Whether it was in Sacramento, Denver, Boston, or most especially the Staples Center the chant throughout the 2007-2008 NBA season when Kobe Bryant came off the court or did something special was the same: "MVP, MVP, MVP!!!" For whatever reason, up until today, Kobe had failed to ever win the award. Today, it FINALLY happened as he was named the league's Most Valuable Player for the first time receiving 82 first place votes and 1,100 total points. New Orleans' Chris Paul with 28 first place votes and 894 points was second, with Kevin Garnett third (15, 670) and Lebron James fourth (1, 438).
Kobe's scoring was down this year - he only averaged 28.3 points per game (down from 31.6 and 35.4 the previous two years). His rebounding was up though as he secured a career second-best 6.3 per game. He also had his second best season in steals, averaging 1.84 per game. Although his 5.4 assists per game were only average in terms of his career numbers, people around the league will tell you he definitely made his teammates all-around better players. The Lakers posting their best season in the post-Shaq era by far with a 57-25 record is testament to the impact he had.
Congratulations to Kobe on finally being named the NBA's MVP... an award that is VERY well deserved!
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