"Who's MVP?"

Steve Nash? Dirk Nowitzki? Kobe Bryant?

It’s a three-man race for NBA MVP this season, and everyone seems to have a viewpoint on the issue. Yesterday on sports talk radio, the host said there’s no way Bryant shouldn’t win it because he does more (such as rebound and defend) than Nash. Plenty of pundits have vouched for Nowitzki because his team has the best record in the NBA.

But what about Nash? The lack of support for him goes back to the whole “let another guy win” thing. Remember in December when college football coaches wanted to give Florida a shot at Ohio State since Michigan had already had its chance?

This is kind of like that.

Bryant may be leading the NBA in points per game, but look at his team. It’s barely hanging on to a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Nash’s Suns are firmly seated in the second spot.

To me, it’s toss-up between these two guys. Nowitzki is just behind them simply because the Mavericks would still be a good team – a playoff team – without him. LA and Phoenix would likely be lottery teams without their stars.

So as we come down the stretch here, let’s not forget that this is a new year. Who won the MVP the past two seasons has nothing to do with the voting for this year. The fact that Bryant has never won an MVP has nothing to do with it either.

The MVP will be this year’s best player. And right now it’s tough to choose between Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant.