10.22.08 Top Five MVP Winners

Can you feel it? The new NBA season is only six days away! Okay, maybe you can’t “feel it”, but I think it’s pretty exciting. So exciting in fact that I’m continuing my best NBA award winners series today. Okay, maybe it’s apart of my schedule, but I still think it’s fun. I’m nearing the end of the line with the series. In fact, we’re already here with the biggest individual award in the game. Let’s see what I’ve chosen for the best MVP winning seasons of all time.

5. Magic Johnson, 1987

Magic Johnson would win three MVP awards in his career, but it was in his first MVP season in which he was the most dominant. Magic was never much of a scorer, but in 1987 he would put up his career best average with 23.9 ppg. Magic would also add averages of 12.2 assists per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. Those kinds of numbers for any player would be astounding, but for Magic it was just above par.

4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1971

Kareem has gotten a lot of praise in The Quick Report over the last couple of weeks. Though, when I list the best MVPs of all time, how can I leave him off the list? In 1971 he was actually still Lew Alcindor. In 1971 Lew wouldn’t only average 31.7 ppg and 16 rpg, but he would also lead the Milwaukee Bucks to their only NBA championship. Kareem or Lew, either way, he would go on to win five more MVP trophies, adding to a grand total to an NBA-best of six. Still, as far as stats and victories, I like his first win the best.

3. Shaquille O’Neal, 2000

For as dominant as Shaq may have been in his prime, he only has one MVP trophy. In 2000 we were still witnessing the rise of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant, but Shaq was unquestionably the best player in the NBA. With averages of 29.7 ppg and 13.6 rpg, who would question that? Shaq would go on to lead the Lakers to their first title since the Magic Johnson days. In the years directly following Michael Jordan’s retirement from the Chicago Bulls there was no more dominant of a force than Shaq, and 2000 was the peak of his prime.

2. Larry Bird, 1986

Sometimes when it comes down to the Larry vs. Magic debate, people don’t realize that Magic only really ever beat Larry is the assists department. Larry almost always scored more points and grabbed more rebounds. In 1986, the last of Bird’s three-peat as MVP, he lead the Celtics into being a team for the ages. They would finish the season win 67 wins and one of the greatest home court records in history. Larry would see his numbers dip in his final MVP season, but losing the individual numbers only gave Bird his most glorious season as a pro.

1. Michael Jordan, 1998

Michael Jordan won five MVP trophies in his NBA career, does it really matter which one I pick? The reason I go with 1998 is that I think it sums up Michael’s career perfectly. Scottie Pippen was hurt for a big chunk of the season and Michael had to put the team on his back. It’s when Michael was always at his best. It wasn’t his best season as far as stats are concerned, but I think David Stern summed it up best when he gave Michael the award. Stern said “After 13 seasons, you still go out every night and play like Michael Jordan.” Nothing else needs to be said.

I’ll be back Friday with my all-time team selections for the coaching staff.

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09.15.08 Regarding Shaq

As I’m sure most of you have heard Shaquille O’Neal set his retirement deadline for when his current contract with the Phoenix Suns is up in two years. I personally believe that it might have been a good idea for Shaq to retire a few years ago, but you can’t blame the guy. He would’ve been leaving a big deal of money on the table. Who cares about a legacy when money’s involved?

The facts about Shaquille O’Neal’s career are pretty clear. He was one of the most physically gifted players of all time, with an ability to overwhelm his opponents with his size and strength. There’s no question that Shaq was one of the all-time great creators of mismatches. Though, along with his gift, came an arrogance that few could ever match. Throughout Shaq’s career he’s shown a great interest in being highly regarded as a player, but what it takes to maintain that regard was something he didn’t think applied to him.

When Shaq entered the league after being drafted by the Orlando Magic I think many people thought he had the opportunity to be the most dominant player ever. There had never been a player with so much size and power, but who also had the speed and basketball IQ to match. After two seasons in the NBA Shaq had carried the Magic to the NBA Finals, passing Michael Jordan and the Bulls along the way.

We all obviously know that Shaq jumped ship from Orlando to go play for the Lakers in Los Angeles. It was Shaq’s years with the Lakers that he will undoubtedly be most remembered for. Shaq did it all in Los Angeles. He won an MVP trophy, three championships and had a drama filled feud with Kobe Bryant that would make daytime soap operas jealous. In his prime, Shaq wasn’t only a winner, but he was also a star. Some would argue that being a star might be better than being a winner. Either way, Shaq was both.

It was his level of stardom that made him a very expensive talent to have on a team’s roster. In 2004, after the Lakers got spanked by the Pistons in five games, Shaq’s fate came down to the biggest decision Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will probably ever make. I think everyone had seen that Shaq’s best days were behind him, but he was still the best center in the NBA at the time.

The choice to trade Shaq to Miami will always be a controversial decision. There’s two ways to look at it. One, the Lakers made a big mistake in that Shaq gave Miami two highly competitive years, one ending in a championship. Two, the Lakers saved themselves some money and were able to plan for a future that seems to paying off now. I tend to think it was a good idea not to pay Shaq the kind of money that he was asking, but I also think that the Lakers are just plain lucky with how things have turned out.

Shaquille O’Neal is never going to go down in history as he would’ve liked to. He never stayed in shape and he’s paying the price of those sins now. Like Hakeem and Ewing before him, Shaq has learned the pain of staying in the game too long. We tend to remember the best days of Hakeem and Ewing, and maybe that will be how we remember Shaq after he’s retired. I can’t predict the future. I do know that, right now, it seems like a million years since Shaq was one of the best players in the league. In a little over 700 days Shaq’s story as an NBA player will have come to a close. It may be a little past due, but I’m not looking forward to writing about it.

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09.01.08 Regarding Kobe

Greetings from your humble narrator! I’m nursing a bit of a cold, and it sucks. Though, I’m not one to let my public down. I’m just like Kobe Bryant. Kobe wouldn’t let torn ligaments in his pinkie stop him, and I won’t let a cold stop me. It’s obviously the same thing. Considering all of this, I thought I would throw out some thoughts on The Black Mamba.

Kobe Bryant may be the most controversial player in the NBA today, and perhaps of all time. As Kobe once said in a commercial a few years ago, fans either love Kobe or hate him. The fans that love Kobe will never give an inch on their praise, and neither will the opposite side with their venom.

You could argue that Kobe Bryant was the biggest steal in draft history. He fell all the way to number thirteen, when he was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1996 draft. For a point of reference, Erick Dampier was taken with the tenth pick. In one of the most lopsided trades in history, Kobe was sent to the Lakers in exchange for Vlade Divac. The then General Manager of the Lakers, Jerry West, thought he would make a strong second option behind the newly acquired Shaquille O’Neal.

The first few years of Kobe’s existence in Los Angeles were good or bad, depending on your perspective. Kobe was being compared to a young Michael Jordan and Shaq had grown into the best center in the league. The two superstars managed to make the playoffs for their first three seasons, but were spanked by the Jazz and Spurs each time. The Lakers brought into Phil Jackson once his year long sabbatical after leaving the Chicago Bulls, and we all know the rest.

We all know about the three championships and Kobe and Shaq’s feud. We can all remember how ugly it had gotten. What am I talking about? It’s still ugly. When you have Shaq free stylin’ in New York about how Kobe can’t win without him, four years after the split, it feels like a divorced couple.

Kobe may have done some image rehab over the past year, but the funny thing is, as ridiculous as it was, Shaq was right. That’s right, I said it! I’m not saying that Kobe is incapable of winning a championship unless he plays with Shaq. It would take the biggest Shaq fan in the world to deny that Kobe Bryant isn’t looking a hell of a lot better than Shaq these days. Though, Shaq was still right. To this date, Kobe Bryant has yet to win a championship without Shaquille O’Neal.

Shaq won his post-Kobe ring, even if he should be thanking Dwyane Wade every time he looks at it. Shaq has been in a championship parade that didn’t involve Kobe Bryant. Kobe has yet to have a parade where Shaq wasn’t involved, and until he does, he’ll never be his own player.

Kobe Bryant is as talented as any player in the history of basketball. Still, there’s always a catch with him. The guy is a three time champion; he’s won the MVP award, has two scoring titles and has the second highest single game scoring performance in NBA history. Though, with all of that, Kobe is defined by not being Michael Jordan or not being the best player on those championship teams.

The two chances Kobe has had to prove himself truly worthy of being placed along side Magic, Larry or Michael, against the Pistons in 2004 and the Celtics in 2008, he failed. He won scoring titles, but then was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. He won an MVP trophy, but was then outplayed in the Finals by Paul Pierce. He won championships, but he wasn’t the man on those teams.

I believe this is Kobe’s history so far. I do not believe this will be Kobe’s story forever. Am I wrong?

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