The most compelling aspect of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award isn't the final result. The trophy ends up in the wrong hands half the time. Seriously, shouldn't Shaquille O'Neal have won it more than once? Shouldn't Michael Jordan have won it about 10 times and not five? Should Steve Nash have won one, let alone two?

The MVP race isn't some kind of election where the winner actually gets a position of authority. Just ask Dirk Nowitzki, who won the thing last year and lost in the first round of the playoffs. All they get is the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. You know, Maurice Podoloff, the first president of the NBA. No, of course you didn't know. That's the point.

Presenting the winner with his trophy isn't the pinnacle of the MVP matter. We're living the pinnacle right now. It's all about the race, just like it is for any MVP in any sport. And the current race is, well, MVP-worthy.

There's LeBron James, the heir apparent to Jordan's NBA icon throne. There's Chris Paul, the 22-year-old point guard who has led New Orleans from irrelevance to first place in the ultra competitive Western Conference. There's Kobe Bryant, who's been (arguably) the best player in the league for the last six years but has no Podoloffs to show for it. And there's the local boy, Kevin Garnett, who's

helped pull Boston from pathetic to title favorite.

Now that's a race. And considering that Nowitzki, Nash, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Chauncey Billups, Dwight Howard and the rest of the stars that are currently shining in the league aren't even in the running, the race - and the NBA in general - looks even better.

Back to the four finalists. All are worthy. Experts and dopes around the country are all making passionate arguments. I'm torn - caught somewhere between expert and dope and Kobe and Paul. But I should pick one, and will, at the end. Here are my picks in reverse order.

While it would be nice to see KG win it, he won't, and probably shouldn't. Yes, he's been the primary reason the Celtics have made the greatest turnaround in NBA history in terms of wins. But Garnett wasn't the only new addition. There was this eight-time All-Star named Ray Allen who helped a bit. There was also the incumbent captain, Paul Pierce, who is the first game-end option, with Allen being No. 2 and Garnett No. 3. None of the other four candidates have as much talent around them as Garnett.

Garnett's gift is defense and the Celtics do lead the league in opponent's field goal percentage (41.8) and points allowed (90.4) but ... his offensive numbers (19.0 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists) aren't MVP caliber, not in this crowd.

Of course the MVP shouldn't just be about numbers. If it were, LeBron would be your winner. He's averaging 30.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists. If those staggering stats hold, he'll become just the third player to average at least 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, joining Jordan and Oscar Robertson. And if you were starting a franchise, you'd probably want King James, aka The Chosen One, as the bedrock.

Here's the problem. The Cavaliers are only 43-36. In the East. Sure, the supporting cast was terrible and then completely overhauled at the trade deadline. This makes it tough to find consistency and wins. But the MVP can't be on a team that doesn't win at least 50 games. He just can't.

CP3 (that's Paul to all you non-fans) is getting a lot of love recently and may end up winning the award. It would be well-deserved. He absolutely makes his teammates better, he's practically unstoppable offensively, scoring or dishing at will, and he completely controls games, speeding things up or slowing them down as needed. He's averaging 21.2 points, 11.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 steals. His best teammate is David West, a borderline All-Star. Plus, and this a very unique intangible, he's galvanized a downtrodden community.

Most importantly, Paul's team sits atop the Western standings, despite playing in the toughest division in the league. There are almost no negatives here. He's just not ...

... Your (okay, my) 2007-2008 NBA MVP. That's Black Mamba (Kobe's nickname, for the uninitiated). If you had to win one game, who would you take? If you could pick one guy to take a shot in the final seconds, who would it be? Those are rhetorical questions, but here's the answer anyway: Kobe.

Bryant has turned a corner this year. He's making everyone around him better, something he hasn't done in the past. He's taking fewer shots and still putting up monster numbers - 28.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists. He's the best on-the-ball defender in the league. He's carried the Lakers through Andrew Bynum's injury and Pau Gasol's transition/injury and has L.A. in second place in the West and among the favorites to win the title.

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