Continuing the pattern of “no f*cks given” Kobe Bryant, he divulged a lot of information on The Grantland Basketball Hour. One of the topics he spoke on, is the fact that he only has one league MVP award despite an illustrious career. Bryant has a simple explanation for that.
So why has Kobe only won one MVP award?
via The Grantland Basketball Hour:
Because the media votes on it.
It was never a mission of mine to win a lot 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.
Here’s a history of Kobe’s ranking in MVP voting:
- 2013: Fifth behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul
- 2012: Fourth behind LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul
- 2011: Fourth behind Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and LeBron James
- 2010: Third behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant
- 2009: Second behind LeBron James
- 2008: Won MVP
- 2007: Third behind Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash
- 2006: Fourth behind Steve Nash, LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki
- 2004: Fifth behind Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Jermaine O’Neal and Peja Stojakovic
- 2003: Third behind Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett
- 2002: Fifth behind Tim Duncan, Jason Kidd, Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady
- 2001: Ninth behind Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Karl Malone and Jason Kidd
- 2001: 12th behind Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Alonzo Mourning, Karl Malone, Tim Duncan, Gary Payton, Allen Iverson, Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Vince Carter and Jason Kidd
If there were any year Kobe could claim he was robbed, it’s 2006, when he averaged 35.4 points per game. That was a crowded and fairly even MVP race, and Kobe had as strong a case as several players.
