Conference, the NBA and it's writers don't need to overplay the white boys anymore. When the league was yawning through the Spurs it needed a shot of Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitsky to keep the natives from getting restless. Now.....it's on!!! March Madness Part Two...the NBA PLAYOFFS and we don't need to BS the public anymore. At last the truth.

Kobe Bean Bryant your 2007/2008 NBA MVP.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ksmith,

Stats don't lie.I think Chris Paul's numbers are better than Nash's during his MVP run.


http://www.nba.com/statistics/index.html

quote:

Originally posted by tonystark:
He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

I agree.

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by tonystark:
He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

I agree.

...and you must be an idiot too!!
Wow!! I didn't know you knew Kobe. Can you get an autograph for me. PM me and I'll give you my address.

Look....who cares about Nash's numbers he shouldn't have been MVP anyway. Chris Paul just scored his first triple double of the year two nights ago and now all of a sudden he's the MVP.

Kobe won this award three months ago folks. Scoop and all you other haters...Jordan lovers...need to get over it!!! Folks who are trying to railroad Kobe at the last minute remind me of Hillary Clinton. Just let it go....don't get desperate.

quote:

Originally posted by ksmith:

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by tonystark:
He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

I agree.

...and you must be an idiot too!!
Wow!! I didn't know you knew Kobe. Can you get an autograph for me. PM me and I'll give you my address.

Sweety, you might worship the ground Kobe walks on but don't disrespect me because you don't like that I don't like Kobe. We can be more mature and grown enough to have discussion without be insulting.

Unfortunately ... He likely won't ever win it because of ...

"DENVER!"

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by ksmith:

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by tonystark:
He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

I agree.

...and you must be an idiot too!!
Wow!! I didn't know you knew Kobe. Can you get an autograph for me. PM me and I'll give you my address.

Sweety, you might worship the ground Kobe walks on but don't disrespect me because you don't like that I don't like Kobe. We can be more mature and grown enough to have discussion without be insulting.

Sweety you made a comment that requires one to know one to make such a statement. You don't know Kobe Bryant. PERIOD!!! I don't worship him...I'm a Laker fan. But, people hate him for the most childish fantasy...detached reasons. You don't even know the guy. How can you comment on his "arrogance" or "selfishness"? That takes personal knowledge. So, again if you know the guy that well can you get me his autograph? Seriously!! People kill me talking about KB as if they know him.

btw.......Kobe will winn the MVP. He might not get a ring this year, but next year is almost assured. If they do squeeze one out this year....we're talking dynasty. Bynum,Gasol,Kobe, Odom....Kobe the oldest player of the group? Geeezzz!!! D-Y-N-A-S-T-Y!!!

quote:

Originally posted by ksmith:

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by ksmith:

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:

quote:

Originally posted by tonystark:
He can win all the rest of them for what I care just as long as he does not win another championship. Selfishness should be his lasting legacy

I agree.

...and you must be an idiot too!!
Wow!! I didn't know you knew Kobe. Can you get an autograph for me. PM me and I'll give you my address.

Sweety, you might worship the ground Kobe walks on but don't disrespect me because you don't like that I don't like Kobe. We can be more mature and grown enough to have discussion without be insulting.

Sweety you made a comment that requires one to know one to make such a statement. You don't know Kobe Bryant. PERIOD!!! I don't worship him...I'm a Laker fan. But, people hate him for the most childish fantasy...detached reasons. You don't even know the guy. How can you comment on his "arrogance" or "selfishness"? That takes personal knowledge. So, again if you know the guy that well can you get me his autograph? Seriously!! People kill me talking about KB as if they know him.

I don't know Kobe and you don't know me to call me an idiot. That's just childish to call someone out their name because you're mad because they don't have feelings for Kobe like you do or agrees with you. Like who you like...you would think I said I didn't like you.

Boy, these folks pop off behind these computers.

Just like you expressed....get over it. Everybody's not gonna like what you like. It's people I like, that others don't...but I don't get my panties in a bunch just because someone expressed disdain for them. Life certainly goes on.

We call all black folks idiots on this site. It's the most frequently used word on the board. We usually spew it when talking about our black athletes. Oh...we don't know them either. But, that has never stopped us from calling them idiots. We love idiots on this site. All a brother has to do is have a white man write something bad about him in the newspaper, whether it's sustantiated or not, and we fire off the "Idiot" word in a heartbeat.


...you ought to be desensitized by now.

^Well, I'm not all Black folks..and ain't everyone else. Don't call me an idiot or anything else insulting, I don't find that cute or enduring at all. Especially if it is done because someone was mad because they didn't like what I said.

We are adults, educated adults and surely we can have a discussion without disrespect.

quote:

Originally posted by Quintessence:
^Well, I'm not all Black folks..and ain't everyone else. Don't call me an idiot or anything else insulting, I don't find that cute or enduring at all. Especially if it is done because someone was mad because they didn't like what I said.

We are adults, educated adults and surely we can have a discussion without disrespect.

(peeps in, looks around, sneaks back out!)

quote:

Originally posted by ksmith:
We call all black folks idiots on this site. It's the most frequently used word on the board. We usually spew it when talking about our black athletes. Oh...we don't know them either. But, that has never stopped us from calling them idiots. We love idiots on this site. All a brother has to do is have a white man write something bad about him in the newspaper, whether it's sustantiated or not, and we fire off the "Idiot" word in a heartbeat.


...you ought to be desensitized by now.

KSMITH, you IDIOT!

I know....isn't it great!!!

I love Kobe Bryant - he's my favorite player. But honestly this year's award should go to either KG or CP3. To me, Kobe did a helluva lot more in previous years to get the Lakers to the playoffs.

In previous years, it was Kobe and the NBDL Lakers making it to the playoffs over teams who were collectively more talented.

This year, the Lakers are LOADED. They should be where they are currently. To me what Paul and Garnett have done outweighs what Kobe has done (this year).

Kobe has been gypped with the MVP for so long now that it's ridiculous. I just don't get where his performance this year is any better than what it has been previously.