I was feeding my daughter at 2:00 this morning and caught sports center. They were discussing whether LeBron or Kobe should be the MVP this year. I thought I would get a few opinions from you guys to see if you can sway me from my position.

First off, I'm a HUGE Kobe hater. Say what you want about being a "player hater" but I can barely stand to look at him. That being said, I can appreciate talent when I see it and I would love to have him playing for the Jazz. However, when you look at the numbers, LeBron playing far better and is much more valuable to his team that Kobe is to his. Here are the numbers:

PPG: Kobe 28.2, LeBron 30.3
RPG: Kobe 6.1 LeBron 8.1
APG: Kobe 5.4 LeBron 7.5
FG%: Kobe .466 LeBron .486
Steals: Kobe 2.0 LeBron 2.0
BPG: Kobe .6 LeBron 1.0
FT%: Kobe .843 LeBron .709

I know some of you might bring up the record of the Lakers vs the record of the Cavs. I don't think there is any argument that the Lakers have a much better all around team than the Cavs. The importance of LeBron shows because the Cavs are winless without him in the line up. I find it remarkable that LeBron dish out 2 more assist a game more than Kobe when the players LeBron are passing to are average role players at best. Lebron also has almost 100 more points in the 4th quarter than Kobe does meaning LeBron is stepping up when it counts. One more thing, Kobe is leading the league in shots but is still averaging fewer points than LeBron.

I realize Kobe has been good for a long time and he probably deserves an MVP but if you want the best player in the league rather than the best player on the best team, LeBron should be it.

For the record I think both of these guys are narcissistic and self-absorbed and their only talent is putting a ball through a hole but it's still fun to watch them play and talk about.

Answer: Lebron makes his team better, Kobe makes himself better at the expense of his team. Kobe may be a better player 1 on 1 ( or he may not be, I'm not really sure to be honest) but as far as the MVP goes I think Lebron would deserve it more (personally I think Tim Duncan diserves it more than both of them, as does chris paul).

This is a tough one, but my vote goes to Kobe. I don't care for him as a person but his b-ball skills are off the charts. Lebron has better character and is more impressive due to his overall size and abilities, but when I watch Lebron and the Cavs nothing stands out to me as an MVP. No question James is a gifted ballplayer though.

That being said, here's another thought...

My interest in the NBA has sharply declined the past 6-8 years due to player character, integrity and officiating. And not to start any kind of "conspiracy theory" but you have to think the NBA front offices are all abuzz about the possibility of a Celtics/Lakers Finals. With the big trades those teams have made and the success they're having, it is likely they could end up facing each other in the Finals. And that would be a huge cash cow for the league as they could celebrate and market the previous championship battles between Magic and Bird and their cohorts. Whether or not they are orchestrating this is arguable, but it seems to be working out a bit too conveniently for my taste. Larry Miller speaks highly of David Stern but I think he's a joke. I've had enough of his cheesy smiling and want to see some actual change in the NBA game and it's personnel.

Slugger wrote:

This is a tough one, but my vote goes to Kobe. I don't care for him as a person but his b-ball skills are off the charts. Lebron has better character and is more impressive due to his overall size and abilities, but when I watch Lebron and the Cavs nothing stands out to me as an MVP. No question James is a gifted ballplayer though.

That being said, here's another thought...

My interest in the NBA has sharply declined the past 6-8 years due to player character, integrity and officiating. And not to start any kind of "conspiracy theory" but you have to think the NBA front offices are all abuzz about the possibility of a Celtics/Lakers Finals. With the big trades those teams have made and the success they're having, it is likely they could end up facing each other in the Finals. And that would be a huge cash cow for the league as they could celebrate and market the previous championship battles between Magic and Bird and their cohorts. Whether or not they are orchestrating this is arguable, but it seems to be working out a bit too conveniently for my taste. Larry Miller speaks highly of David Stern but I think he's a joke. I've had enough of his cheesy smiling and want to see some actual change in the NBA game and it's personnel.

I sort of feel that way about the NBA, but I think it is for different reasons. For me, there are just too many meaningless games. The NBA doesn't get exciting until the playoffs because they play way too many games. I agree with all of the other problems, but the NFL has a lot of those problems and it still keeps me interested, the NBA does not (until the playoffs role around).

Can I pick Magic Johnson?

In my mind, he is the #1 player to build a team around, EVER. He made every other player on his team better because of what he did.

I still remember him scoring 42 points as the Center in the NBA Finals as a rookie GUARD! He could play every position, and would find a way to kill you!

If Magic is off the table, I choose LeBron.

That's all...