Last year you guys might remember me musing about how the NBA got the MVP call wrong by basically handing out a lifetime achievement award to Kobe Bryant. Well this year they got it wrong too.
Don’t get me wrong, I think LeBron James is great for the league, he’s an inspirationally leader, media magnet, and needs to make more commercials for The LeBrons. But as for the MVP of the 2008-2009 NBA season, sorry guys, look south, way south.
Aside from making me laugh ’til it hurts by his commercials with Charles Barkley, Dwayne Wade took a Miami Heat squad that had no business winning anymore than 18 games, to a 44-win season and within one game of taking out the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Kind of like Barkley had no business getting behind the wheel before his DUI, BA-ZING!!!
Is Wade as marketable as James? Almost. Can he score from anywhere on the floor? Almost. But take Wade away from the Heat and they win 10 games, at most. Take James away from the Cavaliers, and you have one All-Star still leading a group of savvy veterans experienced enough to win 50 games.
Was LeBron the best player this year? I’ll say yes, but the key word is “valuable.” And no one was more valuable to their team than Wade. Period.