Welcome all, to the Blogger's MVP and ROY Ranking, Round 9.  Through the good graces of Alex of Brewhoop, Hornets247 was given the honor of hosting this round of voting and witty(or not) comment collation from bloggers around the web.

In case you are new to the format, each blogger ranked their top ten MVP(Most Valuable Player) candidates, with the top candidate receiving ten points, the 2nd receiving nine, and so on.  Then they ranked their top five ROY(Rookie of the Year) candidates, with much the same scoring system.  Except we started with 5.  Rocket Science.

The Blogger Panel this week was made up of some excellent folks . . . and me.

This round turned out two extremely tight races. Tighter even than those lame-looking compression leggings Kobe used to sport. 

To kick it all off, let's start with the Rookie of the Year voting, inspiring me to wish that Oden had not gotten injured and we'd have someone to vote for that clearly deserved the award.

Rookie of the Year

5. Al Thornton (13 points, 12 last edition)

Could easily be known as the best player in this draft 5 years from now.  The thing that kills him is the "all-too-occasional" 2 for 15 shooting games. - College Wolf, TwolvesBlog

The second leading rookie scorer behind Durant, he's gotten better as the season has progressed.  Of course the Clippers have lost 7 straight, but... - Steve, ClipsNation

4. Jamario Moon (18 points, 18 last edition)

He didn’t win the dunk contest and still settles for too many jump shots, but Toronto made like the Clipse with this former Harlem Globetrotter - they got it for cheap! - RaptorsHQ

3. Luis Scola (49 points, 49.5 last edition)

Sure, he's playing well now. But just you wait til the playoffs; Popovich's secret plan for Scola to bring down the Rockets will make Ben and Michael's deal on Lost look like tiddlywinks.  - We Rite Goode

Durant might lose 22 in a row.  But never win that many. - The Dream Shake

1. TIE with 72 Points!

1b. Al Horford(77 points last edition)

Already an interior force.  Thinking of what this guy could become over the next couple of years should be worrisome for Eastern foes. - Steve, CelticsBlog

... nothing has really changed with Horford.  Durant's sonics got absolutely DESTROYED by Denver (I refuse to give them a capital 's' post their beatdown). - Don, With Malice

1a. Kevin Durant (78 points last edition)

He finally picked up his field goal percentage, otherwise I would have voted for Horford. - David, 20 Second Timeout

An amazing individual talent but expected him to give his D League squad a bigger boost this season. - RaptorsHQ

(Note: Scola and Durant were the only two Rookies that were on every ballot.  Horford was left off of one, thus costing him the top spot. Poor Durant mostly got mocked - even from people supporting him.)

Also receiving points: Thaddeus Young(9), Joakim Noah(6), Carl Landry(6), Sean Williams(3), Glen "Big Baby" Davis (2), Julian Wright (2), Yi Jianlin (2), Juan Carlos Navarro (1).

That done, let's move on to the Main Event.

Most Valuable Player

Bron-Bron v Kobe!  Freakish Skill v. Freakish Power! Mamba v The King!  Wine & Gold v. Purple & Gold! Global Marketing Icon Wannabe v. Poisoned Marketing Icon!  West Coast v. Uh, Lake Eerie Coast!

Wait?  Who is that little unwanted dude shoving his way in?  Shoo!  Shoo!

10. Manu Ginobili (19 points, 42 last edition, 2 sixth place votes)

Having a great year, but the MVP can't play less than two-thirds of the game. - We Rite Goode

9. Tracey McGrady (27 points, 24 last edition, 1 3rd place vote)

Yeah, you try winning 22 in a row in the Western Conference. - The Dream Shake

8. Deron Williams (28 points, 28 last edition, 2 fifth place votes)

The 2nd best PG in the league, on one of the best teams in the West.  Very underrated. - CelticsBlog

The type of player and the type of team you really DON'T want to meet in the playoffs. - Ricky, Sixers4Guidos

(Mocking Editor's Note aimed at Jazz Fans: Paul is still better than you, Deron.)

7. Tim Duncan (49 points, 54 last edition, 1 4th place vote)

The Spurs hit a couple bumps in the road but Duncan is still the key to everything they do offensively and defensively. - David, 20 Second Timeout

6. Steve Nash (54 points, 36 last edition, 2 5th place votes)

Steve Kerr handed Nash a 320 pound square peg and told him to fit it into a round hole.  And somehow he did it. - Steve, ClipsNation

5. Dwight Howard (91 points, 103 last edition, 1 3rd place vote)

Had he played the Sixers all year he would have averaged like 35 and 20, with 65% FG...uhm, wait, actually he's not that far from that... maybe the possible #1 considering the combination of personals stats + teams achievements - Ricky, Sixers4Guidos

He became a forgotten man somewhere in the MVP race around the time that Orlando's record dipped a bit and his coach blasted him publicly but Howard is the most physically imposing player in the league. - David, 20 Second Timeout

4. Kevin Garnett (121 points, 135 last edition, 1 1st place vote)

Watching Boston beat teams like Houston and Dallas without Ray Allen makes you realize just how important KG has been to this team, especially his mentality, which has been absorbed through osmosis. - RaptorsHQ

Nearly completely responsible for changing the basketball culture of an entire city.  Just awesome.  Sure, we're biased, but you had better believe it's deservingly so. - Steve, CelticsBlog

(Editor's Note:  Lots of Mentality comments about Garnett.  Apparently that bald dome radiates ferocity to all who stand nearby.  Unless you play in Minnesota.)

3. LeBron James (143 points, 177 last edition, 6 1st place votes)

On top of his all-around awesomeness, he is incredibly consistent.  He’s scored at least 20 points in the last 48 consecutive games.  Kobe just wishes he could say the same thing. - College Wolf, TwolvesBlog

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - without him the Cavs would be as offensively gifted as the current version of the Miami Heat. - RaptorsHQ

1. Tied with 151 Points

1a. Kobe Bryant (151 points, 165 last edition, 5 1st place votes)

Nothing's changed.  Kobe's still the best player.  Pau Gasol's injury hurts the Lakers a bit, but it shouldn't affect #24 winning his first (that of itself is a joke) MVP. - Don, With Malice

Poor Kobe.  When he was the guy putting up numbers on a mediocre team, he didn't win the award.  Now he's likely to lose out to a guy putting up numbers on a mediocre team.  But it's not a lifetime achievement award, and he never put up THESE numbers. - Steve, ClipsNation

He’s great, but the MVP award is NOT a lifetime achievement award.  Stop the lunacy. - College Wolf, TwolvesBlog

1b. Chris Paul (151 points, 155 last edition, 5 1st place votes)

He reminds of Tim Hardaway circa 1991 (upgraded), and that's reason #114 the NBA is ridiculously fun this year. - Alex, BrewHoop

It's amazing that New Orleans still maintains to fly under the radar in 'who-can-win-it-all' conversations.  Paul has this unit performing at the very elite levels required of championship calibre teams. - Don, With Malice

The fact that he NEVER made it to #1 in this year's rankings really irks me...,he's clearly the Most Valuable Player in the true sense of the word. I mean, what else should a guy do to get the award? Look at the standings, then look at his STARTING back court team mate, at the rest of his roster and then tell me if who is really better than him in the NBA. Oh, I have another way to prove my point: have you ever seen him playing? - Ricky, Sixers4Guidos

Also receiving points: Chauncey Billups(18), Dirk Nowitzki(16), Carlos Boozer(14), Baron Davis(13), Paul Pierce(10), Chris Bosh(10), Amare Stoudamire(10), Brandon Roy (2), Rasheed Wallace(2), Chris Kaman(1), Yao Ming (1), Caron Butler(1), Allen Iverson(1), Andrew Bogut(1), Kevin McHale(.5), Chris Wallace(.5)


Wow.  Two ties for first, and CP3 rising to the top.  I think Paul is benefitting in a strage way from the war between LeBron and Kobe.  Lots of 2nd's and firsts for Paul, while lots of 1sts and 3rds for Kobe and LeBron.

Can't say it didn't make me exceptionally happy.  CP3 is the man.  Thanks to all that participated!

To view previous weeks of the Bloggers MVP/ROY Rankings, see below: