Kobe Bryant once put up 27-6-6 for the season and still had a lower vote count votes PJ Brown in MVP race

Kobe Bryant was the symbol of Lakers royalty in the 2000s.

The high-flying guard was a full-fledged sight to see. Kobe was part of 5 championships and many seasons of contention with the Los Angeles franchise.

20 seasons in Los Angeles saw Kobe have two jerseys retired in a hall of fame career. Byrant became an icon with his style of play and uncompromising “Mamba” mentality.

However, Kobe, for all his success, earned a reputation for being selfish. Bryant was often accused of being a ball hog and a bad teammate.

Many high-profile fights, like one with legendary tag team partner Shaquille O’Neal, didn’t help the narrative.

Bryant often put up spectacular numbers, but he discredited them because of his isolation-heavy style of play. Think of the disrepute of James Harden in recent years.

This was also shown in the public perception and treatment of Bryant by the media. Kobe was often left out of consideration for the award due to her status and her reputation.

Such an instance took place in 2004-05. Bryant recorded 27 points, 6 assists and 5.9 rebounds on the season. However, the Lakers finished only 34-48 and Kobe was labeled with the “empty stats” narrative.

However, in hindsight, zero MVP votes with those numbers seem insulting.

Who were the MVP candidates in 2004-05? Did Kobe deserve consideration?

All of the podium finishers were established NBA superstars. Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and Dirk Nowitzki dominated the voting after stellar individual seasons.

Nash went 15-11 en route to his MVP title. Shaq held out 23-10 and Dirk enjoyed a 26-10 season.
However, the distinguishing factor between Kobe and the other stars was the most winning status of his teams.

The Lakers were poor and only had a 34-48 record on the season. This makes Kobe’s exclusion from the vote understandable. However, what if we told you that a non-star lottery team won a vote on Kobe? That sounds pretty blasphemous, surely.

PJ Brown was a solid role player in the NBA. However, Brown’s name was never a fixture in MVP or All-Star considerations. An NBA champion, Brown had a solid career with all-defensive picks to highlight. But he was not the NBA MVP.

And yet, with just 11 points and 9 rebounds for a lottery team, Brown finished with more MVP votes than Kobe at 04-05. Although he was a third place vote, he remained above Kobe’s 0 votes.

Kobe had a stellar career. But this must have been a serious low point that Bryant must have taken very personally. Two rings and arguably the best NBA bye ever, the pain must have hurt Kobe a little less.