At 36, LeBron James is a huge favorite to win his fifth Most Valuable Player award of the regular season, both from a betting standpoint and among potential voters polled by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Their defending champion Los Angeles Lakers is 21-6, a loss behind the Western Conference leaders Utah Jazz.
“Bron does it on both sides of the ball,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel told reporters Wednesday. “That is why he will probably be the MVP this year. He carries the charge on offense and he’s the number one defensive quarterback in the league, he takes these tough assignments and makes these plays down the stretch. “
(For the record: James has been excellent on both ends in the clutch, and the Lakers have the best defensive rating in the NBA by a considerable margin, but Anthony Davis is the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year. Free safety is a better defensive analogy for James, who mostly shies away from non-pitchers).
It is a solid argument. James is the best player of his generation. His stats are in line with his career averages, and much of what he brings to the Lakers is immeasurable, as we saw in last year’s title race.
It is also something of a narrative plot. There’s a line of thought that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t deserve to win his second straight MVP over James last season. It’s one James shares, and most of those who support this theory use his performance in the postseason as supporting evidence.
But it’s a regular-season award, and Antetokounmpo earned it by a wide margin that reflected the vote. His numbers were higher than James’s and he carried a greater defensive load as an anchor for the team with the best record in the NBA. By the way, he’s getting closer and closer to doing it again this year, but a narrative that blindly gives James the award this season also prevents Antetokounmpo from winning for the third time in a row.
There is a case for James beyond symmetry joining Michael Jordan and Bill Russell with five MVPs, one behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record. (That quartet encompasses the history of the sport, each one deserves GOAT consideration.)
Look no further than ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus stat, which features James at the top of this year’s rankings, followed by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry.
But let’s not pretend that James has the prize in the bag. There are at least seven other candidates in the race right now and nearly two-thirds of the regular season remain: Curry, Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Damian Lillard. You could even expand that list even further.
I listed the stat lines for 36 minutes and advanced metrics for those eight players below, removing names to show how close the race could be.
Results
Today’s games
Boston en Washington, 2:00 p.m.
Minnesota en Toronto, 8:00 p.m.
New Orleans and Detroit, 8:00 pm
San Antonio at Charlotte, 8:00 pm
Portland and Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Milwaukee en Oklahoma City, :9:00 p.m.
Orlando en Phoenix, 10:00 p.m.
Cleveland en L.A. Clippers, 11:00 p.m.
L.A. Lakers en Denver, 11:00 p.m.
Memphis en Sacramento, 11:00 p.m.
Tomorrow’s games
Chicago in Indiana, 8 pm
Houston en Washington, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at New York, 8:30 pm
Philadelphia and Utah, 10 p.m.
Brooklyn en Sacramento, 11 p.m.
Cleveland en Golden State, 11 p.m.
Miami in LA Clippers, 11 pm
Por. Ben Rohrbach
Yahoo sports
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