Kobe Bryant is in the discussion for greatest NBA players in history, yet he has only won one MVP award. That is one of the more shocking statistics when it comes to the greats of the game.
Bryant has finished in the top five in MVP voting 11 times, including his win in 2008. Kobe joined “The Grantland Basketball Hour” on Sunday and talked about his lack of MVPs.
First, like Kevin Durant, Kobe complained that the reason he does not have more MVPs is because the media doesn’t know what they are doing.
“Because the media votes on it,” Bryant said of why he didn’t win more.
Bryant also conceded that he is bothered by not having won more regular-season MVPs.
“It was never a mission of mine to win a bunch of MVPs; it was to win a lot of championships. With that being said, does it bother me? Yeah, it bothers me. Of course it bothers me.”
Bryant did not that he has won two NBA Finals MVP awards, which makes him feel better because he values that more.
The real issue people tend to cite when looking at Kobe’s lack of MVPs is that Steve Nash won back-to-back awards in 2005 and 2006. Nash was running the Suns’ seven seconds or less offense at the time and was posting incredible stats. His MVPs were debatable, though his success at the time was undeniable. The funny thing is that if you go by win shares, Nash wasn’t even the most valuable player on either of those two Suns teams; Amar’e Stoudemire and Shawn Marion had him beat. And if you go by win shares, the guy who really got robbed of MVPs was Dirk Nowitzki, who finally won the award in 2007.
Bryant’s one MVP award really is about right for his career. He still has five titles, two Finals MVPs, four All-Star Game MVPs, 17 all-star selections, two scoring titles, and he is an 11-time first-team All-NBA selection. Few players in history can boast a more impressive resume. But knowing Kobe, he will never be satisfied.
Bryant, who reportedly will retire after next season, also said that he does not want a retirement tour the way guys like Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera had it in baseball.
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