Over the past two days, the Daily News conducted a poll of 30 voters who cast ballots for the MVP award. Of those, 23 said they voted for Bryant, while only four picked Chris Paul, two had Kevin Garnett and one had LeBron James.

Of the seven voters who did not vote for Bryant, six had him second on their ballot, and the other had him third.

Paul was picked anywhere from first to fourth but most — 18 of the 30 voters– said they had him second, behind Bryant.

Garnett was picked second on just four ballots and third on 15 ballots. James was fourth on 16 ballots and third on seven ballots.

In total, 126 voters cast votes for the MVP this year, according to an NBA spokesman.