LeBron James should be named the MVP of the NBA at the end of the season, per Rachel Nichols of ESPN.
According to Nichols, the strength of the argument that James deserves the MVP award is due to his “leadership.”
“We have leaned on stats more and more every year… I do think value comes into play with leadership… the fact that he went out and recruited Anthony Davis, that he has made Anthony Davis so comfortable and into the monster he is,” Nichols said.
The “King”, who is averaging 25.7 points and a career-high 10.6 assists per game this season, and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the favorites to win the MVP Award.
The “Greek Freak” is the reigning MVP of the league.
Doc Rivers explains what makes LeBron James so great
A week ago, it was a foregone conclusion Giannis will win another MVP award, but LeBron’s weekend performances brought him back into the conversation. For years LeBron would load manage withing games, take a few possessions off, take it easy on defense at times. That opened the door for others to have a better regular season, but it didn’t really matter to Lebron. He won everything there is to win, and the only stat he’s chasing is the number of championship rings.
Every playoff, he would remind us that when the game is on the line, he is still the most complete player in the game – probably the most complete player of all time. Last season, LeBron had his first significant injury, in his 17th season in the NBA. That resulted in the most extended basketball break he’s had since he was 19 years old. James played his last, 55th game of the ’18/’19 season, on March 29th. Never played fewer games, never had a more extended vacation. LeBron came ready to start a new era of Lakers basketball with Anthony Davis.
With his batteries charged and probably the best teammate he’s ever had (Dwayne Wade was past his peak when LeBron came to Miami), LeBron is reminding us that he didn’t dominate regular seasons because he chose so, not because he couldn’t. Doc Rivers explained how he does it in year 18 in the league after last night’s game.
”I think he’s been amazing all year. It’s just remarkable watching him play. I’ve never seen a guy get better at 35 in sports. He looks stronger, faster, and the other thing, he’s always been a high IQ player. Probably one of the smartest players to ever play basketball. He’s beaten a lot of people with his brain. I think we get lost in LeBron’s physicality too much, and we should think about his brain more. His brain is what makes him great. There’s a lot of people in the league with Lebron’s body. There’s no one in the league with his brain.”
Doc Rivers
Doc Rivers spent a lot of time planning to coach against LeBron while he was with the Celtics, and has seen first hand his evolution from an athletic rookie to a basketball savant. If you look up LeBron on Basketball-Reference and look at his bio, under position, it says: “Power Forward and Point Guard and Small Forward and Shooting Guard.” It seems absurd, but it’s absolutely true. You’re supposed to go down a position as you age – LeBron goes where the game needs him. They should change it to “whatever he pleases.”
NBA Power Rankings: LeBron James, Lakers Finally Break Through
It turns out all the Los Angeles Lakers needed to break the Milwaukee Bucks’ hold on the top spot in our NBA power rankings was a head-to-head meeting.
LeBron James’ return to No. 1 wasn’t only about his Lakers’ win over Milwaukee on Friday. Sunday’s downing of the Los Angeles Clippers and Milwaukee’s other struggles were also factors. But there was still something eye-opening about the way James and the Lakers handled the Bucks and Clippers in succession.
Even if the full-season numbers still say Milwaukee is the league’s top team, those back-to-back Lakers wins were statements. They superseded several months of data.
As always, rankings consider record, advanced stats, health and recent play. And as teams toward the top of the order start flashing their playoff form, head-to-head matchups and recency are getting a little more sway than usual. With only a few weeks to go until the postseason, we’re getting a sense of who some of these teams really are.
As for James, we’ve known his true identity for a while.
Long live the King.
