Lebron James and the MVP

Let me start out this post by saying... I don't like LeBron James. I know, I hear the collective gasp. Why, you ask? He is a showboater, he travels more than Marco Polo, the majority of his game is predicated on drawing contact, and (perhaps most importantly) he plays for Cleveland. In a superstar's league, the ultimate superstar gets every break from the refs and media. His annual candidacy for Defensive player of the year is a joke as LeBron essentially plays the role of free safety through the first 45 minutes of a 48 minute game. In last year's MVP race, if I had a vote, it would have gone to Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba remains the best closer in the game, is an outstanding on ball defender and has forgotten more about basketball than LeBron will ever learn. This year however, it isn't even close.


LeBron James is officially the best player in basketball in 2010 and the Most Valuable Player. This season was supposed to be a struggle for the Cavaliers. Mike Brown is still the worst successful coach in basketball, and the LeBrons only added an ancient Shaquille O'Neal to the mix, failing to fix their biggest issue, which was a lack of speed at the power forward position (Antawn Jamison didn't show up until later). The Cavs and LeBron were always going to be measured by postseason success one year after a 65 win season with an MVP win that ended in the conference finals. Not to mention the fact that the potential for LeBron's departure at the end of the year was supposed to put a damper on the whole proceedings. None of it mattered.

The other names you typically see around an MVP race all fell off. Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant were injured for long stretches. Kevin Garnett has aged drastically the last two years. Dwyane Wade was fabulous, but never got his Miami Heat into high gear like the Cavaliers. Dwight Howard was the anchor for the second best team in the country, but he failed to dominate on a nightly basis. LeBron on the other hand, upped his game. He played more minutes shot a better FG%, increased his assists by 1.4 per game, and pushed up his scoring. Now he leads the heavily favored Cavaliers into the playoffs with the overall #1 seed. King James played like a king.

In the playoffs, if he fails to win the title this year, questions will rain down upon LeBron. Everyone will doubt his ability to lead a team to the promised land, people will want to know if he is going to flee Cleveland (or as I like to think of it, the mistake by the milake). None of it really matters in the long term view of his career. Wherever LeBron is, there will be media cameras and a 60 win playoff contender, and at some point, an NBA Championship team. I just won't be rooting for him.