Who is the Lakers' most valuable female?

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson recently refuted NBA commissioner David Stern's claim that a woman would possibly play in the NBA in the next 10 years.

Jackson acknowledged that female athletes are getting bigger, faster, and stronger, but said that males are growing at the same rate, so there will continue to be a significant gap between the two.

However, just because a woman won't be playing for the Lakers in the forseeable future doesn't mean that the fairer sex isn't important to the franchise. With that in mind, here are the candidates for MVF (Most Valuable Female) for the Lakers organization (in no particular order):

Jeanie Buss - The daughter of legendary owner Jerry Buss has helped the Lakers in numerous capacities. She is an executive in the front office, but more importantly she serves as the Zen Mistress, keeping Phil calm and peaceful off the court. Not to mention she's the only member of the Lakers to have posed nude in a magazine (link is safe for work...sort of). Although I hear PlayGirl is knocking DJ Mbenga's door down.

Vanessa Bryant - Laker fans try to push it out of their minds, but with all this Tiger Woods hoopla it's hard to forget what happened just six years ago in Colorado. No matter how you feel about the situation morally, you have to agree that the Lakers owe many thanks to Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa. Who knows what kind of downward spiral Kobe's game would have gone into had she decided to leave him? Instead she stuck with him, stabilizing Kobe's family life and allowing him to stay focused on basketball. Needless to say things have gone pretty well for him on the court since then.

Nicole Narain - Andrew Bynum made waves last season when he was photographed carrying a petite Playboy Bunny on his shoulders while rehabbing from knee surgery. That Bunny happened to be Narain, who doubles as a "hip hop honey video vixen" when she's not modeling. Why is she on the list, you ask? Well, I think we can all agree that Bynum has returned stronger than ever this season, so it's clear that the Nicole Narain rehab program has worked wonders.

Khloe Kardashian - Nobody was sure if the romance was real or just a publicity stunt, but six weeks into the season it seems as if Odashian is a match made in heaven. Khloe, the reality star and wife of Lamar Odom, seems to be keeping her hubby happy, evidenced by his strong play this season (8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists per game). Odom was already a notoriously good clubhouse presence, but his marriage seems to have taken that up a notch this year. Next thing you know, all the Lakers will be looking for their own reality stars to marry. Ron Artest and Tila Tequila seem like they'd get along just fine. Sorry, too soon?

Clearly these women have had a direct impact on the Lakers season, but I'm sure I'm missing some. Feel free to drop some names in the comment field and give your opinion about who truly is the MVF of the Lakers.