Ford's preseason predictions

Originally Published: November 2, 2004
By Chad Ford | NBA Insider
Forecasting this year's NBA award candidates might prove to be as fruitless as trying to predict the outcome of tonight's presidential election.

Shaq or Kobe? Howard or Okafor? Brown or Carlisle? Barry or Richardson? Bush or Kerry?

It's just too close to call.

Our ESPN Insider, Chad Ford, gives you the breakdown of the best races in the NBA and casts his votes for the next MVP, Rookie of the Year and the rest of the NBA's postseason awards.

Most Valuable Player

The general consensus among NBA GMs is that this year's MVP contest will be a two-horse race between two bitter ex-teammates trying to prove that they're better off without their other half.

Just about everyone agrees that this year the focus of the MVP race will be on the Heat's Shaquille O'Neal and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant. But does either player really have a shot at the MVP award?

Taking into account in the past 15 years every MVP recipient played on a team with the best or second-best record in their conference, do Shaq and Kobe really have a shot?


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Chad Ford | email

Senior Writer, NBA Insider
  • Senior NBA Writer for ESPN.com
  • ESPN Insider NBA Draft Analyst since 2002
  • Writes ESPN's NBA Draft Top 100 and Lottery Mock Draft

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