http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=OffseasonPredictions09-MVP 2009-10 Predictions: Most Valuable Player RANK PLAYER VOTES 1 LeBron James (35) 2 Kobe Bryant (9) 3 Dwyane Wade (6) Also receiving votes: Kevin Durant (1), Dwight Howard (1), Derrick Rose (1) The skinny LeBron James LBJ was finally crowned king of the regular season, winning the MVP vote after finishing ninth, sixth, second, fifth and fourth in his first five years. Cleveland broke through with 66 wins, and might need an encore to get LBJ his second Podoloff Trophy. And overall the stakes are higher than ever, given last May's disappointment, the Cavs' Shaquisition and LeBron's looming free agency. Still, more than half of our experts consider King James likely to continue his MVP reign. Kobe Bryant The 2008 MVP finished second in last season's race, leading the Lakers to 65 wins despite his numbers being down slightly. In June, however, he proved he is still the top dog in the league by winning his fourth NBA ring and the Finals MVP award. Although Kobe faces a new set of challenges with teams now gunning for the Lakers and Ron Artest now in the mix, nine of our voters think the Dobermamba will seize his second regular-season MVP trophy. Dwyane Wade Despite the Heat winning only 43 games last season, Wade finished third in the MVP vote. That's how impressive he was in leading a young squad to the playoffs. Can he take the Heat to higher heights this season? It'll be tough with Miami's roster basically the same, and with its second-best player, Michael Beasley, struggling with off-the-court issues. But with Wade able to do more with less, six voters say he'll be deserving.
Durant and Rose? Nobody will vote for those guys when Duncan and Garnett finish with two of the top three records in the league.
If the Heat win 50 games (and I doubt they will) Wade should be, at worst, runner-up MVP. His numbers were as good as Lebron's last season. I don't believe Kobe belongs in the MVP conversation anymore. His game is slipping and for all the hype he got about how well he played in the Finals the reality is that he wasn't all THAT great. I expect him to decline quickly over the next two seasons. Maybe he remains a top 3 player this season but beyond that there is no way. To me, part of the MVP discussion revolves around the question "can you replace him with another player and get the same or better results?" I think if Kobe was replaced by Wade or Lebron the Lakers would be a better team whereas if you put Kobe on Cleveland or Miami both of those teams get worse.
Kobe can still easily can 60 when he chooses to. And it's Kobe, not Lebron or Wade, who brought back the Olympic glory a year ago. Kobe's still the best player in the league, until LBJ can win one himself. Don't forget MJ was still the best at 35.
Why don't they even metion Tony Parker, he's one of the reasons the Spurs are a good team. I personally would add Scola, but he's more the Rockets MVP. My question is , Does ESPN even like any Texas team?
with all of those names said (Lebron James, Kobe Bryant,D. Wade, Kevin Durant).....Do they mean MVP or Scoring Champ....
The scoring champ usually gets all the hype thus leading to getting votes for MVP. It does not hurt if the team the player plays for is winning.
If McGrady comes back strong with 23+, 5+, 5+ and leads us to the playoffs with a 50+ win season, expect McGrady to be the MVP.
I assume Wade or LBJ wins. I think people have forgotten what CP3 means to the Hornets. They would likely need to end up with a top 3 seed and win 60 games to win it.
These lists are absolute jokes. First, how is there not a single vote for a member of the Spurs? They will, without a doubt, finish with a top two record. Historically, the top player from the top team is a frontrunner for the MVP, yet there is not a single vote for Parker (sorry, Timmy, but Parker's primed for a MONSTER year). Not only will he be on a top two team, but he's also impossible to double team, what with his speed and threats of Jefferson, Manu, Duncan et al helping to spread the court for him. Second, how is there no discussion on how Shaq clogging up the middle...and having no floor spacing 4, thus clogging it up even more...is going to to affect LeBron's game? In case no one has noticed, LeBron is STILL not a good shooter, and can be contained by keeping a 5 & 4 in the paint. That, along with a rugged one-on-one defender, is the primary reason Cleveland has struggled to consistently beat teams like the Spurs and Rockets over the years. They simply pack it in, and dare Bron to win from 25' out. Now that Shaq is taking Big Z's minutes, clogging the paint, and slowing CLE down to a halfcourt team, I expect Lebron's %s to plummet this year.
