If you had asked Kobe Bryant last May what would constitute a successful 2007-08 season to him, it’s safe to say his expectations wouldn’t have been very high.  He certainly couldn’t have expected this to be his first official MVP season.  And considering he was pushing for a trade to teams that would have had to dismantle their rosters to afford him, a potential NBA Finals appearance would have seemed equally unlikely.  No wonder he’s been popping his jersey so much recently.

If we’re being honest, though, I’d be lying if I said Kobe’s trade demands last summer and his criticisms of Mitch Kupchak and others in the organization weren’t on my mind when considering how my own MVP ballot would look this season.  Kevin Garnett never would have turned his back on his team like Kobe.  I don’t think it’s unfair to say Bryant has been somewhat of a “fair weather Laker” over the past 12 months.  The MVP elect has indeed undergone quite a transformation since this time last year, and here’s an article in today’s L.A. Times by Mark Heisler that nicely chronicles Kobe’s turnaround with the Lakers.

“In the depths of the Lean Years from 2004 to 2007, Bryant discovered something new: fear.

Once serenely confident of achieving his goals, he felt abandoned and reviled — “an outcast my entire life,” he wrote for Dime Magazine — “[always] made to feel like there was something wrong with wanting to win so badly and wanting to become the best at what you do.”

Happily for Bryant, laying siege to the Lakers’ organization from last May to October didn’t get him traded to Chicago, which might have cast him into mediocrity forever.

Now his career lays out perfectly, on a rising power that should only be better when Andrew Bynum returns, with everything — multiple MVPs, multiple titles — possible.”  Full Article.