At the risk of sounding "smug" (man, the board is hyper sensitive these days), I think Kobe has the most drive and killer instinct of any player in the game today. I don't think you will find too many objective coaches, players, GM's, towel boys, media types, etc. who would disagree with that statement. Kobe deserved the MVP this year. Chris Paul deserved it as well and I was convinced the media would give it to whoever's team won the west and that's what happened.
This thread started as commending Kobe for winning the MVP. This is a freakin' NBA discussion board last I checked, shouldn't we be discussing who win's the MVP? Ziggy jumps down westkoast's throat for saying you have to respect Kobe's drive. That's absurd. Of course no one has to respect anything, but clearly westkoast was using it as a conversational figure of speech. Don't we all say that phrase all of the time? "Gee, the Blazers didn't make the playoffs, but you have to respect what they did this year". "Man, Eddie Murphy's put out a ton of crappy flicks this past decade, but you've got to respect his work in Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop". C'mon guys, do we really take that so literally to mean BOW DOWN AND SHOW RESPECT, I COMMAND YOU! Give me a frickin' break and get over yourself. Talk about hubris.
Regarding "ethics", everyone's got their own way of how they view morals and ethics and project their judgements on people. Kobe's major ethical mistake was infidelity. We don't know what KG and Duncan do in their free time. Sure, they seem like good guys, but infidelity is the rule in the NBA, not the exception. If someone is so high and mighty that they hate everyone who has committed adultry, then they have no business supporting the NBA. It is a breeding ground for infidelity not much different than being a touring rock star. For that matter, they really have no business supporting 90% of rock 'n roll musicians either.
The ultimate NBA poster boy, Michael Jordan, cheated like crazy on his wife. He had 15 cell phones with different chicks he'd hook up with on the road that his assistants would manage. She's taking him to the cleaners right now in their divorce. I don't like Michael Jordan, never have, but I clearly respect what he's done on the court. I'd either be an idiot or someone who didn't care about basketball not to.
BTW, I get tired of the constant Kobe and Laker talk on the board too. There has to be balance, but it's unfortunate that when Kobe wins the MVP we can't actually have a simple discussion of the topic without it turning in to a lame pissing contest.