After the record setting all-star game, the Inside the NBA crew on TNT revealed the winner of their last category of the “TNT Decade Awards”, the “TNT NBA Player of the Decade”. The winner was Kobe Bryant, who received an outstanding 54% of the vote. Second place went to LeBron James at 17% with O’neal and Duncan taking third and fourth place. After Bryant was unveiled, I took a minute to ponder the results to make sure everything “added up”. And believe it or not, Kobe Bryant taking first place was not the thing that shook a core in me. The thing that did take a toll on me was the fact that Shaquille O’neal , Tim Duncan, and Kevin Garnett all finished behind LeBron James for player of the decade. If I were the one deciding who was in the poll, I’d put Allen Iverson in the top six no questions asked. The race for first was between Duncan, O’neal and Bryant. Most of the TNT crew disagreed with the fact that Kobe won player of the decade, except for Kenny who stated that Kobe was the best player for the second half of the decade while Shaq and Duncan ruled during the first. With that in my mind I have decided to break it down as to who I feel deserved player of the decade and why. Who should it be?

Please Read: The lower the total score, the better. I only ranked the 5 guys that should have been considered for player of the decade.

2000: 1 Shaquille O’neal, 2 Tim Duncan, 3 Kobe Bryant, 4 Kevin Garnett, 5 Steve Nash

2001: 1 Shaquille O’neal, 2 Tim Duncan, 3 Kobe Bryant, 4 Kevin Garnett, 5 Steve Nash

2002: 1 Shaquille O’neal, 2 Tim Duncan, 3 Kobe Bryant, 4 Kevin Garnett, 5 Steve Nash

2003: 1 Tim Duncan, 2 Shaquille O’neal, 3 Kevin Garnett , 4 Kobe Bryant, 5 Steve Nash

2004: 1 Kevin Garnett, 2 Tim Duncan, 3, Kobe Bryant, 4, Shaquille O’neal, 5 Steve Nash

2005: 1 Steve Nash, 2 Tim Duncan, 3 Shaquille Oneal, 4 Kevin Garnett, 5 Kobe Bryant

2006: 1 Kobe Bryant, 2 Steve Nash, 3 Shaquille O’neal, 4 Kevin Garnett,  5 Tim Duncan

2007: 1 Kobe Bryant, 2 Kevin Garnett, 3 Steve Nash, 4 Tim Duncan, 5 Shaquille O’neal

2008: 1 Kobe Bryant, 2 Kevin Garnett, 3 Tim Duncan, 4 Steve Nash, 5 Shaquille O’neal

2009: 1 Kobe Bryant, 2 Kevin Garnett, 3 Tim Duncan, 4 Shaquille O’neal, 5 Steve Nash

Sum Totals:

1. Kobe Bryant: 25

2. Tim Duncan: 26

3. Shaquille Oneal: 27

4. Kevin Garnett: 30

5. Steve Nash: 39

Yes, in fact , I do agree with the fans (for once), that Kobe Bryant was the best player of the decade, in fact my first article was about the top 10 players of the decade. Regardless I believe Shaq was the most dominant player this decade, Tim Duncan was the most consistent player this decade, but I believe that Kobe Bryant was the most memorable player of this decade. Starting off with 3 championships, then the playoff disappointments, the feuds with Shaq, the rape accusation, then single-handedly willing his team to the playoffs, and then when you didn’t think he could fall any lower, he does geting to the point where he says he wants out of L.A. , and then climbing back to the top, and capping off the decade with a championship, I don’t know about you, but I strongly agree that Kobe Bryant is a worthy player of the decade. What do you think? Comment your thoughts/opinions on the whole player of the decade down below, thanks for reading guys.

PPG Leader: LeBron James (30.4)

RPG Leader: Dwight Howard (13.1)

APG Leader: Steve Nash (10.9)

BPG Leader: Dwight Howard (2.8)

SPG Leader: Rajon Rondo (2.4)

1st Team All NBA:

1. Steve Nash
2. Kobe Bryant
3. LeBron James
4. Carmelo Anthony
5. Dwight Howard

2nd Team All NBA:

1. Chris Paul
2. Brandon Roy
3. Kevin Durant
4. Dirk Nowitzki
5. Tim Duncan

3rd Team All NBA:

1. Mo Williams
2. Dwyane Wade
3. Paul Pierce
4. Pau Gasol
5. Kevin Garnett

1st Team All NBA Defense:

1. Dwyane Wade
2. Kobe Bryant
3. LeBron James
4. Josh Smith
5. Dwight Howard

2nd Team All NBA Defense:

1. Rajon Rondo
2. Shane Battier
3. Ron Artest
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Tim Duncan

MVP: LeBron James: I don’t think the Cavs will finish with the best record, but this is voted on by the media. It will be a well-deserved MVP though.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard: Back to Back DPY winner.

6th Man: Carl Landry: Playing incredible basketball, I feel like he’d be a starter on most teams.

Most Improved Player:  Aaron Brooks/Zach Randolph: Randolph has the numbers, but Brooks’ Rockets are in the top 8 right now.

Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans: One of two players averaging 20, 5 and 5, but the Kings aren’t doing too hot with the return of Kevin Martin.

Most Clutch: Kobe Bryant: Incredible buzzer beaters and play making down the stretch of ball games, he almost got the one in Toronto to go as well.

Overrated: Amar’e Stoudamire: I’m not going to get into what he averages, but the man just doesn’t play with heart. (I’m looking for a trade to occur soon.)

Underrated: David Lee: Great player that does bring heart to every play, every team should want him or a player that resembles.

Best Dunker: Rudy Gay: Has been the most consistent on preforming “sick” in-game dunks this season.

Best 3pt Shooter: Anthony Morrow: Every time he throws up a shot, I think it’s going in.

Best NBA Player: Kobe Bryant: Kobe is still the Alpha-Dog in the NBA, coaches say it, players say it. I know it.

Worst Team: New Jersey Nets

Best Team: Los Angeles Lakers

1. LeBron James: James had BY FAR the best week out of any player. He won the player of the week award already for the third time this season. Dropping 41 in Portland, two nights after Kobe went an abysmal 14-37 from the field. Let’s not forget the 37 he poured on the Golden State Warriors. It’s no surprise that LeBron gets the best stats (by far)  in the NBA. However the MVP race is so much more than that. We’ll have to see if the Cavaliers win total will match up with LeBron’s unmatchable stats. For now, LeBron is sitting pretty.

(” The ol’ 8-8 start usually gets me going”.)

2. Kobe Bryant: Let’s see here, 10-30, 14-37, 4-21, and 7-10 last night against the Spurs. Yikes! The Lakers have lost three out of four and it seems as if Kobe’s injuries are starting to take a toll on him. Don’t get me wrong, Kobe is the most durable guy in the league if you ask me, but you have to know what your body is capable of when it’s ailing. Regardless to say Kobe is still Kobe (the league’s best player), I’m sure he will bounce back and have another 40 point game and the Laker faithful will say something along the lines of “Kobe isn’t affected by injuries!”. If the MVP race ended today it’d be a no-brainier to give The Black Mamba the trophy, however it was a tough week for Kobe, so for now he’ll have to take a seat in second.

(Yeah, I don’t want to look either Kobe.)

3. Dirk Nowitzki: Not a bad week for the Mavs, going two and one is solid. And that’s how Dirk has played, solid. Dirk averaged a shade below 26 points this week and grabbed roughly eight rebounds in the process. I don’t have much to say on Dirk that hasn’t already been said. (Yawn…….) The Mavericks have a couple big games ahead of them, but for now it seems as if Dirk has found a home for himself in this MVP race.

(Quit your smilin’ and cut your hair cut already.)

4. Dwight Howard: The Orlando Magic split their games this last week. Dwight on the other hand had a very Dwight Howardish type week. If you don’t know what that means let me clear it up for you: rebounding like nobody’s business, more turnovers than someone would like to have in a bakery shop,  too many missed free throws, and hanging around the 20 point mark, not to mention getting his fair share of blocked shots. The Magic hold the Eastern Conference’s third best record, it seems they’ll stay there with the way the Celtics and Cavs are playing.

(-”Superman never made his free throws”)

5. Steve Nash: Nash is now shooting a career-high 54.3 percent from the field while averaging a career-high 18.9 points. Talk about efficiency! The Suns’ leader has the team tied for third in the Western Conference. The one thing that really stood out to me this last week while watching Nash was the way he takes Amar’e's (is there an apostrophe now?) game to another notch offensively. Amar’e will have to tell Steve thanks for the All-Star start. One more thing, please remember to vote for Nash on the all-star ballot. (No one wants to see an injured T-Mac play).

(“Don’t you try and get me jipped out of an All-Star start”)

Honorable Mentions: Brandon Roy, Tim Duncan, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Joe Johnson.

See you guys next week.

2009:

LeBron James’: 52 pts, 11 ast and 9 reb.

Dwyane Wade’s: 50 pts, 10 reb, and 9 ast

Kobe Bryant’s: 61 pts, 1 blk and 3 reb

2008:

LeBron James’: 50 pts, 8 reb and 10 ast

LeBron James’: 51 pts 8 reb and 9 ast

Kobe Bryant’s: 53 pts 10 reb and 3 stl

2007:

Kobe Bryant’s: 65 pts, 7 reb and 3 ast

Gilbert Arenas’: 60 pts, 8 reb and 8 ast

Kobe Bryant’s: 53 pts, 10 reb and 8 ast

2006:

Kobe Bryant’s: 81 pts, 6 reb and 2 ast.

Steve Nash’s: 28 pts, 5reb and 22 ast.

Kobe Bryant’s: 62 pts, 8 reb and 3 stl

2005:

Dirk Nowitzki’s: 53 pts, 16 reb and 4 blk

LeBron James’: 56 pts, 10 reb and 5 ast

Allen Iverson’s: 60 pts, 6 ast and 5 stl

2004:

Shaquille O’neal’s: 31 pts, 26 reb, and 7 blks

Tracy McGrady’s: 62 pts, 10 reb, and 5 ast

Tim Duncan’s: 47 pts, 12 reb, 2 ast

2003:

Shaquille O’neal’s: 48 pts, 28 reb, and 1 blk

Tracy McGrady’s: 46 pts, 10 reb and 13 ast

Kobe Bryant’s: 45 pts (12 3′s) 3 reb, 3 ast.

2002:

Tim Duncan’s: 53 pts, 11 reb, 3 blk

Jamal Tinsley’s: 19 pts, 11 reb and 23 ast

Andre Miller’s: 25pts, 10 reb and 17 ast

2001:

Chris Webber’s: 51 pts, 26 reb, 4 blk

Shaquille O’neals: 34 pts, 23reb and 5 blk

Jason Kidd’s: 30 pts, 9 reb and 17 ast.

1. Kobe Bryant: 4 NBA Championships, 1 NBA Season MVP, 1 NBA Finals MVP, 2 Scoring Titles , 3 time All-Star Game MVP. I should probably have another list just for scoring records. (100 games with 40+, 23 of those are 50+ , 5 of those are 60 +)…The list goes on. The 2nd coming of Michael Jordan. But more importantly the guy is a winner.

2. Tim Duncan: 4 NBA Championships, 2 NBA Season MVP, 3 NBA Finals MVP, 1 NBA All-Star Game MVP. The best power forward of all time. Plays the game the right way and that’s what everyone either loves or hates about him. He’s fundamentally sound in nearly every aspect of the game.

3. Shaquille O’neal: 4 NBA Championships, 1 NBA Season MVP, 3 Finals MVP, 3 NBA All-Star Game MVP. One of the greatest centers the game has ever seen, demanding double teams or help, almost at all times in his prime. Really changed the game of basketball for the big man.

4. Kevin Garnett: 1 NBA Championship, 1 NBA Season MVP, 1 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, 1 NBA All-Star Game MVP. Revolutionized the Power Forward position, showing that a PF can rebound, block shots, and even shoot now.

5. Allen Iverson : 4 Scoring Titles, 1 NBA Season MVP. Allen Iverson may be the best pound-for-pound player this league has ever seen. Leads the all-time scoring list for players 6′ and under. The one thing missing for him is a championship.

6. Jason Kidd: Now there aren’t a whole lot of achievements that Mr. Kidd has won, however he still stands as one of the top 10 Point Guards ever. Led New Jersey to two back to back NBA finals. Jason Kidd might be one of the best all-around point guards…wait, make that players.

7. Steve Nash: 2 NBA Season MVP. Nash is one of the great Point Guards this game has seen. His on the money passing skills are 2nd to none, however Nash has never made it to an NBA finals, therefore does not have the most important thing, an NBA Championship ring.

8. Dirk Nowitzki: 1 NBA Season MVP, regardless of losing in the finals, Dirk’s name is not just atop the list of great international players, but great NBA players, I believe he is a hall-of-famer and has been the face of the Mavericks franchise the last 10 years. Dirk might be the best shooting big man of all time.

9. Paul Pierce: 1 NBA Championship, 1 NBA Finals MVP, Pierce, who has been with the Celtics for 11 seasons, is tied with Big Z of the Cavs and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks for fourth place among active players who have played their entire NBA careers for one team. Pierce became the first Celtics player since Larry Bird to reach 2,000 points in a single season.

10T. LeBron James: 1 NBA Season MVP, 1 Scoring Title, LeBron is still young, so putting him here may seem unfair, however we only have had a glimpse to see what he can do. He’s about to turn 25 and is already in his 7th season. LeBron seems like he has just only entered his prime…SCARY!

10T. Chauncey Billups: 1 NBA Championship, 1 NBA Finals MVP, Chauncey is solid, he is the glue that holds many teams together, maybe not the most skilled player on every team he’s been, but has always been the leader that gets the team over the hump. Look at what he did with Denver last year.

11,12,13,14,15…:  Dwyane Wade, Yao Ming, Jermaine O’neal, Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, Ron Artest, Vince Carter, Chris Webber, Ray Allen, Rasheed Wallace, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Amar’e Stoudamire,  Manu Ginobili…- now for these guys, they are all great players, but I just don’t feel like they should be in the top 10, leave me a comment if you think they should and why, and not just these players, anyone.