by Travis Gordon

Created on: April 30, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

The 2007-2008 NBA regular season has seen some of the most spectacular individual achievements that the league has seen in a long time. LeBron James, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard have put up amazing statistical seasons and could've all been the MVP in previous years; but this year, the competition does not make this process that easy.

There is also Kevin Garnett, the man who is credited for turning around a dismal Boston franchise and making them into one of the top defensive teams in the league. Although Garnett's season was not amazing from a statistic standpoint, his leadership and intangibles that he brings to the table helped the Boston Celtics win 66 games this season, by far the best record in the NBA.

Then we have Kobe Bryant, who has been the lone superstar in Los Angeles for the past few seasons. Kobe assisted in the growth of a young Laker squad and put them atop the West early on in the season. While it may not have been his best season statistically, the 2007-2008 campaign was definitely Kobe's most impressive season as a leader and teammate. As a result, the Lakers finished first in the very tough Western Conference.

Now, who will win the MVP award this season? Kobe Bryant. Bryant will win the award over Chris Paul for a number of reasons. Kobe Bryant has led an injured/ lacking roster all season, while being injured himself. Early on in the season, Bryant and Bynum teamed up to get the Lakers off to a nice start. Following Bynum's injury, Bryant was left without a big man for quite some time until the acquisition of Pau Gasol. He learned to play with Gasol and showed PG-like precision when deferring to Gasol in the post. Bryant played all 82 games this season, which is something that most people undervalue; playing 82 games in six months is a feat within itself, but doing half of it while needing surgery is almost unheard of.

When choosing the MVP this season, stats were basically irrelevant because both Paul and Bryant were top of the class at their respective positions. It all came down to intangibles, defense and the overall performance of the team. Paul did lead the league in steals this season but steals are a very small part of what defense is. Kobe is easily the more polished perimeter defender; he knows how to stay in front of his man and make his opponent force up the tough shot.

The Lakers finished atop the West, only one game better than the Hornets. Overall performance is basically a draw; both teams played better than anyone expected and this was due to the fact that both superstars performed at the highest possible level. Bryant gets the edge when it comes to intangible assets. His ability in the clutch, his decisions on defense and his assistance with the growth of Farmar, Vujacic, Bynum, etc lead me to believe that he brings more "off-paper" contributions to the table than Paul. You cannot go wrong with either player as MVP, but after watching many Hornet and Laker games, Kobe Bryant gets the vote.

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