On Tuesday, Kobe Bryant addressed the media for the first time as an NBA MVP. The voting actually turned out to be surprisingly distant in favor of Bryant, especially given everybody's expectations for Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett to make this a fairly close heat.
The acknowledgement of the Association's MVP is always one of the headlines at the end of the season. But with all the playoff talk and postseason awards comes one question. How did we get here? Through the regular season, stories have been building and breaking across the hardwood. So, if Commissioner David Stern had a vote, I wonder what the NBA's MVS (Most Valuable Storyline) would be for the '07-'08 season.
I've got a few suggestions for the commish.
Making it look Big Easy
As we make our way through the second round of the playoffs, the speeding train that is the New Orleans Hornets continue to gain a head of steam and be the surprise of the NBA's second season. Since Paul was drafted by the organization three years ago, there has been some anticipation to see when he would flourish under the professional spotlight. It's looking more and more like now is that time.
But it's not just CP3 that garners the attention. Include power forward David West with veteran presences in Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic, and the healthy Hornets finally pushed through into playoff qualification and success.
More than that, they continue to provide positive influence, emotion, and attention on the city of New Orleans. Sure, I understand that it's closing in on three years since Hurricane Katrina devastated that region of the U.S. There are other important issues that people need to be concerned about. But anybody that thought the Crescent City would be an easy clean-up job was sadly misguided. I wonder how would the Larry O'Brien trophy would look traveling down Bourbon Street.
A New Sense of Pride
Back in the summer of 2007, the Boston Celtics were a bit of a laughing stock. The proud franchise with the most NBA titles had the worst record in the league, lost out on any of the top three picks in the draft lottery, and star player Paul Pierce wouldn't have minded a change in climate.
Enter trades for two proven veterans in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and the fortunes of the Leprechauns seemed to be looking up. Optimists were certain that in a diluted Eastern Conference, the Celtics would make the playoffs, if not fight for the Atlantic Division crown.
But did many see this new version of the Big Three gelling so quickly that they would race out to the best record in the Association, then hold on to it with a 66-16 record? This might be the most important to the NBA rather than its fans, but whether you love 'em or hate 'em, the Celts are one of the three most important franchises in basketball (along with the Lakers and Knicks). Having them back to their winning ways has pumped a little life into this season.
Top Heavy vs. Bottom Loaded
It's been no secret that the Western Conference has put the East to shame for the last few years. Other than Detroit and Miami swiping championships in 2004 and 2006, the West has owned the reputation for better quality teams. However, that may not be more evident than in 2007-2008.
The best two records of the season resided in the East. But after that, nine of the next 10 best teams were from the West. From the Lakers through Golden State, each team ended up with at least 48 wins. All of the playoff competitors in the conference had 50 wins at worst. In the meantime, the bottom few entries in the East struggled to get to .500 on the season. So while Boston, Detroit, and Orlando wrapped their playoff slots fairly early, the left half of the country witnessed a final two-week stretch of unusually heightened drama that decided playoff contestants, division winners, and home-court advantage.
It has been interesting how the East has garnered more playoff drama so far than the potential bonanza that was supposed to occur out west. But the regular season race did end up turning a lot of people's heads toward the Association for the last couple of months, something that's difficult to do over an 82-game race.
Teamless in Seattle
This story has been years in the making. Ever since Clay Bennett bought the Supersonics from Howard Schultz, the overall notion was that the Oklahoma native would try to slip the team out of town and into Oklahoma City's waiting arms. Things finally seem to be in place to put the 40-year-old franchise in a new home within the next few months.
The biggest "movement" with the story this year has been the venom from all sides tugging at the organization. Politicians in western Washington have filed suits to keep the team in town through their lease, expiring in 2010. However, the most stunning words came from Commissioner David Stern. His statement referring to basketball leaving and not returning to the city under his watch were sad to hear about a place that had meant quite a lot to the league throughout the years.
Do Call it a Comeback
This is a minor story with respect to all of the others, but in my mind, a noteworthy one. Nene Hilario was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumor near the beginning of the calendar. In the span of just two-plus months, the Denver Nuggets forward went through surgery, received chemotherapy treatment, and returned to the court for a late-season contest against Dallas.
Fortunately, it appears everything was caught early in this instance, and Nene only needed one radiation session before his return. However, in the wake of University of Tennessee guard Chris Lofton's tale of playing through his ordeal with cancer over the last year, it still amazes me how athletes can fight through this kind of disease and return to contribute to their teams physically and emotionally. This should be the NBA's feel-good story of the year.
Those would be my top five choices, but what about you readers? I open up the floor for debate and analysis (and outright ridicule, if that's your fancy). Which one of these headlines would you pick for the NBA's MVS of 2007-2008? Or do you have another story that might top the list? The choice is yours.
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