Wade In '08[-'09].

 I LOVE KOBE BRYANT. Just ask my significant other, older brother, or occasional best friend. I want to name one of my sons after him. They all know this, and now you do too (not really... because no one's there). However, the Kobe is not MVP. Nor is that guy who plays out in Ohio somewhere. Yes, LeBron James' 28-7-7 is amazing. See, Mr. Bryant and Mr. James have at least two things in common: Neither of them went to college, and they're both battling for the second spot behind a guy who did. Dwyane Wade. This is not a knock on my favorite active NBA player, nor a knock on the man I hope to one day see running the show at the world's most famous arena. Actually, this is an attack on the guys who have the privilege of voting for the NBA's regular season MVP.

 Your system is flawed. Plain and simple. You guys actually gave Steve Nash back-to-back MVP trophies. The Big Cactus (He was still the Diesel back then) should've taken home the first one. And the second? Maybe Mr. 81? And no, not because he dropped 81 points in order to bring his team back from a 14 point deficit at halftime against the Raptors. And not because earlier in that same season, he outscored the Mavs 62-61. By himself. In three quarters. and then sat out the 4th. More so because he did all of that (and much more - check his unquestionably accurate wikipedia page) while playing for a team that started Smush Parker, Chris Mihm, and Kwame Brown. They won 45 games, after winning only 34 a season before.. Kobe averaged 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.8 steals. He only missed two games. Ball Hog? I think not. That's an MVP caliber season.

 

 How about last year, when you gave the Kobe his long overdue first trophy? LBJ averaged 30 points, just under 8 rebounds, and over 7 assists. Yes, those are his real stats (this time, I used nba.com). That is insane. The Cavs overhauled their roster, including many starting positions, late in the season. No one really seemed to be comfortable in their role, except for LeBron. And that's why he was the MVP. Despite all of their issues, he led them to 45 wins, which was actually less than the amount of wins the Cavs had accumulated the year before that. AND the year before that. If winning 50 games is actually a part of your criteria for MVP (which it is... don't deny it), then why hasn't the King taken one home yet?

 

 This season's two and three (sadly, LBJ is second and Kobe is third) provide more than enough reasons as to why D-Wade deserves the MVP this year. Who is the Heat's second best player? Definitely not O'Neal, who just got there and is not the same player he used to be. Maybe one of their rookie starters. The safe bet is Udonis Haslem. The Laker's second best player? Pau Gasol. The Cavalier's second best player? Mo Williams. All Star reserves. THIS YEAR. I would think you'd be considered the most valuable player when you're doing it all by yourself. Like Kobe in '06. Like LeBron in '08. Like Dwyane in '09. Wade does everything, and without him, there's a good chance the Heat would be on their way to consecutive 15 win seasons. If you take Kobe and Lebron off of their respective teams, you still have 45+ wins. Yes, Kobe and LeBron make both of those teams 60+ winners. But let them duke it out for Finals MVP, while Wade, with an entire franchise on his shoulders, adds another piece to his collection and attempts an upset in the first round.