Big Apple Sports: All New York Sports. All The Time.

Several media outlets are now reporting that Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will be awarded the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award later today. Bryant, arguably the league’s most popular player, will be receiving this distinction for the first time in his career.

There is no debate that Kobe “qualifies” for the award. Some fans however, are annoyed that the award may have been conferred as a kind of lifetime achievement. Always a deserving candidate, an MVP award was the missing piece to Kobe’s prolific profile. Some cogent arguments against Kobe winning the award include the following:

• The Lakers had their best stretch this season after acquiring F Pau Gasol. They went 5-5 in the ten games he (Gasol) could not play.
• Kevin Garnett deserved the award because he is the defining player of the greatest one year turn around in NBA History.
• The Hornets, the league’s biggest surprise, beat to the drum of superstar PG Chris Paul.
• Lebron James. Period.

All good arguments, indeed. But this issue leads to an even bigger one…

Every year, the MLB, the NFL, the NHL, and NBA designate most valuable players. It is a longtime tradition. But what exactly constitutes the league’s most valuable player? What are the qualifications? Here lies the crux of the debate:

1. Should it be a title given to the best player in the sport? If that’s the case, Alex Rodriguez should have roughly twice the American League MVP awards he already possesses.

2. Should it be given to the best player on the team with the league’s best record? Well, then Kevin Garnett should be having a press conference today and not Bryant.

3. Should it be given to the player who statistically had the best season? What if the player’s statistics were contributing to a last place team? Can/Should we award mediocrity? Which stats are more important?

I mentioned those specifically because they are usually the interpretations that sports writers have when voting on a certain player. While I hate the subjectivity of the interpretations, I am not suggesting there should be some algorithm to identify the award winner either. The dehumanization of sports (e.g. the BCS computer system) is an issue that could be an entire post itself.

My conclusion is trivial. I have no idea what an MVP award really means. I guess it’s like being voted class president in high school. Sure, it looks good on paper, but all it really means is that you’re popular.