With last season’s signing of LeBron James, who can be argued as the best player in the NBA, many believed it would lead to a deep playoff run. The year turned out to be a disaster. The Lakers didn’t live up to expectations and it didn’t help that James suffered a groin injury on Christmas Day that affected his game the rest of the season. They missed the playoffs altogether, but this year has been a different story.
This year has been pure dominance by the Lakers led by the return of LeBron James. Before the Coronavirus shutdown, the Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference and were fresh off wins against the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers. Those two huge wins along with others in the season can be attributed to the amazing stat line that Lebron has put together this year. His performance so far this year has placed him up as one of the front-runners for the NBA MVP award.
Should his performance so far be enough to win him the award? Let’s take a look at his case and see.
MVP Competition
Before the season was put on hold, it seemed that Lebron’s only competition was that of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo who is a stud in his own right. Through 57 games he was averaging 29.6 points with 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game with a 54.7 shooting percentage which gives him a strong case for MVP. What helps his case more is that the Bucks have the best overall record in the NBA followed by the Lakers and Giannis has down it with a weaker supporting cast.
LeBron for MVP
Giannis has put up some monster number this year that give him a stone case, but James has put up numbers that shouldn’t be overlooked. In 60 games this season LeBron has averaged 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 10.6 assists (league-leading) with a 49.8 shooting percentage. In any season this would easily net LeBron yet another MVP award, but is it enough?
LeBron has been a big playmaker this year as his league-leading assists can indicate and it is also true in the sense that his team plays better with him on the court than without. It may not mean much but he has also gotten the Lakers through the tragedy of losing the face of LA, Kobe Bryant. Just recently LeBron was getting MVP support from other players around the league such as Boston’s Jason Tatum.
Final Thoughts
In any other year without the outstanding numbers put up by Giannis, LeBron would hands down take home his fifth MVP award. Giannis though has been on another level and it would take a huge effort on the court when or if basketball does return this year. LeBron has single-handedly turned this team into a contender with his presence, the luring of Anthony Davis, and his influence that he has on the court. Yet even those may not be enough.
