It’s All-Star weekend again in the NBA.  So, naturally, it’s time to over-analyze every single stat I can find about what happened in those first 52 games.  Never mind the fact that in all likelihood my opinion is going to change by the time we reach mid April, when the regular season finally comes to a close.  It’s about the here and now.  So, right now it’s time to try and pick an MVP of the first 63% of the season. 

First off we’ve got to get our definitions straight of exactly what we’re talking about when we’re talking about the “Most Valuable Player” award.  If you ask me, which you obviously have sort of done by reading this; the MVP is about being the most valuable to their team.  Of course stats are going to help, but the bottom line is which player is making their team better the most? So here we go, I’ll just run down what I think are the top candidates for the award and see who comes out on top. 

Kobe Bryant

Go ahead, hate him, he pretty much asked all of us to in his new commercial, but Kobe’s had a first half that’s awfully hard to hate.  To say Kobe is having a renaissance year would be quite accurate, his 35 points per game leads the league, and who could forget that 81 point napalming of Toronto at home.  But besides scoring an absolute monstrosity of points, has Kobe really made the Lakers any better off than they were last year at this point.  Their record currently stands at 26-26, virtually unchanged from last year’s 26-24 first half outing.  Despite all the points he scores, he only averages 4.4 assists per game, and a paltry 5.5 rebounds per game. Kobe also has taken more shots in the first half than any other player in the league with 1344.  If you’re shooting the ball that much, math tells us that eventually some of them have to start falling.  In Kobe’s defense he doesn’t have a whole lot of options to get those assists up.  While Lamar Odom and Smush Parker are solid enough, this Laker team is clearly built around Kobe as a total standout on offense.  Whether that’s working and will be able to get them to the playoffs is something you’d have to ask Phil Jackson. 

Kevin Garnett

I for one would love to hear Kevin Garnett’s standup act that he’s closing out in his commercial, but I’ll just assume that he’s probably a better basketball player.  Garnett has produced solid results in multiple categories this year so far.  His 12 rebounds per game have him ranked 3rd in the league, his 52.8 field goal percentage is 4th best, and his 21.7 points per game is 14th best .  Garnett has never typically been a big point scorer, but has consistently put up numbers in the low to mid 20’s.  His field goal % this year is currently a career high for him, but sadly his team isn’t faring quite as well.  The T-Wolves have dropped 5 of the last 6 and currently stand at 23-29, 12th in the Western Conference.  If the Wolves are going to make a push to the playoffs they’re going to need a lot more out of their team as a whole, because Garnett is certainly pulling his weight. 

LeBron James

The King has had a phenomenal first half of the season, dotted by specs of inexperience and last second indecision.  LeBron has posted 31.2 points a game sitting him at third in the league, and a league 12th best with 6.6 assists per game.  Considering how much he scores and passes the ball, his 7.0 rebounds per game are somewhat respectable.  The most important part about LeBron James is the fact that he is the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He has them at 31-21 in what is arguably the toughest division in the toughest conference in basketball today.  Although not much has seemingly changed; last year at this point the Cavs were 30-20 and had a classic Cleveland collapse late in the season to barely miss the playoffs.  If LeBron truly is MVP caliber, he won’t let that happen again. 

Elton Brand

The LA who?  Yes, that’s right, the Clippers.  At 30-21 at the break for the first time in a long time, Elton Brand has managed to make LA’s “other team” LA’s only team so far this season.  Brand is top 10 in the NBA across 5 statistical categories including points, field goal percentage, rebounds, and blocks.  Now that’s what I would call an “all around player”.  Not that the Clippers’ success should be credited entirely to him, the Clipper Ships have 6 players who average double digit points every night, and he certainly benefits from Sam Cassell’s assists.  Overall though Brand is having one hell of an all around year with a team that before now, nobody even took seriously. 

Allen Iverson

The league’s perennial point scorer and bad boy is once again putting up a very solid statistical year; but once again, his team fails to produce around him…or maybe because of him.  Iverson is number 2 in points, number 8 in assists, and third in steals.  Despite the stats, the Sixers remain virtually unchanged from this point last year.  Currently at 25-26, the Sixers are hanging by a thread to the 8 seed in the east.  Chris Webber adds rebounding power, and authority down low, but this is still A.I.’s team.  The Sixers seem to lack a pure outside shooter, relying mainly on Kyle Korver at forward to provide the outside deep threat.  AI’s stats are nothing new, and neither is his team’s performance. 

So after a couple hours of making my eyes hurt and my statistical brain wobble, who do I think the MVP should be?  Elton Brand.  His all around style of play has elevated the Clippers from the Lakers opening act to the main event.  Although he doesn’t lead the league in any one category he places so high on so many I find it hard to knock his statistics.  And, in my opinion, (which of course is what this entire article is based on) He’s done the most for his team.  They have improved from 23-30, to 30-21.  That’s almost a pure inversion of their record from last year.  So, all things being equal, if the season were over today, I’d say give that trophy to Elton Brand.  But the season isn’t over today, so we can look forward to an exciting argument about this sometime down the road, I’d say, early June or so. 

Seth Glasgow is a junior at Ohio University, and is currently paying penance for sins committed in a past life by being a fan of all things Cleveland.  You can reach him at seth.glasgow@atomicsportsmedia.com.