NBA: 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 05: NBA Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson speaks during the USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy Player of the Year press conference prior to the 2019 NCAA men's Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 5, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images) /

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Kobe Bryant (Photo by Maxx Wolfson/Getty Images) /

NBA: 25 players who should have won MVP in retrospect: 11. Kobe Bryant 2005-06

We get it, winning should play a factor when it comes to acquiring the MVP but seriously, it was practically a miracle that Kobe Bryant was able to win any games at all during the 2005-06 season.

Bryant and the Lakers were in year two of life without Shaquille O’Neal. Surrounded by the likes of Kwame Brown, Smush Parker and Devin George, the Lakers managed to win 45 games and make the playoffs as the seventh seed. In order to do so, Bryant had to play out of his mind, something he was more than capable of doing.

Every night, the newly inducted Hall of Famer would routinely drop 40 and 50 points. Also, who could forget the night he scored 81. On the year, Bryant averaged 35.4 points, 4.5 and 5.3 rebounds. Yet it was Steve Nash who walked away with the hardware after averaging 18.8 points and 10.5 assists on shooting splits of 51.2/43.9/92.1.

There was no doubt that Nash was incredible but what was even more mind-boggling was that Bryant actually finished fourth, behind a 21-year-old Lebron James and an in his prime Dirk Nowitzki.

No matter who you placed on that Lakers team, whether it was Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or any other all-time great you can think, it would be nearly impossible for any of them to lift that horrific team to the level of success as Bryant did. If you didn’t want to give him the award due to his team finishing seventh then that’s fine but to place him fourth in ballots? That is just pure disrespect.