NBA MVP: 5 Reasons why Kobe's 2007-08 MVP was fully deserved

#5 His postseason campaign reinforced the award's legitimacy

The moment tip-off took place during the 2008 playoffs, there were few doubts about which two teams would make the Finals from each Conference. This is despite the fact that the Western Conference playoff qualification for that season was by a sizeable margin the toughest of all time.

To put in perspective how tough it was, the 2017-18 OKC Thunder with Paul George, Russell Westbrook and 48 wins would have finished 9th in the 2007-08 season because the #8 seeded Denver Nuggets in 2007-08 had 50 wins with Melo, AI, Marcus Camby and Kenyon Martin. That's how deep the Western Conference has been for the entirety of Kobe's prime and the reason why he only has 7 Finals appearances.

Kobe and Pau took down the Nuggets, the Jazz and the Spurs in adroit fashion as Kobe averaged 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists through the playoff run. His utter dominance of Tim Duncan's Spurs team, who were the defending champions at the time, just goes to show what the Mamba could do in the playoffs with a little smattering of talent on his team.