Is Kobe Really an MVP?

In a world whereby sports and other less meaningful sources of overpriced entertainment reign supreme, the NBA officially stooped to a new all-time low! Instead of honoring one of its better, more suitable representatives with the distinguished honor of – player of the year- the NBA chose instead to promote and further uplift perhaps it’s most misleading example of true class and dedication. Leading many like myself to wonder if the MVP, which at one point meant Most Valuable Player, had now been reinvented to mean something more along the lines of Most Villainous Persona!!

Yes, Kobe Bryant has in many ways had a wonderful statistical season, and by that account has been found worthy of dawning the NBA’s most prestigious award, it’s MVP. But should achieving high levels of categorical success really be all that matters when looking to determine MVP status? Or should we as fans and members of the media take into account other less numerically inclined factors when attempting to decide on who best exemplifies a league and its given fan base?

It is my belief that all too often we, as a sports enthused culture, fail to accurately address these and other pressing issues because of our own disillusioned logic. Somewhere down the line we seem to have bought into this ridiculous notion that just because someone is more athletically inclined or has exhibited the ability to run faster, jump higher, or react quicker, he or she is somehow excluded from the bounds of normalcy. And in achieving such, they have been granted an unlimited pass when it comes to civil responsibility and social dignity. And such is the case with Kobe Bryant.

Stemming from his adulterous behavior in Eagle Colorado and continuing through to this past summer’s list of personal demands, Kobe Bryant has exhibited domineering characteristics alright, but not ones often depicted on the backs of collectable trading cards or Sports Center highlight reels. Instead Mr. Bryant has routinely subjected his team, teammates, front office, and devoted fan base, to a list of demands the likes of which include: (1) insisting to be traded numerous times, (2) calling out Lakers’ General Manager Mitch Kupchak for failing to adequately surround him with championship like talent, (3) openly criticized upper management and Lakers’ owner Jerry Bust, and (4) eagerly ripped into current teammate Andrew Bynum, for not living up to expected levels of professional performance.

Funny isn’t it, all this from a “man” who had just recently verified his willingness to compromise his own legacy and that of the entire Lakers’ organization, largely at the expense of one lonely night in Colorado. It’s just a shame that in today’s world, what one does off the court, is in large part overshadowed by what one’s honest talent will allow him to do on it!

While magnificent talent and a flair for the dynamic can prove financially worthwhile, it does fall short of one’s own ability to be known on and off the court as a worthy - Most Valuable Player. Granted, Kobe Bryant along with his illustrious career will go down in the history books as being one of the games greatest legends, but in a world where pure athleticism has shown the ability to downplay real-life tragedy as a means of achieving real-world accolades, will any of us really care?