NBA fans are introduced to the legends of Kobe Bryant pretty quickly after their initiation. But most are shocked when they find out that a player of Kobe’s stature won just a single league MVP award in his decorated career. This surely prompts the question, “Did Kobe Bryant deserve more MVP awards?”
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Former NBA broadcaster Mark Jackson certainly believed so in 2008, months before the Mamba won his first MVP trophy. During a game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA broadcaster Mike Breen brought up the fact that Bryant hadn’t won a single MVP trophy at the time, despite being the best player in the league for years.
As Kobe went to the foul line to shoot a couple of free throws in the fourth quarter of the game, Breen said, “He [Kobe] has never won an MVP, which is hard to believe.” Jackson jumped in with an immediate response, almost as if he was waiting for his fellow commentator to raise the issue.
“They [the NBA] should investigate that,” said Jackson, while fellow broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy doubled down on the take.
“Yeah, you are the best player in the league and you have never been an MVP… and he’s been the best player in the league at least for the last three or four years,” said Van Gundy.
“They should investigate that” – Mark Jackson
“He’s been the best player in the league the last 3 or 4 years” – JVG
On Kobe not having winning a single MVP prior to 2008 pic.twitter.com/9z6xml9MwC
— Lukas (@KBsLakeShow24) March 1, 2025
Jackson then predicted that 2008 would be Kobe’s MVP year, which turned out to be true. The 2007-08 season saw Kobe complete the missing piece in his rich trophy cabinet, adorned with two Finals MVP awards and five NBA Championship rings.
Kobe averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists that season, leading the Lakers to the top spot in the Western Conference. So there was no denying his MVP candidacy anymore.
Interestingly, Kobe himself blamed media bias and how the voting process was conducted for not winning more than just one MVP award in his career.
“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,” he added.
The interviewer also believed that Kobe should have won the award in 2006. So there could be some merit to Jackson’s claim that Kobe was snubbed by the MVP voters.
Bryant vs. Steve Nash in 2006 MVP race
Steve Nash won the 2006 MVP after leading the Phoenix Suns to the second spot in the West with a 54-28 record. However, his numbers from that season don’t exactly scream MVP.
The Suns guard tallied 18.8 points and 10.5 assists. But he did have a 50-40-90 season, which possibly made his case valid.
On the other hand, Kobe averaged 35.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on a Lakers team that barely had any top names apart from him. The Lakers’ 45-37 record, which saw them finish 7th in the West, probably ended Kobe’s claim to the MVP award.
But still, many fans think that Kobe should have won it in 2006 for carrying a derelict Lakers squad to the playoffs almost single-handedly.
