Skip to main content

Why LeBron James Should Be This Year's NBA MVP - The Atlantic

He's having the best season of his careerâ€"but some people can't get past his arrogant reputation.

simpson_lebronMVP_post.jpg

AP Images

When people look back on the 2012 NBA Most Valuable Player race, they will point to Monday's Heat-Nets clash as the game where LeBron James locked up the award.

The Culture Report bug
What's new in arts and entertainment. See full coverage

The Heat star, playing without injured teammate Dwyane Wade, scored Miami's last 17 points in the final 4:48 to rally his team past the New Jersey Nets, 101-98. For the record, that's a 135.1-points-per-game pace. LeBron outscored the Nets team 17-12 in the final stretch and hit the go-ahead and game-sealing shots in the last minute.

To say LeBron won the award Monday would be a mistake though. The King sewed up the award a long time ago, no matter what his peers or the pundits have said.

Despite a hellacious compressed schedule that has sent virtually all the league's stars to the bench in street clothes (the injured list currently includes Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, and Jeremy Lin), LeBron has been durable and dominant from Day One of the regular season, a 105-94 Miami win over Dallas on Christmas Day that featured a 37-10-6 from LeBron (that's point-rebound-assists). James has hardly slowed since, playing in 59 of the Heat's 60 games and leading them to a 43-17 record, including a stunning 11-1 record over the course of the season in games without Wade in the lineup.

The stats should speak for themselves. LeBron leads the Heat in points (27.1 per game, third in the NBA), rebounds (7.9), assists (6.3), and steals (1.9). His shooting percentage on two-point field goals is a career-best 52.9 percent, and he's smartly taking a career-low 2.4 three-point attempts per game. With Wade hampered by injuries, LeBron has been even better in April, averaging 29.6 points a game against the likes of Chicago, Boston (twice), Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia.

I bombard you with stats because the sheer day-to-day brilliance of LeBron is lost on the casual NBA fan. They only see a parade of late-game misses and ESPN graphics documenting LeBron's struggles in the fourth quarter of close games. After LeBron missed a last-minute free throw that would have iced an April 12 game against Chicagoâ€"a game Miami eventually lost in overtimeâ€"the chorus of "Choker!" started again.

'I Hope LeBron Plays 15 Years and Never Wins an NBA Championship'
LeBron James's Glorious Facial Expressions
Why We (Or at Least I) Hate LeBron James

Even the reigning league MVP is a LeBron hater. When asked to name the front-runner for this year's MVP award, Rose said it was Thunder forward Kevin Durant. Rose also mentioned the stellar play of Minnesota forward Kevin Love, but he didn't say LeBron's name once.

Durant has had a great season for the Western Conference-leading Thunder and will probably chase down Kobe for the scoring title. But he doesn't belong in the same conversation as LeBron this year, because their situations are so different:

â€"The Thunder's top guy off the bench, future 2012-Sixth-Man-of-the-Year-Award winner James Harden, is averaging 16.4 points a game. The top three guys off Miami's bench (Norris Cole, Mike Miller and Shane Battier) average a combined 16.8 ppg.

â€"Durant is not required to be a passer, posting just 3.5 assists a game. Oklahoma City scores much of its offense from isolation sets and other individual playsâ€"point guard Russell Westbrook leads the Thunder with 5.4 apg, far less than LeBron's season average.

â€"Were it not for Knicks center Tyson Chandler, LeBron would probably win Defensive Player of the Year and is a lock for NBA First Team All-Defense. Durant is an average defender. I don't understand why this hasn't been played up as more of a differentiating factor between the two stars. When the Heat beat the Knicks 93-85 on Sunday, it was because James spent the fourth quarter shutting down Carmelo Anthony. Though he scored 42 points, Melo had just two baskets in the fourth after James took over defensive duties on Anthony from Shane Battier.

â€"Durant is widely loved. LeBron is widely loathed.

The last point explains the "close MVP race" between LeBron and Durant. No one wants to root for LeBron because of how arrogant he has come off in the past. In fact, the schadenfreude possibilities with LeBron are unprecedentedâ€"just look at the 2011 NBA Finals. But despite the boos and palpable hatred that rain down every time he touches the ball in a road game, the NBA's best player is having his best season. That should be the beginning and end of any MVP debate.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NBA Monday Morning Shootaround: LeBron James, The Hunger Games, and More - Bleacher Report

Welcome to the "Monday Morning Shootaround," Bleacher Report's recap of the weekend that was in the NBA. Along with getting you caught up on the weekend’s playoff action, we’ll give you a sneak preview of what could potentially be the greatest basketball book of all time, show you the best 70-year-old playground superstar ever, and tell you about a young star that just might choose religion over the fame and fortune of the NBA. The Opening Tip * ABC cameras caught LeBron James reading The Hunger Games before the Miami Heat played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Shortly thereafter, the Miami Heat small forward proceeded to go into full Katniss Everdeen mode to the tune of 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat pulled out a hard-fought 101-93 victory. After a slow start, Heat guard Dwyane Wade finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists of his own. But Sunday afternoon was all about James and his gaudy numbers, virtually all of which we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking Down the Differences Between LeBron James and Kevin Durant - Bleacher Report

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are being coined as "the future of the NBA 's next generation." That is certainly true, but they aren't exactly on the same level. LeBron and Durant are two different players, who bring varying skills to different facets of the game. Instead of just comparing them in a "who's the best" fashion, let's take a minute and break down which player excels in each and every facet of the game of basketball. Ahead is a breakdown of the differences that exist between LeBron and Durant.  Scoring Ronald Martinez/Getty Images LeBron 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 27.1 points, 53.1 FG%, 36.3 3P%, 77.1 FT% Durant 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 28.0 points, 49.6 FG%, 38.7 3P%, 86.0 FT% Scoring is what Kevin Durant does. It's not only his specialty, it's also what makes him such a dangerous and elite player. With that being said, LeBron isn't exactly a slouch on the offensive side of the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luka Dončić joins LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West as only Lakers to post 30 points and 15 assists in a game

LeBron James joined a club of one on Tuesday , while Luka Dončić joined a club of four. With 30 points and a Lakers career-high 15 assists, Luka Dončić became only the fourth player in Lakers history to post those totals in a single game in a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The other three: James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. We'll call that a solid group. That performance included a stretch of three straight 3-pointers to set the tone in the first quarter. It was once again the LeBron and Dončić (LeBrončić?) show, as Dončić's co-star posted 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. Center Jaxson Hayes also had one of the best games of his Lakers career, scoring 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting plus 10 rebounds. Dončić was two points away from tying his Lakers career high in points as well, and likely would have gotten it had L.A. not taken its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. After a back-and-forth first half in which the P...
Post a Comment
Read more