Most Likely to Get Early MVP Buzz, Deservingly or Not: Chris Paul

NBA FanHouse walks through the Valley of the Most Likely; we shall fear no topic.

The NBA's MVP award means many things to many people. We can discuss the reality of the award being actually given to the league's most valuable player, but let's not: I did this last season.

One thing is clear though: since the media are the ones that vote on it, the early buzz they create around a particular player has a huge effect on who will end up receiving it. For this reason, and this reason alone, go ahead and mark down Chris Paul as your early favorite for MVP. Whether he deserves it or not.

Before you start in with the "you're just hating on Chris Paul!" comments, relax. That's not what this is about. In fact, when I saw the cover of ESPN's latest magazine ask the question, "Chris Paul or Deron Williams?" I literally chuckled out loud and said, "please." (Yes, for reasons that remain unclear, The Mag shows up to my house every month. No, I do not pay for it.)

Head-to-head, Williams has dominated Paul, sure. But Paul spent last season dominating the entire league, thus making the comparison fairly ridiculous.

Chris Paul had a statistically amazing season last year, and if he replicates it, and if the Hornets finish at the top of the Western Conference again (they finished one game out last year) he'll deserve the MVP trophy. But even if he doesn't, all the Hornets will have to do is get off to a relatively good start (12-3 through the end of November looks very possible) and the CP3 MVP train will start rolling down the tracks. Why? Because most of the media, in search of finding the league's next great star, fell head over heels for this kid last season.

For your average NBA fan, it was bad ... really bad. Everywhere you turned there were gushing pieces about how Chris Paul and the Hornets were the greatest thing to happen to the NBA since the invention of the shot clock. Did you know that Chris Paul singlehandedly made the Hornets into a winner? And that Chris Paul made David West an All-Star? I heard that Chris Paul rebuilt the city of New Orleans post-Katrina all by himself, with just a hammer, a few nails, and some spackle. Chris Paul invented the internet! It was completely out of hand.

I'm sure the same people that were a bit premature in crowning the league's next Hall-of-Famer would like nothing more than for their early praise to be validated, and what better way to do that than to pick up the pen right where it was left last season and start writing his MVP ticket just as soon as they can justify doing so?

I'm not saying that Paul can't, won't, or shouldn't win the MVP this year. But let's at least wait and see if he can put up the same or better numbers than he did a season ago before carving his name onto the trophy.