Vote Nash. Poll may sway writers' MVP vote.

[baltimorer]

You don't actually believe that, do you? LOL

They chose Kobe because his name is the most recognizable, and he's not a hated Eastern adversary of the Knicks. It's all about the exposure that ESPN gives him and Dirk.

At a Knicks v. Lakers game a couple of months ago, Knicks fans at MSG were chanting "MVP! MVP!" in unison as the game came to a close. Now, that was probably more them just mocking the Knicks, but there are other ways to do that.

They didn't choose him because he's the most recognizable. This poll was largely made of New York City fans who actually took the time to read this woman's column and then vote on her poll. They obviously have an interest in the NBA, more than just some people who look at a list of players and say, "Oohh, Kobe Bryant, I know him!" If this poll had been done in Vietnam, maybe that'd be true. But in NYC, I think most of the fans rely on more than just name recognition to form an opinion of the players.

 

[baltimorer]

I'm just tired of hearing about how much Kobe is a god from you and your brethren. Kobe gets cheers wherever he goes. And it's because he gets the most exposure in the media. Run a poll in New York about who the better player is: Lamar Odom or Shawn Marion. We all know the answer, but the odds are good that Odom might actually win that poll simply because he's on the Lakers.

He get cheers because he's a champion. Fans generally like teams and players who win championships, and Kobe has 3 rings.

How can you know that New York fans would say that Odom is the better player than Marion? First off, Lamar Odom has not gotten more media exposure than Shawn Marion in the past 2 seasons. He simply hasn't. Shawn Marion has actually been discussed on ESPN and TNT as an MVP candidate. As perposterous as that is, if you want to say that New York fans form opinions on players sheerly on the basis of who gets more media coverage, than you'd have to think that they'd like Marion as the better player. But that doesn't prove your point that nobody knows how great the Suns are except for you.

 

[nooch]

2.4%
Chauncey Billups (66 responses)

37.3%
Kobe Bryant (1045 responses)

4.8%
LeBron James (134 responses)

38.1%
Steve Nash (1069 responses)

16.7%
Dirk Nowitzki (467 responses)

0.8%
Dwyane Wade (22 responses)

2803 total responses

Nash barely on top at 2:30 Pacific

 

[TucsonDevil]

Good to see Nash on top, I am puzzled at the lack of support for King James and Wade. I guess this poll hasn't hit their team's message boards.

Is this writer really going to use the results to cast the MVP ballot? If that is the case, that is irresponsible.

 

[jibikao]

Seriously, if somebody report this website to Stern, I am sure she'll lose the voting right next season.

 

[D-Dogg]

Wow. Just... wow.

Funny, I have the exact same feeling towards your opinion.

 

[D-Dogg]

Seriously, if somebody report this website to Stern, I am sure she'll lose the voting right next season.

Should lose it this season. But that's the problem with MVP and award voting anyway. The media is practically clueless across the board.

I think all these awards should be voted for by coaches and players and GMs, and that's it.

The media (people like JA Adande who admitted as much) hardly have the time to watch any games, and form their opinions on what they see from...other media. Adande had some column a while ago where he said he watched the first five and last five minutes of a game, and he formed an article out of it. He got called out on it on his blog, and lost a lot of face.

And we trust their opinions on who should be coach of the year, mvp, etc.? This lady is prime example of the media having too much say in something they know nothing about.

 

[nowagimp]

He get cheers because he's a champion. Fans generally like teams and players who win championships, and Kobe has 3 rings.

How can you know that New York fans would say that Odom is the better player than Marion? First off, Lamar Odom has not gotten more media exposure than Shawn Marion in the past 2 seasons. He simply hasn't. Shawn Marion has actually been discussed on ESPN and TNT as an MVP candidate. As perposterous as that is, if you want to say that New York fans form opinions on players sheerly on the basis of who gets more media coverage, than you'd have to think that they'd like Marion as the better player. But that doesn't prove your point that nobody knows how great the Suns are except for you.

ESPN is a really bad reference here, sorry baltimorer. ESPN has a really strong eastern bias. Probably 1/2 the time ESPN doesnt even use a suns game as a headline. The cavs could be playing toronto with Lebron out, and its a bigger story than the suns playing the MAVS.

I am not impressed with recognition of players by MSG fans, as if they REALLY know basketball. NY is famous for its one-on-one playground legends(who rarely pan out in the NBA), though NY fans that can afford a MSG ticket are probably rarely ever near a playground. I lived within 70 miles of NY for 30 years and have known many NY fans, they are not especially knowledgable compared with Laker or suns fans. Appreciation of the history of MSG is great, but those fans are not there anymore.

Before this year, I'll bet that many MSG fans thought Marbury was better than Nash, which is totally absurd. Maybe NY fans are truely appreciative of one-on-one basketball, which is Kobe's forte. Unfortunately, that brand of basketball, as expressed by team USA, was exposed as inferior by Argentina, Serbia, and Peurto Rico.

 

[Chaplin]

Funny, I have the exact same feeling towards your opinion.

Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Gaddabout]

Before this year, I'll bet that many MSG fans thought Marbury was better than Nash, which is totally absurd. Maybe NY fans are truely appreciative of one-on-one basketball, which is Kobe's forte. Unfortunately, that brand of basketball, as expressed by team USA, was exposed as inferior by Argentina, Serbia, and Peurto Rico.

NY basketball fans are some of the most intelligent I've ever met. The problem is drawing a distinction between a NY basketball fan and a guy from NY who thinks he knows basketball ... because he's from NY. More and more, I think the majority of Knicks fans under 30 fall into the second category. It's the difference between growing up in a Cajun restaurant and growing up in Louisiana -- one knows the intimate details of good Cajun dining, the other simply enjoys the benefit of living in a qualified Cajun region.

Marbury gets special treatment from NY fans because he was, by all accounts, one of the best homegrown products of his era -- in a town that takes it street ball and prep hoops as seriously as anyone. That's no different anywhere, though. Here in Phoenix, if you went to ASU and you made it in the pros, you are a fan favorite. Witness the hometown love for Eddie House. For that matter, witness the Jake Plummer worship, which in some cases far exceeds the respect he gets in Denver. I can guarantee if Valley football fans were polled on who is the best QB in the NFL, Plummer would stand a good chance of winning. Character and personality aside, Plummer as an NFL QB and Marbury as an NBA PG are not all that different.

 

[bko32]

Hey, there is no such thing as bad publicity. Kobe earned his name not just as a great basketball player but also as a rapist who got away with it. I was chatting with an old worker yesterday and I told him about Nash and how he won it last season and he may repeat it this season. I asked him if he knew who "Kobe" is and he said he "hates him". I asked why and he said "He raped that girl and got away with it.". lol This guy doesn't know anything about basketball but he knows Kobe. Great exposure I say. This worker certainly doesn't know who Steve Nash is. The only players he knows are Shaq, Kobe, MJ and probably Bird since that is such a funny last name.

There IS such a thing as bad publicity. think about what you are saying. Your old worker "hates him". That tells me he would probably never watch a game that Kobe is playing in, never buy a souvenir of any kind that is associated with Kobe, etc., etc. So if this guy sees a poll that has Kobe's name on, he wouldn't vote for Kobe unless the poll was "Which professional athlete do you hate the most?" And I'm sure there are thousands of people who feel this way about Kobe. So how is it that he is so hated by the public, but yet still gets so many votes for MVP??

 

[jibikao]

Should lose it this season. But that's the problem with MVP and award voting anyway. The media is practically clueless across the board.

I think all these awards should be voted for by coaches and players and GMs, and that's it.

The media (people like JA Adande who admitted as much) hardly have the time to watch any games, and form their opinions on what they see from...other media. Adande had some column a while ago where he said he watched the first five and last five minutes of a game, and he formed an article out of it. He got called out on it on his blog, and lost a lot of face.

And we trust their opinions on who should be coach of the year, mvp, etc.? This lady is prime example of the media having too much say in something they know nothing about.

I thought about it today. Would letting the coaches/players vote REALLY be better? I mean why NBA allows coaches to vote for the all-star reserves and yet they don't allow them to have a say in MVP and other year-end awards? There must be some reasons behind it. Profit from the sponsors?

 

[jibikao]

There IS such a thing as bad publicity. think about what you are saying. Your old worker "hates him". That tells me he would probably never watch a game that Kobe is playing in, never buy a souvenir of any kind that is associated with Kobe, etc., etc. So if this guy sees a poll that has Kobe's name on, he wouldn't vote for Kobe unless the poll was "Which professional athlete do you hate the most?" And I'm sure there are thousands of people who feel this way about Kobe. So how is it that he is so hated by the public, but yet still gets so many votes for MVP??

Well, publicity only means how well known you are in the public. Yeah, Kobe is known as the "rapist" in his eyes but you know what, he doesn't even know who Steve Nash is. That's worse IMO if you are a public figure. Some celebrities will be just as happy to get coverage either it's positive or negative. You have to get your name out there first before being a well-known public figure. And I used Kobe as an example, as a sarcrastic.

 

[baltimorer]

Well, it's useless discussion about this, so I thought I'd be actually try to settle the argument. I posted a poll on a New York Knicks message board: "Who is better: Shawn Marion or Lamar Odom?" We'll see what the poll results are. If you want to track the results, the link is:

http://www.nykfanpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15914

I'll bet that Marion blows Lamar Odom away in their minds.

 

[baltimorer]

Hot damn! I'm right again. Well, this thread most likely won't be alive much longer, as I doubt certain posters who have made statements like, "Run a poll in New York about who the better player is: Lamar Odom or Shawn Marion. We all know the answer, but the odds are good that Odom might actually win that poll simply because he's on the Lakers" will probably not want to revisit another time that they've been on the wrong end of an argument. Nevertheless, I think it's fun to keep it alive, especially during the evening hours, when fans lay their "Kobe-colored glasses" on the nightstand and can see that they still were correct the whole time.

 

[Chaplin]

Hot damn! I'm right again. Well, this thread most likely won't be alive much longer, as I doubt certain posters who have made statements like, "Run a poll in New York about who the better player is: Lamar Odom or Shawn Marion. We all know the answer, but the odds are good that Odom might actually win that poll simply because he's on the Lakers" will probably not want to revisit another time that they've been on the wrong end of an argument. Nevertheless, I think it's fun to keep it alive, especially during the evening hours, when fans lay their "Kobe-colored glasses" on the nightstand and can see that they still were correct the whole time.

Wow, you sure told me. Those 11 votes are definitely representation of the entire city of New York. I'll eat crow now.

I thought therealhardaway was banned?

 

[nowagimp]

Marbury gets special treatment from NY fans because he was, by all accounts, one of the best homegrown products of his era -- in a town that takes it street ball and prep hoops as seriously as anyone.

Of course Marbury gets special treatment from fans who cannot separate their biases from what they know about basketball. Marbury, like playground legend Kenny Andersen, never achieved his potential in the NBA. I guess we will see about sebastian telfair. The failure to recognize their weaknesses a due to "special treatment" is bogus. "Knowledgable" basketball fans can keep their biases separate: Example: Nash is a great shooter and distributor of the ball, but, he does get targeted on defense, due to his deficiencies there. See, its easy. I also work with 12 ASU grads, and I asked them if any thought Jake was the best QB in the NFL. NONE said he was the best. Any reasonable person would have to be an idiot to say Jake was better than Peyton Manning or Tom Brady. The most positive statements were that Jake can be very effective in the right system. Oh, and the same guys are total House fans, but realize he is not going to be a starter in the NBA.

 

[abomb]

This is a good discussion. I was talking with friends before that there should be a show on TV that basically dispells the media's account of sports stories/perceptions. I guess episode #1 might be "New York City fans are very knowledgeable regarding the NBA, more so than other teams" or "ASU graduates think Jake Plummer is a Top 5 NFL quarterback".

A-Bomb

 

[baltimorer]

Of course Marbury gets special treatment from fans who cannot separate their biases from what they know about basketball. Marbury, like playground legend Kenny Andersen, never achieved his potential in the NBA. I guess we will see about sebastian telfair. The failure to recognize their weaknesses a due to "special treatment" is bogus. "Knowledgable" basketball fans can keep their biases separate: Example: Nash is a great shooter and distributor of the ball, but, he does get targeted on defense, due to his deficiencies there. See, its easy.

I don't know if Marbury really ever got special treatment from New York fans. I mean, they were somewhat excited when the Knicks traded for him, but that was mostly because they had endured a few years of Frank Williams, Howard Eisley, and Charley Ward battling for time at the 1 spot. They probably figured, "Hey, at least his name is similar enough the the word 'Starbury' that he can call himself that and not seem like a total fool, whereas Howard 'Starsley' just sounds gay."

I don't think you can blame New York fans for having pride in the people who were born and raised in their area, with at least a little bit of their culture. However, just take last year's "I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA. It's like when it's raining. I know it's raining. So if you ask me if it is raining, I'll tell you it's raining cause it's raining outside. That like how I'm the best." quote from Marbury. When the New York Post ran that story 27 times in 13 days, most basketball fans from New York knew it was absurd. In fact, some fans even thought that his statement was analogous to if someone said it was raining outside, when in reality, it was 85 and sunny. With low humidity!

And speaking of absurd statements, Chap, I know that there were only 11 poll results, and obviously that wouldn't hold up in a court of law, but any reasonable person could tell that New York basketball fans just don't think that Lamar Odom is better than Shawn Marion. If you look at their responses, they thought I was posting the poll as a joke. If you ask me, I think Shawn Marion is actually overrated in the media. Without him, this Suns team wouldn't be near the team that it is now, but everybody on this board knows that Marion could never really be a first option on a team. I've heard on ESPN, TNT, and ABC in the past week mentions of Shawn Marion being an MVP candidate, and you're going to say that the media is going to influence fans in the Eastern United States into thinking that Lamar Odom is the better player? Marion is great at what he does, but an MVP candidate, he is not. Does nobody here remember Marion with Stephon Marbury?

 

[elindholm]

Does nobody here remember Marion with Stephon Marbury?

Isn't that when Hardaway was on the team? I've tried to block those years from my memory. But for some reason, painful reminders keep coming back.