Finally, Kobe should really be MVP

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It took a while, but all those people in Staples Center are finally right.Those "MVP!" chants that greeted Kobe Bryant every time he went to the free throw line the past few years weren't just wishful-thinking hero worship this season.The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has earned it. If he doesn't win his first Most Valuable Player award, we can only assume the ballots were counted in Florida by former NBA referee Tim Donaghy on discarded Enron calculators.If New Orleans' Chris Paul still had a case to make, it disappeared with last weekend's back-to-back clunkers against the Lakers and Sacramento with the Western Conference title in the Hornets' grasp. Big games help define MVPs. In this case they helped eliminate the only player who did as much to raise his team to an elite level as Bryant.It's funny how Staples' favorite athlete didn't need an 81-point game or a scoring title, either. Those bedazzling individual performances always seemed to cloud the issue, leading Bryant's fans to lobby that "best" player also translated to "most valuable."This year, that will be the LeBron James argument.What Bryant did this season in leading the Lakers back to the top of the Western Conference was become pliable, adapt to his surroundings and not just impose his formidable talent on everyone. First, in a remarkable display of mental gymnastics, he detached himself from his trade demands and focused on making his teammates and team better.He accepted and nurtured the emergence of center Andrew Bynum, and the Lakers rose. When Bynum was hurt, replaced by a ready-made all-star, Pau Gasol, Bryant switched gears and melded with Gasol's game.He still averaged more than 28 points, and still dominated games when he needed to. But it also was his smartest, most inclusive season. It's such a simple concept that religions have been founded on the principle: In giving up some of "me," he finally wins the "me" award.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)