Lakers guard Bryant to win NBA award: report

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will win his first National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award, the Los Angeles Times reported on its website on Friday.

According to the newspaper, NBA commissioner David Stern will be in Los Angeles next week to present the award.

The Times cited anonymous sources familiar with the outcome who "were not authorized to speak publicly about the award until the official announcement."

The MVP race was one of the most hotly contested in recent years as Bryant, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James all were considered legitimate contenders.

The award would mark a spectacular turnaround for Bryant from a contentious off-season in which he pubicly asked to be traded.

Despite the controversy, the Lakers defied pre-season expectations and won the top seed in the Western Conference with a 57-25 regular season record.

Despite his explosive scoring ability, Bryant has never garnered much MVP backing.

The 29-year-old player fell this season from 31.6 points a game last season to 28.3 during the 2007-08 campaign, but his defense was better and he involved teammates more than in recent seasons.