“By the numbers,” read the subject line of the message supporting New Orleans’ Chris Paul. “CP3 deserved MVP.” It was signed “A true fan” and offered a link to an article listing Paul’s extraordinary statistics as evidence that he was the deserving NBA Most Valuable Player, not the voters’ choice of Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant.

“Remember this next year so the mvp mistake can be alleviated somewhat,” the e-mail closed.

The article’s statistics made a strong case: How Paul became the eighth player in league history to average 20 points and 10 assists this season; the first to average those numbers while leading the league in steals; and the first in more than 25 years to lead the NBA in assists while averaging fewer than three turnovers.

Trouble is, numbers never tell the whole story. They can quantify performances and provide grounds for comparisons, but there is a side they leave unexplained which sometimes can be more telling. And in the case of this year’s MVP award, the numbers told only half the story, and stacked it impressively in Paul’s favor.

But the stats did not reflect how Bryant turned around his reputation from that of a disgruntled star waffling over trade demands to become the glue binding the Lakers together.

They did not show Bryant’s priorities shifting from me-first to team-first. And they did not show how those changes lifted the Lakers from the playoff bubble to title contention.

And therein lies the difference the statistics left out: Paul became an MVP candidate while doing what he has always been known for. But Bryant became an MVP by reshaping his own image and approach to the game — a change that transcends scoring and assist averages.

It’s challenging to simply boost a team to an elite level of performance, let alone lift your own career and reputation out of their doldrums first before carrying the team back into the spotlight. It’s difficult enough to choose to restructure your priorities, let alone execute that renewed outlook at a level that boosts the team to a spot among the league’s elite.

And that is what separated Bryant from Paul this year: He turned himself around, then turned around the Lakers. And the difference is something the numbers never revealed.

Bryant has long been considered the NBA’s best player, but never its most valuable. He held averages of 24.0 points and 5.1 assists in 2003-04, then was charged with letting his selfish attitude prevent the Lakers from winning a championship and driving off Shaquille O’Neal and coach Phil Jackson.

His 81-point game two years ago, followed by accusations that his Kobe-first approach hurt Los Angeles more than it helped. And a second consecutive season of averaging more than 30 points yielded just 42 victories and a second consecutive first-round exit from the playoffs last year.

His numbers were often staggering, yet they held little meaning. And that’s what has made this season different: The stats remained similar, but the performances were more valuable. And the numbers could not explain the change.

They could not show Bryant’s willingness to share the floor with another elite player, Pau Gasol. They could not show how Bryant held the Lakers aloft when key players were lost to injuries, or how he maintained his high level of play after tearing a ligament in his shooting hand.

Those performances, not his stats, lifted Bryant from the league’s best player to its most valuable. And that in no way devalues Paul’s stellar season.

It’s just that numbers alone can not offer a true indication of value. And there was something extra in Bryant’s performances this year which numbers can not quantify that ultimately gave him the edge.

Brian Hendrickson is the Trail Blazers beat writer for The Columbian. Contact him at (360) 735-4528 or brian.hendrickson@columbian.com. Read his Blazers Banter blog at columbian.com/sports/blazers.