Kobe vs. LeBron, as seen by Lamar Odom
March 4th, 2008, 6:47 pm · 2 Comments · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM
SACRAMENTO — I was over talking to Lakers PR honcho John Black and wasn’t even part of the continuing NBA MVP discussion Lamar Odom was having with a few writers in the Lakers’ locker room. But as he was walking out the door after making his case for Kobe Bryant, Odom threw back over his shoulder that he’d be following up to see for whom Riverside Press-Enterprise reporter Broderick Turner voted.
Then Odom called out to me across the room to add he’d be checking up on me, too.
I did hear some of what Odom had said a little earlier about why Bryant seems more deserving than LeBron James for MVP this season. Odom said Bryant, who has never finished higher than third, should’ve gotten more votes than he did the past two seasons and “has paid his dues.”
James has never won the award either but is in only his fifth NBA season. Bryant is in his 12th.
“If you give it to LeBron,” Odom said, “it’s like, ‘Wow, that was quick.’ “
March 5th, 2008 at 11:38 am
The knock on Kobe for MVP has always been that he is a great player but an MVP is supposed to make his teamates better in addition to being a great player. Seems to me LeBron is in the same boat as Kobe has been in the past. Yea, Lebron is a great player but he really doesn’t make his teamates better. Kobe is doing it all this year and deserves the MVP. He dosen’t get it this year it’s because the sports writers have a Kobe bias and don’t want hin to have an MVP. He doesn’ t get it this year he never will, and that’s too bad, because he truly is the most valuable player in all aspects of the game.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:46 am
Lebron would appear to be making his teammates better if he wasn’t playing with a bunch of scrubs. This was prior to the Ben Wallace addition. Now he has Szcerbiak, who should be able to hit the open 3. wallace to shore up interior toughness, and delonte west, a PG that can spell boobie gibson.
Kobe who basically has the same team, minus kwame, smush, cook. 3 laker cancers that never contributed during their time here in LA. cook played a good amount of minutes during those 2 years kobe SHOULD have won MVP. u can’t turn trash into diamonds. now that kobe actually has some talent this year (gasol, improved farmar/vujacic/vladrad, d-fish is back, and bynum is turning into a beast, ariza-heist from orlando). u can see HOW GOOD KOBE ACTUALLY REALLY IS. he is playing monster d. his team is #1 in the west. and he’s playing with 9 fingers.
LBJ sat out with a finger injury on his non-shooting hand. come on young buck. tough it out. ur younger than a majority of the league.
on my count, kobe should have 3 mvps…. the 03-04 season with malone and gp and shaq on the lakers, the 05-06 season, and this season.
if he doesnt win this year, then the mvp will forever be a joke. JK. it already is a joke. shaq with 1? and nash with back-to-back mvps? SLAPS TO THE FACE FOR GARY PAYTON, JOHN STOCKTON, and ALL OTHER GREAT NBA PG’s!!!!!