(Best E Casino) - The votes have been tallied and Kobe Bryant has earned the first NBA MVP of his illustrious career. Bryant led the Los Angeles Lakers to a 57-25 record this season, which slotted the team as the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs.

A 10-time All-Star, Bryant played in all 82 regular-season games and averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists. He shot 45.9 percent from the floor, including 36.1 percent from three-point range, and made 84 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.

The 29-year-old Bryant, who played a huge role in the Lakers' four-game sweep of the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the postseason, has won three championships (2000-02) during his career. All three came with Shaquille O'Neal, and Bryant is on a mission this year to prove that HE can lead a team to an NBA title.

There is no doubting the fact that Kobe, who openly expressed his displeasure with the team during last offseason, is an awesome talent. The Lakers were 28-16 when they acquired Pau Gasol in a big trade from the Memphis Grizzlies on February 1. When Los Angeles added Gasol it quickly became a different and more dangerous squad.

Acquiring Gasol catapulted the Lakers to the top of the Western Conference. Without Gasol, Kobe was still great and the team was in the middle of the pack in the competitive West.

Yes, Bryant would have led the club to its third straight playoff berth. Would the Lakers still have been the top seed? What about winning the Pacific Division?

I don't want to take away from Kobe's awesome season, but the fact remains that he had better statistics in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and was the league's leading scorer both seasons. He averaged 31.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists last season. Two years ago, Bryant posted 35.4 points, grabbed 5.3 boards and handed out 4.5 assists per game.

The difference is the Lakers were the seventh seed in their previous two playoff appearances, and this year they are No. 1. With the help of Gasol, Bryant, who is the fourth Laker to win MVP, was able to push his team to the top of the conference.

In New Orleans, dynamic point guard Chris Paul registered team highs in points (21.1 ppg) and assists (11.6 apg), and also pulled down 4.0 rebounds in 80 contests. The Wake Forest product shot 48.8 percent from the field, including 36.9 percent from beyond the arc.

The Hornets, who are seeded second in the Western Conference playoffs, finished with a franchise-best 56-26 record, captured their first-ever Southwest Division crown and returned to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

Paul has turned the franchise around. Yes, he has a talented supporting cast, which includes All-Star forward David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja Stojakovic. However, the six-foot Paul has shown that he has that special talent to make everyone he plays with better.

Like Kobe, the multi-talented Paul does it all for his squad. He can score, plays tough defense and creates opportunities for his teammates. Paul is the total package and is the main reason the Hornets were arguably the league's biggest surprise this season.

The Lakers won the West, and with it Bryant took home the accolades for MVP. If the Hornets wouldn't have lost three of their last four games to end the campaign, maybe Paul would be receiving the hardware.

My vote was for the Hornets' All-Star point guard. Either way, Kobe or Paul are deserving of this year's MVP.