mvp award

Every year, modern day stat geeks get all worked up over the MVP award. And every year, Tracy Ringolsby wonders why.

Matt Garza's promising first season with the Tampa Bay Rays just got even better. Garza shut down the Boston Red Sox in Game 7 of the AL championship series Sunday night, leading Tampa Bay to its first pennant and earning the MVP award.

He allowed one run and two hits over seven-plus innings in Tampa Bay's 3-1 victory in the clinching game.

Kobe Bryant added another honor Thursday to go with his MVP award, becoming the only unanimous selection to the All-NBA team.

The Lakers star was voted to the first team for the third straight season and sixth time in his career. He led Los Angeles to the best record in the Western Conference and was presented with the MVP trophy Wednesday before helping the Lakers to a 120-110 victory over Utah in...

Kobe Bryant got his first MVP award. Now he and the Lakers are trying to take a 2-0 lead on the Jazz. Follow it LIVE right here.

Kobe Bryant received the Most Valuable Player award from the National Basketball Association Tuesday for a season in which he made the Lakers into contenders for a championship.

Through the regular season, Bryant averaged 28.3 points per game -- second only to LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Bryant led the Lakers to a 57-25 record, the best in the Western Conference.

The Lakers had won 34, 45 and 42 games the previous three seasons.

Kobe Bryant has won his first MVP award after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the best record in the Western Conference.

He will receive the trophy Wednesday night from commissioner David Stern before the Lakers face Utah in Game 2 of their conference semifinal.

Bryant was followed in the voting Tuesday by Chris Paul, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James. Bryant entered the season as the league's two-time defending scoring champion but had finished only as high as third in MVP voting.

Doc Rivers got a chance to see another side of LeBron James in February, when the Celtics coach was running the Eastern Conference All-Star team and the Cavaliers forward was winning the game's MVP award for the second time.

It wasn't the shooting: Rivers has seen James score 30 points just about every time he's played Boston.