MARTY
BURNS |
PAUL
FORRESTER |
CHRIS
MANNIX |
JACK
McCALLUM |
IAN
THOMSEN |
| WESTERN CONFERENCE STARTERS |
Steve Nash
G, Suns The undisputed catalyst of one of the league's best teams. He's on pace for career highs in points (19.5) and assists (11.6). |
Steve Nash
G, Suns How do you follow up back-to-back MVP campaigns? By producing the best numbers of your increasingly illustrious career. |
Steve Nash
G, Suns Nash is the hands-down favorite to win his third consecutive MVP award. Period. |
Steve Nash
G, Suns I keep hearing about how popular he is, yet the fans won't vote the possible MVP three-peat to a starting spot. |
Steve Nash
G, Suns How does Nash keep getting better? But he does. |
Kobe Bryant
G, Lakers He's scoring less but doing a better job as a leader. Despite injuries to several Lakers, he has kept L.A. among the NBA's top teams. |
Kobe Bryant
G, Lakers He's shooting less and deferring more and his teammates don't seem frustrated. Wait, are we sure this is Kobe? |
Kobe Bryant
G, Lakers He grows more Jordanesque by the game. Though his scoring is down seven points, the Lakers are four games ahead of last season's pace. |
Kobe Bryant
G, Lakers In case you haven't noticed, the purple and gold is doing well despite an injury to Lamar Odom. No. 8 -- oops, No. 24 -- is the main reason. |
Kobe Bryant
G, Lakers As good as he's been so far, just wait until Bryant leads the Lakers into the playoffs. That's when he'll be truly frightening.
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Dirk Nowitzki
F, Mavericks The German Bird is the best player on the league's best team and a leading MVP candidate (along with his starting Western Conference backcourt). |
Dirk Nowitzki
F, Mavericks As if the league's most versatile 7-footer needed to improve, Nowitzki is hitting a career-high 50 percent from the floor. |
Dirk Nowitzki
F, Mavericks Nowitzki has become a better team player and a more consistent defender. That he also has made the Mavs into playoff performers gives (some) credibility to the Larry Bird comparisons. |
Dirk Nowitzki
F, Mavericks Regardless of where the fans have him in my book he's first among forwards. He's scoring a little less and the powerful Mavs are enjoying it more. |
Dirk Nowitzki
F, Mavericks He's the top MVP challenger to former teammate Nash. |
Kevin Garnett
F, Timberwolves He has better numbers than Tim Duncan in points, rebounds and assists, and has done his usual yeoman's work in keeping the T'wolves competitive. |
Kevin Garnett
F, Timberwolves Someone this consistently excellent deserves a front office that isn't so consistently bad. |
Kevin Garnett
F, Timberwolves Garnett has elevated his game despite myriad distractions and one of the most dysfunctional rosters in the NBA. |
Kevin Garnett
F, Timberwolves He seems to be rejuvenated, even though his team will be fighting for a playoff spot. |
Kevin Garnett
F, Timberwolves Forget the talk that he's lost his fastball. KG is back to his dominant old self. |
Tim Duncan
C, Spurs Yao Ming would get the nod here but he's out with a broken leg. Duncan, though technically listed as a forward on the ballot, is as much a center as anybody else in the West. |
Tim Duncan
C, Spurs With the deserving Yao sidelined, the West finds a way to get in perhaps the league's least appreciated MVP candidate. |
Tim Duncan
C, Spurs He has quietly put together another MVP-caliber season, leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocks while shooting the highest percentage since his rookie year. |
Tim Duncan
C, Spurs Yao's injury leaves it wide open to put one of these terrific West forwards at center. |
Marcus Camby
C, Nuggets When Yao went down, Camby emerged as the classiest all-around center in the West, a double-double guy who fills up the box score while protecting the rim.
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