LOS ANGELES — Kobe Bryant has won the NBA’s MVP Award for the first time, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website late Friday night, citing anonymous sources familiar with the outcome of voting by media members.
The newspaper reported that commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles this week to present the trophy to Bryant.
Bryant, who entered the season as the league’s two-time defending scoring champion, had finished third in the MVP voting twice — after the 2002-03 campaign, when he averaged 30 points for the first time, and again last season, when Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki won the award.
Bryant averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.84 steals while playing in all 82 games despite tearing a ligament in his right pinkie finger in February.
Hawks’ Williams might not play in Game 7.
Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams isn’t sure he will be able to play against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series because of a sprained left knee.
