MANILA, Philippines – Whether or not the Los Angeles Lakers bag the NBA title, superstar guard Kobe Bryant deserves to be the Finals MVP. He’s been the most consistent performer throughout the series so far and nobody comes close to being an inspiration on either team game after game.
In NBA history, only Jerry West was named Finals MVP despite playing for a losing team – the Lakers who bowed to Boston, 4-3, in 1969. Since the NBA started the tradition of handing out the NBA Finals MVP trophy (named in honor of Bill Russell) in 1969, there have been only eight multiple awardees – Michael Jordan with six, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal with three each and Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and Larry Bird with two apiece.
If Bryant bags the trophy this season, he’ll be the ninth player with at least two citations. Bryant and Boston’s Paul Pierce are the only Finals MVPs playing in the ongoing title series which the Celtics lead, 3-2, heading into Game 6 in LA tomorrow morning (Manila time).
Bryant, 31, averaged 27.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 38.8 minutes in 73 games to lead the Lakers to a 57-25 record and first place in the Western Conference during the regular season. In the playoffs, he’s brought up his numbers to 29.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 39.8 minutes.
The Black Mamba has been red-hot in the Finals – scoring 30 in Game 1, 21 in Game 2, 29 in Game 3, 33 in Game 4 and 38 in Game 5. His display of courage, resiliency and leadership is remarkable. Bryant is also Rajan Rondo’s primary defender in a match-up that Lakers coach Phil Jackson hatched to put size on the Celtics’ spitfirish point guard.
There is hardly a shot Bryant takes that isn’t contested. Bryant is double and triple-teamed but somehow, finds the slightest opening to crank up a shot. “When push comes to shove, I can always get a basket,” said Bryant without hesitation after hitting 33 points in LA’s 96-89 loss to the Celtics in Game 4.
Bryant doesn’t mind putting the Lakers on his back. He could use more firepower support but down the stretch, he wants the ball in his hands to win or lose it.
In the Phoenix series that led the Lakers to Boston, Bryant averaged 33.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 8.3 assists. Bryant shot an eye-popping .521 from the floor, prompting teammate Lamar Odom to gush, “he makes the incredible normal.”
“The Celtics have to allow Kobe to score, they have no choice because he remains unstoppable,” wrote Gary Washburn in the Boston Globe. “Because the Lakers have lacked dependable secondary scorers, Jackson has had to play Bryant heavy minutes. Bryant has played more than 40 minutes in 13 of 20 games (in the playoffs).” In the Finals, Bryant is logging 40.8 minutes an outing. The stifling pressure of Boston’s defense is reflected in Bryant’s drop in field goal percentage (from .456 in the regular season to .425 in the Finals). Additionally, he is norming 4.2 turnovers compared to 3.19 before the playoffs. Nobody said it was easy playing with a swollen, painful and arthritic knuckle in his right index finger that was recently fractured.
Center Pau Gasol has provided steady support for Bryant in offense but Jackson is begging for more fire from the bench. In the Finals, the Celtics relievers are averaging 23 points to the Lakers’ 16.8. The disparity was glaring in Game 4 where Boston’s bench contributed 36 points to LA’s 18.
If Bryant’s supporting cast spews fire, it’ll ease up the defense on him and the consequences may be dire for Boston. At the moment, Boston coach Doc Rivers’ strategy is to wear down Bryant. The Celtics aren’t seriously denying Bryant his touches – they’re making him work, they’re trying to tire him out and they’re goading him to isolate.
Bryant has four championship rings so far, three with O’Neal watching his back. Last season, he won his first Finals MVP trophy without O’Neal and now, covets another title.
“I want one more,” said Bryant quoted in Dime Magazine. “Before, I was outside in the street, begging Phoenix and them to let me in. Now, we got in and kicked them out. Now you can’t come in. We’re going to hold our house down. I wanna win a championship this year. That’s on the agenda. That’s a must-do.”
Aside from the title, there’s another thing driving Bryant to excel. “The perception that the torch has been passed and somebody else is the best in the game, is what drives him now,” said Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw. “Especially, because he’s still playing and the guy who’s supposed to be the best isn’t.”
The reference is, of course, Michael Jordan passing the torch to heir apparent LeBron James. Bryant hopes to lead the Lakers to the title over Boston not only to avenge LA’s Finals loss two years ago but also to cement his place in history as the greatest player in the post-Jordan era.