NBA MVP Race Heats Up as Season Ends

This season's NBA MVP race is a free-for-all.

Yes, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and Chauncey Billups are all making a serious bid for this year's top honor.

All will be looking for that very award this season. Both Dirk and Chauncey led their respective teams to an incredible season so far, LeBron James finally carried the Cavaliers back to the playoffs and Kobe dropped eighty one points this year.

However, I guarantee you that Steve Nash won't be the MVP this year.

The MVP race is as close as it's ever been but if I were to choose one, I would have to go to the man who scored eighty one.

As for the other single-player honors, we will take a look at them and who are the ones likely to bag 'em all this year.

The ''Sixth Man of the Year'' award, in my opinion, could be given to either Alonzo Mourning or Jerry Stackhouse. That's like choosing between defense and offense. 'Zo is providing the defensive intensity for the Heat that Shaq can't give while Stackhouse is giving the Mavericks an instant offensive outburst off the bench. A 20-point or so offensive outburst at that.

''Most Improved Player'' is, without a shadow of a doubt, a lock for Suns' Boris Diaw. Anyone from the Suns is a potential candidate for Most Improved Player, it just so happens that Boris Diaw has consistency. Thanks to Steve Nash of course.

Flip Saunders and Avery Johnson will be gunning for this year's ''Coach of the Year'' award. Those two carried their respective teams to the top of their respective conferences and will be a toss-up on who will be able to bag it at the end of the year.

Being the Pistons fan that I am, I'm going for Flip.

Of course, both the ''Rookie of the Year'' and ''Defensive Player of the Year'' will definitely belong to Chris Paul and Ben Wallace respectively. If those two don't get these when it's all said and done, it will be the biggest highway robbery the NBA has ever seen.

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