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The 18,977 fans who packed Staples Center Wednesday night witnessed a coronation.  The Master of Ceremonies, Mr. David J. Stern.

It was a declaration of a new king in the NBA.
 
This season, the building has experienced so many different feels, from the boos Kobe heard to start the year to the excitement around Andrew Bynum to the introduction of Pau Gasol.  

Wednesday was just altogether different, with a buzz in the air that exceeded anything that had come before.
 

On this night, the Lakers home fans, so often tweaked for their tendency to show up late, couldn’t afford to be fashionably late.  The crowd was on its feet from the time the home team took the floor for pregame warmups with just under 20 minutes remaining before game time. Given the star-studded cast in attendance, the event could have been confused for one of Hollywood’s great galas.  With the stars were the athletes.  LaDanian Tomlinson, Ron Artest, Andre Iguodala, and more.  Nobody wanted to miss a moment.  Marge Hearn, arguably the First Lady of the Lakers organization, delivered the game ball. 

To cap it all off, Jerry West, the Logo himself, was in attendance, on hand to witness the player he acquired for the organization receive the league’s ultimate award, one he never won himself.      

As Stern announced, “There can only be one (MVP), and that one is Kobe Bryant,” the crowd was whipped into a frenzy and Kobe held the trophy high over his head.  Finally, he had his MVP.  

Vindication.
 
For the first time in his 12 year career, the game’s best player was finally being recognized as, well, the games best player.  His one shining moment, receiving the highest accolade available for an active player, validating his body of work through the course of a regular season and his role in elevating the Lakers from a fringe playoff squad to the Western Conference’s best team.  And in acknowledging his greatest individual achievement, the same player who had been ridiculed for being selfish for the better part of his career (including by yours truly at times) summoned his teammates over to share in the moment.
 
It was a celebration Laker fans hadn’t had a opportunity to celebrate since 2000, when Shaquille O’Neal won, a celebration that was, quite frankly, overdue. Kobe added an exclamation point to the night with a 34 point, eight rebound, six assist performance as the Lakers took a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference Semifinal against Utah.
 
There were certainly other years in which Kobe Bryant was more deserving of winning. Either of the Steve Nash years immediately come to mind. Granted, none of those years were quite like this. Lamar Odom said it best. “[If] we’re a 7th or 8th place seed, they could’ve easily given it to someone else.” Such was the case in the previous two seasons for L.A. Says Odom, “For us to become a better team allows him to get the award that he deserves.”
 
Vindication.
 
Not just for number 24, but also for his teammates. For the last couple of years, they were a group seen as unable to win, clinging to the bottom rungs of the Western Conference playoff race despite the presence of Bryant.  That, by the way, was the same opinion Kobe had of his mates, which explains why Mr. MVP wanted out before the season started.  After all, he wanted to “win now.”  
 
Give credit where it’s due.  Andrew Bynum blew up in the first half of the season.  Jordan Farmar grew up.  Sasha Vujacic finally proved he’s not just an “11 am” shooter.  They’ve helped take this team to another level.  No doubt, Pau Gasol has been a huge addition, and only time will tell if in fact he is the missing link to the Lakers title quest.  But let’s not forget, this was a team that was near the top of the West before Bynum went down with a season ending subluxation of his left patella, which prompted the trade.
 
The growth of his teammates has not gone unnoticed by Kobe, who has repeatedly acknowledged their growth and thanked them for helping capture what he calls a “team award.”
 
Say what you want about Kobe, but it’s impossible to question his desire to win. It’s what he wants more than anything else.  He’s never campaigned for individual awards, perhaps because at least in recent years, he figured he would never win.  His campaigning for championships has always been loud and very clear.

Kobe calls himself, “a son to this city.” We’ve watched him grow from a 17 year old rookie to an MVP.  Just like any “kid,“ the city has had its ups and downs with him. We’ve seen him struggle on the court. We’ve seen him struggle off of it.  We’ve heard him rant and seen him pout. We’ve seen him blossom into adulthood, becoming a husband and a father. And of course, as our son, playing for our team, we’ve seen all of his countless great moments on the hardwood. 
 
We all have our favorites. For me, it’s Game 4 of the 2000 NBA Finals.  With Shaq fouling out in overtime, Kobe scored eight points in the OT to lead the Lakers to a 120-118 win over the Pacers to take a 3-1 lead in the series. None, though, have included an MVP, which is surprising to many. When asked about Kobe’s lack of a Podoloff, three-time NBA MVP Larry Bird told Dan Patrick “it sort of made me feel like I wanted to throw mine away.“

Well, Larry Legend, you can keep yours because now Kobe has his.
 
18,977, on their feet, wearing gold t-shirts with purple writing.  Our Team. Our Time. Our MVP.  Waving gold placards with MVP written in purple while millions of viewers watched the celebration worldwide.  It was a great time for the city, for its fans, and for its team. You felt excited for the “kid.”  If you were in the house and you have a pulse, it gave you chills. After all this was our son.

And on this night, he shined a little bit brighter.

RH

Rahshaun Haylock is a production assistant for CBS2/KCAL9 Sports and does play-by-play and sports reporting for SportsNetUSA.net Internet radio. He likes to take a look at some of the less-talked about issues in SoCal sports.

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