Who is the real NBA MVP?

This was such a close call this year with who should get the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. It really came down to 2 great players: Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. Bryant had a better year scoring wise averaging 28 points per game while Paul was the better ball distributor with 12 assists per game. And Paul still averaged about 21 points per game during the season. So who is the Most Valuable Player between these two?

Obviously we know that Kobe Bryant received the award as it was announced earlier this week. But is he truly deserving of the award? It is such a close call that I feel that these two guys could have been co-MVPs. Did Kobe receive the award because he has been in the league so long without an MVP award? That is certainly possible since many members of the press felt Kobe should have gotten MVP in other seasons. Considering he has not yet received the award, then members of the press felt it was their duty to give him the award.

Don't get me wrong, Kobe Bryant has an MVP-type season and is the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers, who are currently undefeated in the NBA Playoffs thus far. But is Bryant the key ingredient to the Lakers success?

Let's look back on the 2007-2008 season for a moment. Does anyone remember when the Lakers really turned it on and became the top team in the Western Conference? Well lucky for you, I remember. It was when the Lakers acquired forward Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in a mid-season trade. That's right folks. I am giving most of the credit for the Lakers big success to Gasol.

If it were not for Kobe and of course guys like Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher, the Lakers wouldn't be here either. But what put L.A. into that next gear to become the team to beat in the competitive Western Conference was Gasol. Since Kobe was not the ultimate difference maker, then there is questions surrounding his MVP award.

On the other hand, let's look at Chris Paul. I, along with a fellow sports analyst, have had discussions about how CP3 should be the MVP of the NBA this season. Who would have thought the New Orleans Hornets would have won that extremely competitive Southwest division, which includes the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs. Paul made that happen. He has guys around him like David West, Peja Stojakovic and Tyson Chandler, but ultimately Paul is the big reason why the Hornets are this good.

If you compare the Lakers supporting cast (Odom, Gasol, Fisher) to the Hornets supporting cast (West, Stojakovic, Chandler), the Lakers have the obvious edge. It's always easy to have a great season, both individually and as a team, with squad the Lakers have. And while the Hornets do have a good team around Chris Paul, he is the reason why the Hornets are the #2 seed in the Western Conference as compares to a lottery team once again.

As previously mentioned, Kobe is certainly MVP-worthy once again this season. But for this particular year, for what Chris Paul has done for the New Orleans Hornets, CP3 should be the MVP.