Lakers' star Bryant named NBA Most Valuable Player

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was named this season's National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player here on Tuesday, marking the first time the flamboyant playmaker has won the award.

Bryant was challenged for the honor by star turns from some of the NBA's top talents, including NBA scoring champion LeBron James of Cleveland, New Orleans guard Chris Paul and Kevin Garnett, who led Boston to the NBA's best record.

"I don't know anybody who deserves this trophy more," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I don't know anybody who has worked as hard as Kobe has."

The season began with Bryant accusing Lakers management of not doing all it could to improve the club and making, then retracting, comments about wanting to be traded.

But when the Lakers made a February trade for Spanish big man Pau Gasol from Memphis, Bryant became much happier and a much more complete all-around player who averaged 28.3 points, second in the NBA, 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

The Lakers missed the playoffs in 2005, the season after Shaquille O'Neal departed for Miami after a feud with Bryant, and were ousted in the first round in each of the past two seasons.

But this year, the Lakers won the top seed spot in the Western Conference and swept Denver in the first round of the playoffs.

Bryant, 29, won three NBA titles in a row with the Lakers alongside O'Neal starting in 2000. But it was O'Neal that won NBA Most Valuable Player honors in 2000 and such accolades helped develop a rift with Bryant.

Bryant faced personal troubles in 2003 when a woman accused him of sexual assault at a Colorado mountain resort where he was a guest and she was an employee.

Bryant, who is married, admitted having sex with the woman but insisted it was consensual.

A criminal case against Bryant collapsed in 2004 when the woman refused to testify against Bryant. A secret settlement in 2005 brought an end to a civil lawsuit in the matter.