Before entering into a discussion on the merits of teams and players in terms of the Most Valuable Player award, the ground rules for selection should be defined. If a team has fared badly but despite the poor performance of the team there is a player who has excelled in that team, is he a candidate? During the season many players have stood out in the league but at the end of the day have been overlooked because of bad team performance and as a result no individual achievements were highlighted. At the same time if a team wants to be considered in the selection process, the incentive is to get to the Conference finals. The records show that in the last fifteen years,14 Best Player Awards came from teams that reached the finals.

Twelve candidates are in the running for the award. Odds are being offered by Bodog for these and of these, eleven are likely to be in the Playoffs in June. At the beginning of the season in November all these candidates looked to have a  good chance. The season is well under way into its final month and of these three hoopers stand out in front and this is reflected in the betting odds.

Steve Nash who was last years winner stands out to be the favourite and to win it back to back at odds of 1 to 2. At his position he is the best in the game. Last year the Suns success was greeted with sceptism but he has led them all the way to a possible back to back Pacific Division title. This is without Amare Stoudemire who was out for almost the entire season. The line up that Nash has led is quite different from last years Phoenix line up. While the focus of attention and the hype that goes with it has been on San Antonio and Dallas, Steve seems safe in the number two seed and with the Suns steady on their way to the playoffs, his chances are looking very good.

Dirk Nowitzki is a player right up front. More often than not overlooked and hardly recognized, he has captained the Dallas Mavericks to achieve a 54-7 record which is not only outstanding but they are sitting one away from being the top seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. He has had perhaps his best professional year and with his aggressive team has put up 26 ppg and just a fraction under 9 rpg. His odds to win the Most Valuable Player are at 5 to 1. Despite the fact that Nash’s odds are better, if he wins the division title and is holding the number one seed position in the West, his chances are very good. The award is not given until the end of the season and if his Mavericks can better the performance of Nash’s Sun, he should be a certainty for the award of best Player.

Besides Nash and Nowitzki, at one and two, there are others in the running. In particular, Chauncy Billups from the Detroits and from the Lakers, Kobe Bryant. His odds to win are at seven to one. Going back to what was said at the beginning about the team and the individual, the Pistons are an example of team basketball, more so than any team since the eighties. All through the season the Pistons have played the best and so admirably led by Billups. Perhaps this is an instance where the team effort counts to swing the vote.

Now to the other side of the argument. Kobe is outstanding. His ability stands out beyond all others, but, his team, the Los Angeles Lakers have lost just about half of their games. How do you rate his value when his team loses consistently, Where was he when all is going bad? The fact is that the odds on Bryant being offered by Bodog are at three to two. These are the second best odds being offered.  The problem is that the chances of the Lakers making the playoff are very slim and even if they do they have little chance of getting past the first round. This is in itself enough to take him out of contention for the prize.

We could be in for one of the closest finishes of the year. Something that has not happened for years. If the Pistons, the Suns or the Mavericks succeed in the playoffs, there will be no certain winner at the end of the season. This year’s award will then hinge on which team plays better in the NBA’s second season