(EDIT: Vote for your top 5 choices; players get 10 points for a first place vote, 7 for a 2nd, 5 for a 3rd, 3 for a 4th, and one point for a 5th place vote.

Some interesting choices as there doesn't seem to be a clear cut favorite this year. Some of the choices:

Steve Nash - carried his team without Stoudamire

LeBron - Cavs would be sub .500 team without him and he has been HUGE in the 4th quarter of games since March 1st

Kobe - leads the league in scoring and dropped 81 points for the second most in a single game ever

Wade - had he not been in the same class as LeBron & Carmello and not have Shaq as a teammate, would probably be a household name

My vote would go to LeBron. But hey, I am biased.

I'd love to see LeBron win it too. I also wouldn't mind seeing Nash win it, but in my heart, I think Kobe deserves it the most. He's had an unbelievable season now that his legal issues are over.

NBA MVP voters fill out a ballot naming their top 5 choices.

10 points for a first place vote, 7 for a second, 5 for a third, 3 for a fourth, and 1 point for a fifth.

If everyone picks five, we can have our own election.

Here's mine:

1- Lebron - Cavs nowhere without him. Triple Double stats every night remind me of Oscar Robertson.
2- Elton Brand - Clipps nowhere without him.
3- Dirk Nowitzki - Dallas nowhere without him .
4- Kobe - Lakers nowhere without him.
5- Chris Paul - Almost led otherwise hapless New Orleans into playoffs.

Honorable Mention: Pau Gasol, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Chauncey Billups, Dwayne Wade, Shaq.

Good idea, Plaw. Here's my vote:

1. LeBron
2. Kobe
3. Nash
4. Nowitski
5. Carter

1-Kobe-I don't see how anyone can not pick him
2-Lebron James-Greatest 3-first-years player ever
3-Dwyane Wade-Second greatest 3-first-years player ever
4-Dirk Nowitzki-Single handedly made his team a contender
5-Elton Brand-Career year. I don't like him but he kicked asses this season

Kobe, definitely!! And not just because he's a Laker, I swear! But seriously, if the guy breaks any more records, he's gonna break the record for most records broken! He makes my little town real' proud.

As for the 5:

-Kobe: See above
-Nash: had a great season
-Lebron: very impressive to watch
-Brand: I guess... I hate liking him, for some reason, but the guy's good.
-Marion: I wish he was a Laker... he can rebound more than our entire team put together.

I'd vote for Chauncey Billups as MVP before I'd vote Nash.

But it's gotta be Lebron James.

yeah after sending my reply I just thought of Billups. as a Pistons fan I know exactly how amazing he was that season. everytime the Pistons got a little slow (there were very few) he came up big, especially against the other real contenders.

1. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Vince Carter
4. Dirk Nowitzki
5. LeBron James

Honorouble mention: Tony Parker

Question: Do you pronounce Dwyane like wayne with a 'D' in front?

Yes

shouldn't it be "Dwy-Ane"?

I would vote thusly:

1. Steve Nash
2. Kobe Bryant
3. LeBron James
4. Dwayne Wade
5. Chris Bosh

I'm for Kobe Bryant to win the MVP. I don't like him much, but he definitely is the go-to-guy of the Lakers.

My second choice would be Steve Nash.

Welcome, Tutti.

It's not often that a new member makes his first post in our Sports Forum.

Do you play fantasy sports at all? They count as "sports" the same way that video games do.

Fuck it, Kobe Bryant had another 50 point game last night, and he added 5 steals, 1 assist and 6 rebounds. As much as I'd like to see Steve Nash win his second straight M.V.P. Award, it looks like this is Bryant's to lose...

Here's the voting so far.

I only counted those who filled out a complete ballot.

1- Dirk
2- Kobe
3- Brand
4- Lebron
5- Chris Paul

Here's my take on who should take home the Podoloff Trophy. Hard to argue with anyone else's choices. This year's race is tighter than a...never mind, I've been reading the GF novel for the first time recently, forgive me. It has certainly been a great NBA season.

1-Kobe (AKA "Black Mamba"): Nobody is more important to his team than Bryant, if that's the qualification you wish to use for determining MVP. Bill Simmons said it best, if you were picking teams for a pick-up game, there is no doubt that based on this NBA season, the first guy you'd pick would be Kobe. Can shutdown anyone, anywhere, anytime.

2-Lebron: An all around talent. Triple double threat every single time he steps out on the court. Has made 18 of 28 shots in the last 2 minutes of close games(3 points or less) despite rep for not delivering in clutch. In 13 games against the top 5 teams in the league recordwise, Lebron topped 40 points an incredible 7 times! Team success is always important in MVP voting and Lebron's Cavs have the fewest wins out of the main competitors, which hurts.

3-Wade: Easy for detractors to claim anyone would look good playing with Shaq, but Shaq obviously isn't what he used to be. Plus, consider this if you really take the definition of valuable literally. The Heat outscore their opponents by 8.2 points every 48 minutes with Wade on the court. When he's on the bench, they get outscored by 8.6 points. That's nearly a 17 point differential each night!

4-Nowitski: Besides Kobe, no one has less help from his teammates than Dirk. Incredible shooter. Averaging a ridiculous 29 and 10 since the all-star break.

5-Billups: Leads the league with a 4.04 assist to turnover ratio. Obviously gets the most help out of anyone on this list, so case can be made that Pistons would be fine without him. The last spot was a toss-up between Billups and Nash. In their two head-to-head meetings this season, Billups scored 27 and 35, while Nash scored 18 and 13, while the assists were a wash.

Honorable mention:

Nash: Obviously had a great year keeping the Suns rolling without Stoudamire. Increased his scoring almost 4 points a game from last year's MVP season. Fantasic leader who makes his teammates better(Boris Diaw has played well for christsakes ) Stats clearly don't tell the whole story with all players and Nash is one of them. In a lot of ways played better than last year. So why is he not even in the top 5? Cannot guard an NBA point guard's grandmother, much less the actual player. I think he deserved the MVP last season when there really was no clear cut choice. This season, his utter atrociousness on D knocks him off the list. Has been absolutely torched by below average point guards this season, not to mention what guys like Billups and Kidd have done to him. Maybe it's the basketball coach in me rearing its ugly head, but defense is just as important as offense.

Paul: Can't believe there is actually another thread on this board debating who should be Rookie of the Year! The only guards in NBA history to have better rookie seasons, according to their PERs(Player Efficiency Rating) are Jordan and the Big O. The Hornets should be a disaster this season and the only reason they aren't is CP3.

Melo: Clutch, clutch, clutch. Did I mention clutch? That alone gets him on this list. Did lead the Nuggest to a division title, but obviously his team accomplishments pale in comparison to other contenders. Probably needs to rebound a little better for his position.

Steve Nash won't win it, but his defense is pretty good no? He averaged 4.2 Rebounds, .75 Steals, .16 Blocks but (obviously) he had way more dimes than turn overs. Whatever, Bryant's gonna win anyways, and deservedly so.