Finally…The Most Underrated Overrated Player Gets His Due

Kobe Bryant has won the 2008 MVP Award. It was no small task this year, as the 2007-2008 season will go down as one of the best in NBA history. Besides The Mamba, Chris Paul, KG, and Lebron could have all made a case for the league’s top award. It finally brings Kobe to his rightful place as being recognized as what he is: the best basketball player on the planet.

For all of Kobe’s career, everything that happened around him has been blown out of proportion (his feud with Shaq, his rape trial, and his bizarre radio appearances last season, to just name a few). Meanwhile, from a purely basketball standpoint, Kobe has remained UNDERRATED for his career. He’s a top 5 offensive player, a top 5 defensive player, yet everyone outside of L.A. looks for any reason to HATE Kobe. Since his championship runs with Shaq, he played the role of NBA villian (very well by the way) because he was hated for being so good (and he’s in the top 10 all-time, easily). While everyone wanted him to be Michael Jordan, he just wasn’t. He never warmed up to the fans, never made a movie where he played basketball with Bugs Bunny, Shawn Bradley, and other cartoon characters, and never had a burger named after him at McDonald’s. Kobe was just too focused on basketball. It doesn’t make MJ bad for doing this things, it was just that people could not accept the best player since Jordan being nothing at all like His Airness.

But do you know who else Kobe is not like? He’s not like D-Wade because his game never faded away for a season. He isn’t like Lebron because he plays great defense. He isn’t like Chris Paul because he’s been doing this for more than one season. And he isn’t like KG because he not only has a killer instinct…he has Jordan’s killer instinct. Because he has that he was able to overcome his early overhyped, teeny bop, Justin Timberlake years (when he could have gotten lazy), worked through his Billy Zabka in the Karate Kid villian years (when he could have let it get to him), and finally arrived in his MVP years…right before his 30th birthday. That’s right- Kobe isn’t even 30 yet. Let that blow your mind for a little while. Kobe is now in the Benjamin Linus from “Lost” stage of his career. You still aren’t sure if he’s good or bad…you just know that you look forward to him being there every week, just to see what awesomeness will happen next.

And sure, you have to give Pau Gasol tons of credit for the Lakers great season. But it isn’t like Gasol ever carried the Grizzlies to much. Bryant has finally taken the final step in his career that all the greats have to make. With Gasol, he took an already very good player and transformed him into a GREAT player. Bird had McHale, Magic had Worthy, Jordan had Pippen, and Kobe has Pau. His perceived ball-hogging throughout his career is another thing that has been long overrated. He just never had a worthy running mate. And now that he does, he is ready to complete his unlikely quest to the top of the NBA Mount Rushmore: take a team on his back and win a championship.

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