When the Dallas Mavericks face off against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, two former MVP's will square off once again in a Western Conference showdown. SB Nation's Tom Ziller released his weekly MVP Rankings update on Wednesday, and while reviewing this list a realization crossed my mind. Its been five years since Dirk Nowitzki won his only MVP back in 2007.
Moreover, its been four years since Kobe Bryant won his MVP back in 2008.
What's intriguing to look back at two of the league's superstars is that when Dirk won his MVP in '07, he had to receive it post one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. The Golden State Warriors beat the No. 1 seed Mavericks, in a series where Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson bullied and battered Dirk and the Mavericks were unable to overcome "Nellie-ball" in the Bay Area.
In 2008, Kobe Bryant won the MVP, only to take his team to the finals and put up one of the biggest stinkers in FInals history against the inevitable champion Boston Celtics.
In fact, the last MVP to actually win the NBA title was Tim Duncan back in 2003.
Maybe the MVP award is a bit overrated, or maybe its like the Madden cover curse in the NFL. Let someone else win the award and maybe your team will have a better shot at winning the title.
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