A few days ago, Seattle Supersonics Head Coach George Karl gave into a growing consensus and agreed on what seemed to be a very shocking conclusion. No, it wasn’t anything to do with Shawn Kemp. Karl said he believed Karl Malone was the MVP of the NBA.

This was a shocking development considering Karl has North Carolina ties and is an ardent Jordan lover. However, the few who first believed Malone deserves the MVP are now turning into a crowd.

I agree. The MVP award goes to the player who helps his team the most, and I believe that Malone has been a great leader on and off the court, guiding the Jazz to new team heights.

Last Tuesday night the Jazz set a team record for victories with 61, and as usual Malone led the the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds.

I know that by now Jordan fans want to call a technical foul on me for bad coverage of the facts, so I’ll give the entire statistical breakdown.

Jordan averages 29.6 points a game to Malone’s 27.6, but Jordan takes many more shots, averaging only 48.5 percent from the field; meanwhile, Malone shoots a 54.7 percent clip. Are more points really more valuable if a player can’t hit half his shots?

Jordan barely beats Malone in assists, but Malone kills Jordan in rebounding, giving Jordan the leeway to win the free throw percentage battle. The statistics are so close, they could be considered even.

Not only that, when people simply just give away the MVP to Jordan, they really don’t think through the intangibles of the award. When the season began, everyone knew the Bulls would be easily leading the East, ready to march into the playoffs and, barring injuries, win it all.

However, it was a different story for the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were too old, and headed for a down season. The downward spiral was just to begin, but the Jazz have made this their best season yet with Malone leading the way.

Not only that, but Malone keeps his team together.

Outside distractions would never occur on a team led by Malone because he keeps a low profile, and he would never allow another player to break the team chemistry he builds.

However, Jordan wanted Rodman to join the Bulls, and he has been a major distraction all season. Anytime Rodman acts up, what act of leadership does Jordan perform? He rolls his eyes and just smirks, wondering what he is to do about this colorful hooligan.

Many prognosticators thought the Bulls became a better team when Rodman went down with his current injury.

I agree with this. Rodman is a problem for all teams in the NBA, including the Bulls, and perhaps Jordan should use some of the power he commands to get Rodman kicked off the team.

It would be a hard thing to do, but Jordan has admitted to thinking it over before, and since the season is almost over it wouldn’t hurt merchandise sales much. It would be the right thing to do, and the thing that MVP Karl Malone would do.

CADE REMSBURG is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Ames.