LeBron & Fans Experience the “Bryant-Nash Rule”
With over half of the NBA season already played out, and the All-Star break approaching, the talk of who will be this year’s MVP is gaining momentum. Brian Windhorst recently wrote the following in the Acron Beacon Journal:
Not so fast, Brian. The problem here is that LeBron, in his MVP quest, is Kobe Bryant two years ago. And Brian Windhorst is saying what every Lakers fan has already said. When Kobe did this, he didn’t win the MVP. Neither will LeBron this year. “Most Valuable” Of course, Laker fans would agree with Brian — and with all of the Cavs & LeBron James fans who are screaming foul play. After all, this is what we said last year, not to mention the year before. Literally defined, the “Most Valuable Player” would be the player whose team would suffer the most from their absence. That is, the literal definition of the MVP is about as straight-forward as it gets — the player who is more valuable to his own team than any other player is to his. But while this may be the most straight-forward and literally correct definition of a “Most Valuable Player,” it has been well established that the NBA’s MVP award has additional criteria. Therefore, as much as Lakers fans and Cavs fans might agree that the MVP should be the player whose team suffers the most without him, it simply doesn’t work that way. That is because of what I will refer to as the Bryant-Nash Rule. The Criteria As I mentioned above, the “Most Valuable Player” is (unfortunately, perhaps) not defined as simply “the player whose team would suffer the most in their absence.” Whether or not there was a defining moment, or a time when “the powers that be” specifically stated that this is how it should be, would seem to be irrelevant. However it came to be, it has been made exceedingly clear that the MVP Award must go to a player on a winning team. That is the Bryant-Nash Rule. Not only that, but the term “winning team,” as defined in the Bryant-Nash Rule, has come to be defined as a minimum of 50 wins (in an 82-game season) — and the voters typically prefer a candidate from a team more in the 55+ wins category. The precedent for this is very well established. Not since Moses Malone won the MVP in 1982 with a Houston team that won only 46 games has an MVP come from a team with fewer than 50 wins. (As such, you could also call it the Moses Malone Rule.) This precedent was very clearly reinforced over the past two years. In each of the past two years, Kobe Bryant carried a team of scrubs to the playoffs almost single-handedly — often performing super-human feats, breaking records, making history, and seeming to carry the offensive load almost without any help. Each year, the Lakers tallied win totals the mid-fourties. This was a team that, aside from Kobe Bryant and the ever-inconsistent, not-suited-to-be-a-second-option Lamar Odom, started Kwame “Stonehands” Brown — one of the biggest busts of all #1 draft picks, whose primary value is considered to be his expiring contract — and “The Smush Parker Experiment,” who, since his departure from LA, can’t even get a job as a 2nd or 3rd string point guard on Miami, the worst team in the NBA. In 2005, the Lakers didn’t even have a legitimate fifth starter — Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, and Brian Cook split the minutes at the Center and Forward positions. That same year, the Lakers entire bench averaged a laughable 12.2 points per game. The next year, 3 out of 5 starters were injured for major portions of the season, with Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Kwame Brown missing a combined 89 games (102 games not started). Before their injuries, the Lakers were on track for 56+ wins. After their injuries resulted in a large losing streak for the Lakers — during which time Kobe remained a team player and submitted himself to Phil Jackson’s offense, until Jackson and his assistant Tex Winter (creator of the Triangle Offense) asked him to take over and shoot more — Kobe shouldered the offensive burden once again, scored 50+ points in four straight games (all wins), and led the team again to a winning record of 42-40. There can be no question that without Kobe Bryant, the Lakers would have struggled to win even 20 games in each of the past two years. Nonetheless, the voters were unmoved. Though lack of surrounding talent and injuries were beyond his control, and what he accomplished in spite of such obstacles was both incredible and historic, the voters held to their mantra: fifty-plus wins or no MVP. The Bryant-Nash Rule allows no exceptions. And so it is. While Lakers fans have bitterly insisted that “MVP” simply means “the player who is most valuable to his team,” the precedent has been established over the course of 25 years — and reinforced over the past two years — that the MVP must come from a team with a minimum of 50 wins. The Result The result of the NBA’s Bryant-Nash Rule for determining the MVP is two-fold. First, it prevents a superstar on a horrible team from receiving the MVP Award. Were the MVP defined according to its strict, literal dictionary definition, the result would likely be that a superstar on a losing team would receive the award 9 times out of 10. While this reasoning may not be explicitly stated, I believe that, subconsciously at least, this is why the Bryant-Nash Rule exists. Perhaps a better way to see this is as a measure to prevent stat-seeking. Giving the MVP Award were to a high-performing superstar on a losing team would open the door to stat-seeking, “me first” players who pad their stats while their team loses, all in pursuit of the MVP Award. This would reward players like Gilbert Arenas — who is more than willing to take his shots (even when they aren’t falling), score his points, and make his own case with a vocal arrogance, while pouting when his coach asks him to play defense — for looking out for himself while failing to do what is best for his team. That’s what is at the heart of the Bryant-Nash Rule. The thought is — and correctly so — that the MVP does whatever it takes to help his team win and succeed. Even if that means sacrificing his own statistics. (See Kobe Bryant, PPG and FGA, 2005-06 vs. 2007-08.) And that makes sense, right? And that’s what this ensures. And while Kobe may have been doing only what was necessary for his team to win in the past two years, the best way, overall, to ensure that the MVP Award doesn’t reward stat-seekers is to make a hard and fast rule: 50+ wins, absolute minimum. The second thing that results from the Bryant-Nash Rule is that the MVP Award often goes to players who have much more help than a player who would be considered deserving under the literal definition of an MVP. For example, the 2006 MVP Award went to Steve Nash — even though Nash played with two other All-Stars and the best starting five in the NBA, on the most stacked team in the NBA. One could argue that without Nash, the Suns would still have won over 40 games and had a winning record, whereas without Kobe the Lakers would have been headed straight for the lottery. And while this is a legitimate negative side-effect of the Bryant-Nash Rule, the belief is that the need to disqualify stat-seekers outweighs this negative side-effect. And that is a belief that I share — even though it has worked against Kobe Bryant, of whom I am obviously a fan. Maybe Next Year Maybe you agree with that, maybe you don’t. I’ve definitely resisted it at times, but I’ve come to see the wisdom of it, and agree with it. As a Cavs and/or LeBron James fan, I’m sure it’s hard to accept. I know, because I’ve been there. Lakers fans understand. It didn’t happen for Kobe last year, or even the year before. And with the Cavs currently on track for 45 wins (see: Lakers, 2005-06), it won’t happen for LeBron this year. Who should get it this year? Well, that’s another discussion, which I’ll save for later. Until then, Lakers fans everywhere have a message for Brian Windhorst and all those who take his position: We feel your pain. Maybe next year. |
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[...] The Apologist wrote a fantastic post today on “LeBron & Fans Experience the â
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
No, Lakers fans do not understand. Last night the Cavs beat an Atlanta Hawks team who they played on the road, as the second game of a back to back. The Hawks have also been showing signs of being a halfway decent team, who just a couple nights ago beat the big bad Lake-Show. So, this seemed to be a game that the Cavs were going to have to really grind out and play hard to win. They did. Did i mention the Cavs were down 4 key players, with a 5th getting injured in the 4th quarter? The Cavs were without 2 starters (Gooden/Pavlovic) and their 2 most important bench players (Gibson/Varejao). Hughes also got hurt. Yes, the Cavs starting lineup was James, Z, ERIC SNOW (who hasnt played all year), Hughes, and IRA FREAKING NEWBLE.
This is why Lebron is the MVP and should be so overwhelming that whatever rule you come up with shouldnt even matter. There is no other player in the NBA that could have done this. The cavs have the worst supporting cast in the league WITH EVERYONE HEALTHY. Last night, they were missing FOUR KEY PLAYERS and STILL WON THE GAME! Why? Because Lebron James is THAT GOOD. 4 shmucks and lebron have a chance to win, its that simple. No other player in the NBA can do this or has this kind of effect on a team. NO ONE. Not Kobe, not Garnett, NO ONE.
Lebron should be the run away MVP and for anyone that doesn’t see this you just dont know. I thought lebron could have won the MVP either of the past 2 seasons, but i could still SEE where arguments could be made for other players. This season their is just NO argument. if you watch Cavs games and understand WHAT basketball is and the elements that go into winning games you would know this.
[...] The Apologist wrote a fantastic post today on “LeBron & Fans Experience the â
@No, No, No, and No (a.k.a. “You’re Stupid”),
No, I don’t think you failed to mention any of that.
But you did fail to mention that despite your attempt to devalue these players, the Cavs had 5 players — including every starter except Eric Snow — score at least 13 points. Ilgauskas had 11 rebounds and 4 blocked shots. Eric Snow, for his part, had 5 assists and 5 steals.
Furthermore, Ilgauskas, Hughes, and Damon Jones all shot over 50% from the field. The Cavs shot 47.1% on three-pointers, even though LeBron was 0-3.
In addition, the Cavs posted 12 steals and 7 blocks!
So it may be true that these players aren’t generally top producers, on a consistent basis. But you try to paint this picture as though LeBron single-handedly won this game despite no help from his talentless teammates, when in reality, LeBron’s supporting cast — even though they weren’t big name players — was extremely solid in this game.
Sorry, your example fails and your point is moot.
Try to pay attention. My article makes it abundantly clear that this is a rule decided upon by the voters, and proven out over 25 years of precedence. I didn’t come up with this rule. I may have given it a name, but the rule already existed. And the rules don’t change just so LeBron James can get special treatment.
Having a hard time reading again? I guess you missed the part where Kobe’s supporting cast over the past year included Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and Brian Cook.
Smush Parker can’t even get a job as a 2nd string point guard — hell, even 3rd string! — on the worst team in the league! They don’t want him! At least LeBron’s supporting cast is employable in the NBA.
Kwame Brown? The most valuable thing about Kwame “Stonehands” Brown, a.k.a. “The Turnover Machine,” is his bloated expiring contract. That’s the only reason teams want him — so they can let him go in the summer!
Brian Cook? He’s pathetic as a bench player, and he actually started for the Lakers! That’s how bad they were!
How about the benches? This year, the Cavs’ bench is averaging a respectable 25.6 points per game. Meanwhile, the Lakers bench in 2005 averaged approximately half that.
Not only that, but during these years the Lakers team defense was about as porous as Swiss cheese. It was terrible. This doesn’t speak to Kobe’s defense, as team defense is only as good as the other 4 guys on the floor, and a player’s individual defense can appear deceivingly lacking if the help defense and defensive rotations of his teammates aren’t there.
The Cavs, on the other hand, have excellent team defense. And again, this is not all LeBron, as he is just one out of five players who share equal responsibility in making the Cavs’ defense what it is.
So while Kobe’s supporting cast of the past couple years has been at least as bad as LeBron’s, if not worse, on the offensive end of the court, they couldn’t even touch the Cavs on the defensive end.
Furthermore, the Lakers played in the stacked Western Conference, and the Cavs in the LEastern Conference. And let’s take a moment to see just how important that fact is.
Teams play other teams within their own conference 4 times in the regular season. They play teams from the opposite conference twice. Therefore, West teams play other West teams twice as many times as East teams, while East teams have the luxury of playing other East teams twice as many times.
Currently, there are 10 teams in the West over .500. There are only 5 teams in the East over .500. And this is the case even though these 10 Western Conference teams have played twice as many games against teams over .500. Some of the few .500+ East teams, were they in the West and playing ten more games against .500+ teams, it’s likely that only 2 or 3 Eastern Conference teams would be over .500.
Let me reiterate the point that I just made above. There are 10 teams over .500 in the West, and 5 teams over .500 in the East. Western Conference teams play each West team 4 times, and each Eastern Conference team 2 times (and vice versa for Eastern Conference teams). Therefore, a West team will play 40 games against the teams over .500 in the West (10 teams over .500, four times each), and 10 games against teams over .500 in the East (five teams, two times each), for a total of 50 out of 82 games against teams over .500.
Eastern Conference teams, on the other hand, will play 20 games against the teams over .500 in the East (five teams, four times each), and 20 games against the teams over .500 in the West (10 teams, two times each), for a total of 40 games out of 82 against teams over .500.
That means that Western Conference teams play 61% of their games against teams over .500, while Eastern Conference teams play only 48% of their games against teams over .500. That’s a pretty large difference.
In light of this, it is even more pathetic that there are so few teams in the East over .500, despite their significantly easier schedule. It is also more impressive to win 45 games in the West than it is to win 45 games in the East.
Now, let’s bring it full circle. Comparing Kobe’s Lakers over the past two years to LeBron’s Cavs this year…
Despite all of this, Kobe led the Lakers to 45 wins. LeBron, despite the above advantages, is on track to lead his team to 46 wins.
So, as you can see, Kobe’s team of the past couple of years — particularly 2005-06 — was quite a bit worse, in several ways, than the current Cavs team, and his obstacles were more significant. Nonetheless, he led his team to the same win-count that LeBron is on track for, despite more difficult circumstances.
This should be answered already by now. But in case it’s not obvious: Kobe didn’t get the MVP when he accomplished the same thing LeBron is accomplishing, but with a weaker team and in a stronger conference. If Kobe didn’t deserve it that year, LeBron doesn’t deserve it this year.
And remember: The Bryant-Nash Rule isn’t my rule. It’s the rule of the voters, and has been for 25 years. I just gave it a name.
The rules don’t change just because he’s LeBron James. He doesn’t get special treatment.
I appreciate lebron’s honesty in this situation:
Quote of the Night
“I know I got no chance if Kobe Bryant has never won it.”
– Cavs forward LeBron James, on his MVP candidacy this year compared to others.
check http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dime-080214
anyway, your post is completely make sense. Lebron shouldn’t win the MVP if Kobe for 3 years (breaking historical stats each year) didn’t. it’s just that plain and simple. and please don’t make this logical conclusion as a proof that Lebron is better than Kobe or vice versa.
it just shows that no matter how good you are individually, winning the game is always more important.
i think lebron and kobe is on the same page on this one. i never see each one of them feeling happy after losing a game, doesn’t care if they have an outstanding game individually. they sounds happier when they don’t have an incredible game but the team win.
justmy2cents
props to this website. lebrown is good and everything, but kobe has been doing it longer, and he is still doing it better. lebron puts up big numbers now because he’s the only one in cleveland who can do it at this point. when kobe was in that situation, he put up colossal numbers. anyone remember the 80 point game? 50 point games, one after another?
kobe is the whole package. he does that, and is now the best team player, bar none. he makes his teammates good. could anyone have developed bynum like kobe did?
KOBE = MVP
@1331,
Excellent points! I agree with you 100%.
And I LOVE that LeBron quote. In fact, if you pay attention to the debates I’ve had with Cavs/LeBron fans on this blog (I’m sure you don’t, at least not much — no sane person would try to read all that!), then you know that I actually am a big LeBron fan, and I think he’s the best thing since Kobe.
In fact, I’ve even said that I think LeBron has the potential to surpass both Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Only time will tell if he will, but I think he can.
I have no problem whatsoever with LeBron James. I just take issue with his fans, who are trying to crown him already. He’s only 23! He hasn’t gotten that far yet, but he probably will!
I also take issue with the League, which doesn’t do a very good disguising who they want him to become. They’ve already anointed him the next Jordan, and that’s a problem, because he’s getting more favoritism than he deserves. We all remember what happened when Dwyane Wade started getting Michael Jordan type phantom fouls, which he didn’t deserve yet because he was way too young, and way too early in his career, to be treated like that by the refs.
I also take issue with supposed sports analysts, who also want to crown him prematurely. In particular, those who vote for the MVP, and want to change the rules that they used against Kobe to make them work for LeBron — even though Kobe’s done everything LeBron is doing now, but with a worse team and in a harder conference!
But as for LeBron himself — there’s almost nothing not to love about him. Ridiculously skilled, who knows if there’s a ceiling to his potential, selfless player, hard worker, and a great attitude, to boot. It makes me like him even more to see that he’s got a good perspective on this as well, and is willing to recognize that, just like Kobe, it’s going to take more for him to get that MVP. I love that he can say that.
Thanks for your insights, man. And thanks for that quote, I’m glad you pointed that out for me. I hope you’ll come back to check the site out from time to time.
@LakersFan,
Thanks! I’m glad you like this site. I hope you’ll come back often to check out new articles, follow some of the discussion, etc.
You make a great point about Bynum. He owes a lot of his success to Kobe. I actually touched on that in more depth just a few minutes ago in responding to someone else. You can read it here. (To sum it up: In the early part of the season, Bynum was scoring mostly off of lobs and easy opportunities created by his teammates. Most of those were created by Kobe, who for quite a while was the only one trying to get Bynum the ball, etc. Bynum eventually began to break out some legitimate post moves, able to create a shot on his own sometimes, but he was only able to do that because he had developed enough confidence. And that confidence came from all those easy baskets Kobe was intentionally, deliberately creating for him, and all that success in the beginning that wouldn’t have happened without Kobe.)
My last two articles have been leading up to an article explaining why Kobe should be the obvious MVP choice, at this point. First, I talked about the 50-wins rule, which eliminates LeBron, and why I think that’s a good rule (that was this article). Then, in my last article, I talked about how the conferences that these guys play in has a huge effect, and the fact that Kobe is doing what he is in the West should be a major consideration. This is all leading up to an article showing why Kobe should be the MVP: He’s on pace for 50+ wins (LeBron James), he hasn’t played with any other All-Stars (Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul), he doesn’t play in the East (Garnet, James), and his supporting cast has been inconsistent with injuries to Bynum and Ariza, trades of Cook, Evans, Brown, and Crittenton, etc. He also carried his team while Bynum was out, and before Pau arrived.
It’s going to be worth a read, and it should establish beyond any doubt that Kobe is the MVP of this season, so far. Look for it.
Thanks for your interest in this site. Check back often for updates.
@Apologist,
I hate to say this, and I hope you get to make fun of my stupidity for saying this, but I really don’t think Kobe will get an MVP in his career. He just doesn’t have that special free pass that, as you mentioned, was given to Flash way too early and has now passed on to James.
I always think it’s interesting. Remember back when neither Kobe nor Shaq could not win MVP, because, “well, it’s 2 superstars playing together; they SHOULD win.” Not to mention the monster stats they would put up. Then Shaq left. Kobe stuffs the stat box for three seasons, dragging a Laker team with Smush Parker(?!), Brown, and Cook to the playoffs in a stacked WC in two of those years. Then the argument was that, well, any ballhog can put up stats on a bad team; he needs to pass more. Never mind the fact that Kobe has always been willing to pass the rock; they just haven’t started counting passes-that-should-have-led-to-scores-but-someone-missed-a-layup as assists last I checked. Steve Nash gets the MVP for overcoming the obstacles created by playing with two other superstars in a system built specifically for him. I understand, though, because, as you pointed out, this prevents stat seekers to win the MVP for purely individualistic play.
Now the front runners for MVP (and this cracks me up to no end) are: KG, who doesn’t have the stats but has the winning (somehow pulling out victories despite having to deal with playing with two fellow superstars); and Lebron, who is somehow putting up amazing stats as the main offensive ballhandler for a team in the LEast.
If only there were a player to vote for who had both the stats AND the record to back him up…
Anyways, thanks for giving me another rant…you DID say I could do this anytime. Have a good one.
Happydaze
@Happydaze,
Last things first:
Seriously, any time. There are some Kobe haters on here (read: Cavs fans) who post without end. It’s refreshing to have a positive, non-argumentative discussion on here from time to time, so you’re always welcome.
You may be right, and you may be wrong. I’m thinking (hoping?) that you’ll be wrong. I’ve got a “Kobe 4 MVP” article coming up that will go into that in more depth, but look at it this way. Had the Lakers had Gasol all along, they’d be a 60+ win team, without question. On that assumption, and with yet another leap in development likely to come for Bynum over the summer, I think it’s safe to say that the Lakers have a good chance of winning 60+ next year, and if they do, there simply will be no way for the voting media to deny Kobe the MVP. So, even if he gets robbed of it this year, he’s got great chances next year. (I still think he’s got good chances this year, as you’ll soon read.)
But let’s get to the more interesting stuff: The Free Pass. Let me put it this way: Could the NBA and the media be more obvious with their yearning and longing to prematurely crown LeBron James? The league and the sports media are simply dying for any opportunity they can find to heap honors upon him.
Case in point: The All-Star MVP.
LeBron scored 27 points on 12-22 shots, and added 8 rebounds and 9 assists. But I would suggest that Ray Allen was the true All-Star MVP. And I’ll prove it.
Ray Allen may not have had the rebounds or the assists, but he did score more points on slightly more than half the amount of shot attempts — 28 points on 10-14 shooting, including 5-9 on 3-pointers.
But there’s a story that the box score alone doesn’t tell. With 3:23 remaining in the 4th Quarter, the West was up 118-116 — until Ray Allen took over. Despite the West’s refusal to go quietly, Allen nailed three 3-pointers in a row — all in the span of 1:16 of game time!
LeBron then added a dunk, and Wade contributed a layup, but the West kept it close. So Ray Allen made a layup, and then followed that up with three free throws to seal the deal.
The bottom line: In the final 3:14 of the game, with the West making a surge, Ray Allen scored 14 of the East’s final 18 points and single-handedly kept the West at bay.
And LeBron James got the MVP.
Now, LeBron had a great game, just like he’s having a great season. But there was no way he deserved the All-Star MVP Award. And that’s my point. Unlike everyone else, LeBron doesn’t have to deserve anything for it to be given to him. And even though he is often deserving of much credit, he is often given far above and beyond even what he deserves — to the point that it is absurd, ridiculous, and painfully obvious.
The same is true of the regular season MVP Award. He should not even be in consideration for this MVP Award. Not on a team that is barely over .500 in the pathetic LEast, on track to win fewer than 45 games, and with a record that would be 10th best (which is a nice way of saying 6th worst) in the West.
But that’s the way the league works. LeBron has the Get Out of Jail Free card.
And unfortunately, Kobe seems to have drawn the Go Straight to Jail, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200 card. (Note to all haters: Spare me the rape trial comments. This is America, and in America we’re still innocent until proven guilty. Get over it, and find a different horse to beat to death.) That is to say, he receives the exact opposite of the treatment given to LeBron. While everyone is looking for any excuse they can use to anoint “King James,” they are simultaneously looking for any possible excuse they can use to dismiss Kobe Bryant. And so long as they can find one, they will use it.
As you’ve mentioned, they’ve used different excuses at different times to send the MVP Award elsewhere. When it suits them, they’ll say that a player with several other good or great players on his team doesn’t merit the designation of MVP. Then, they’ll flip-flop and give it to just such a player, citing his team’s record and claiming that he, more so than anyone else, is the reason for that record. One by one, Kobe is invalidating their excuses. Maybe they will run out, and will finally be forced — shamed, even! — to give him the recognition he deserves. Maybe not.
And for that reason, you may be right — Kobe may not win the MVP this year, and he may not win it ever.
But don’t worry — I’m still going to make the case that should be made.
Looking forward to the next one.
Happydaze
[...] Kevin Garnett’s Celtics are the owners of the NBA’s best record, and started the season 32-3, on pace for an unprecedented 75 wins. While they have since cooled off somewhat, going only 9-8 since their spectacular start, they are nonetheless on track to win anywhere from 58 to 65 games. Recognized as the best player on the best team, Garnett’s candidacy is in keeping with the precedent established by MVP voters over the past 25 years. [...]
It’s good that you pointed out about Gilbert Arenas scoring points and not much caring for his team. Thats what Kobe was doing for the past 2 seasons – scoring godzillian points and not much caring for his team, blaming everyone else, except himself. Well, probably this year he realized that being arrogant like Arenas doesn’t really help him to get another ring. And what is this attitude: Lakes win – Kobe gets a credit, Lakes looses, teammates got blamed. Should he also apologize for 9 turnovers against SAS and 11 against DET, like Kwame Brown did for his 7?
The good leader always takes blame upon himself for looses, which Kobe never did. There is still time before retirement to learn to be a good leader on and off the floor.
@paul,
The difference between Kobe and Arenas? When Arenas’ coach Eddie Jordan insisted that his players play defense as well as offense, Arenas grumbled. When Jordan said that he would bench players if they didn’t make an effort on defense, Arenas whined and moaned. That’s not the mark of a good player — that’s the mark of a player most concerned about his offensive statistics.
Another difference? Kobe doesn’t have a blog where he constantly flaunts himself.
As for your assertion that Kobe has done the same thing the past couple of years, that’s simply not true. For one, it seems you’ve conveniently forgotten the 2005 Playoffs, as well as the entire first portion of the 2006-07 season (before the injuries racked up), where Kobe did exactly what he’s doing this year: played team ball, passed to and trusted his teammates. But last year, the injuries so completely ravaged this team that that stopped working.
Still, Kobe obeyed his coach and stuck to the game plan, trusted his teammates and played team ball. The Lakers went on a massive losing streak. At that point, Phil Jackson and Tex Winter (Jackson’s assistant and the creator of the Triangle Offense) specifically asked Kobe to shoot more — they asked him to take on the offensive load and carry the team, as he had in the past.
That’s when he started putting up 50-point games — which, by the way, were wins.
How about the season before that, 2005-06? The Lakers were Kobe and a bunch of young kids, most of whom had recently arrived and virtually none of whom knew the first thing about the Triangle Offense. Anyone with any basketball knowledge knows that the Triangle Offense takes quite a while to learn. So, Kobe shouldered the offensive load to get his team into the playoffs while the kids/scrubs learned the offense. In the Playoffs, feeling that they had a semi-decent grasp of the offense, they were able to play more true to the Triangle. And guess what? He did just that. He played team ball, went back to the Triangle Offense.
This has all been well documented. Phil Jackson himself has stated on numerous occasions that in 2005-06, and after the injuries in 2006-07, Kobe was shouldering the offensive load at Jackson’s specific request.
Kobe was only doing what his coach asked of him, and what was necessary to win (as much as possible). And what happened? The Lakers won way more than they should have. They won as much as the Cavs are this year — and with a worse team, in a better conference.
Kobe has always been a team player. It’s just that in the past, his team asked him to carry them. So he did.
Any other questions?
@paul,
One more thing:
Actually, Kobe did take credit for the turnovers. And he said, “I have to make smarter decisions with the basketball.”
See, that’s what bothers me about revisionist Kobe haters. They try to make arguments against him, but they all too often conveniently forget about the facts that render their criticism irrelevant, out-dated, or altogether incorrect.
Kobe did take responsibility for his turnovers, and recognized his need to improve in that area.
Any other questions?
i really am very happy to have read this coloumn! i hope someone will read this and post it on youtube so that many people will realize what kobe had done for this team!
@kaizan,
What an intriguing idea… how exactly does one post an article on YouTube??
[...] came an article explaining why LeBron James should not be considered for the MVP this year, based on Bryant’s past experience. Then, I explained why Kobe’s achievements [...]
[...] bring this full circle, back to Kobe Bryant. Nearly two months ago, I wrote an article entitled LeBron & Fans Experience the “Bryant-Nash Rule”, arguing that based on the currently accepted criteria for MVP — criteria that is thoroughly [...]
[...] Kevin Garnett’s Celtics are the owners of the NBA’s best record, and started the season 32-3, on pace for an unprecedented 75 wins. While they have since cooled off somewhat, going only 9-8 since their spectacular start, they are nonetheless on track to win anywhere from 58 to 65 games. Recognized as the best player on the best team, Garnett’s candidacy is in keeping with the precedent established by MVP voters over the past 25 years. [...]
yeah i get what you are saying, but there is one point i don’t agree with.
You said that the Phoenix Suns could win 40+ games without Nash, yet the 2003-2004 season, the suns finished 29-53, and both seasons, they have Amare, Marion, and Barbosa. Steve Nash elevated Quentin Richardson’s game as well, so He did deserve the 2004-2005 MVP.
Now the 2005-2006 MVP, i do not think Nash should of won that one, but the MVP before it, he did deserve.