The MVP race has dwindled down to three possibilities, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. However, when the award is announced, the Maurice Podoloff Trophy will be handed to the wrong player. Popular opinion has the awarded going to either Kobe or LeBron with King James be crowned the NBA’s best. And yet there should be no discussion. This should be Dwyane Wade’s award.

There are two definitions of MVP that voters usually consider, the most valuable player and the most outstanding player. Yet it doesn’t matter. When you apply both definitions to the three players, it still points to the Miami Heat shooting guard.

Lets begin by comparing stats. The first that will obviously stand out is points per game. Wade led the league with 30.2 PPG. LeBron and  Kobe were both at least two points off the pace. And while intuition might say that his higher average was due to taking more shots, he had a better field goal percentage as well.

And Dwyane Wade didn’t only know how to shoot the ball, he could dish it as well. In fact in what his arguably the second most important category, Wade led yet again, handing out more assists per game than LeBron and Kobe. This becomes more impressive when you consider the supporting casts. Both Cleveland and L.A. shot at much higher percentages than Miami.

Kobe and LeBron do have more rebounds per game. And LeBron has a higher player efficiency rating (Wade is third behind LeBron and Chris Paul). However, this does not diminish Wade’s accomplishments as arguably the most outstanding player.

And yet many people will argue for both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James over Dwyane Wade. But these same people should have a difficult time arguing that either Bryant or James are more valuable to the Lakers or Cavaliers than Wade is to the Heat.

The Cleveland Cavs and LA Lakers are easily the favorites to come out of the Eastern and Western Conferences.  They are the two best teams in the league. Remove LeBron or Kobe from those teams and they would have a much more difficult time getting to the finals. But they would still be good teams. Remove Wade from Miami and the Heat don’t make the playoffs.

Kobe is surrounded by talent on the Lakers. A group of Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom  with other roll players is enough to compete in the West. Kobe just puts them over the top. For the Cavs, Mo Williams, Delonte West, Anderson Varejao, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas have all come into their own. And backing them up is a tremendous amount of depth on the bench. They would still have a shot to surface to the top in a very weak Eastern Conference.

For Miami, Udonis Haslem and James Jones aren’t exactly scaring anyone at the forward position. At center, Jermaine O’Neal isn’t exactly the player he used to be. And when you look at the bench, it just looks uglier. Wade is the life of that team. If he has his A-game, the Heat have a fighters chance. Without him it’s an easy knockout.

With Wade clearly being the most valuable and arguably the most outstanding as well, he showed clearly win the MVP award. And yet it still won’t happen, because there is a third category that is considered and yet means nothing on the court. And that factor is image.

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are the face of the NBA. They have character and charisma. They are characters unto themselves and thus appear larger than life. Wade isn’t exactly dry, but he can’t hold a candle to the other two. Sadly, recognition has gone a long way in the voting process. Sometimes it can prevent the best player from claiming what they deserve. This appears to be one of those cases.

If everything plays out as it appears, LeBron James will be walking away with his first of many MVP awards. If he doesn’t win Kobe may be taking home his second. But if the basketball gods had any glimpse of justice, Dwyane Wade would be this years NBA MVP.