LeBron James - 2012-13 Most Valuable Player

[Jace]

I thought no one could possibly think that wasn't sarcasm. Holy hell. Congrats.

[PauloCatarino]

Right now, it's clearly between Durant and Anthony.

[billyhoyle]

Melo probably just edging Durant atm. But I would be happy with either picks.

[Jace]

It's funny when you compare the numbers of the top 3. This has Rose for MVP written all over it (NARRATIVE!).

[Ender]

A PF averaging 6 RPG has no place in an MVP discussion.

[Jace]

To play devil's advocate, he's technically playing out of position. I think that's where some of the Melo-backing narrative comes in. People look at him as making this big sacrifice to pound with the big boys in the absence of a "superstar." But yeah, he's averaging less rebounds playing PF than Wade did in '11 playing further from the basket.

[RollWithEm]

Zach Lowe weighs in

Most Valuable Player

1. LeBron James, Miami Heat
2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
4. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
5. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

Here is his reasoning for Lebron over KD:

This is a race, for now, between James and Durant, the two finest players in the league. And we have to start here: James is just better, even as Durant has closed the gap with what may end up as one of the greatest shooting seasons in league history — a 50/40/90 tour of NBA destruction. Durant is no. 2 in Player Efficiency Rating, and he has made incremental progress in every aspect of his game. He's increased both his assist totals3 and the quality of his assists, threading some smart passes out of the pick-and-roll and occasionally whipping one-handed cross-court lasers that make you rewind your DVR to make sure it was Durant.

He's also a better defender than he was last year, both one-on-one and as a helper. Opposing small forwards have recorded a laughable PER of just 7.9 with Durant on the court, and like the rest of his young Thunder brethren, he's moving to the right place at the right time more often away from the ball as he gains experience.

But the gap between James and Durant on defense and in terms of passing is still significant, and Durant's superior shooting doesn't make up for it. James has the edge by nearly two full points in PER, and after another clutch performance in Orlando on New Year's Eve, he's cracked the 30 mark in that category — something only seven players have ever done over a full season in 16 separate player seasons.

He's shooting 54 percent from the floor — insane — and a tidy 42 percent from 3-point range on just 0.5 fewer attempts per 36 minutes than Durant. His defense hasn't been as airtight this season as last, but his combination of size, speed, and brains outclasses Durant — and just about everyone else in the league. That unique package, with a valuable assist from a game Shane Battier, has allowed the Heat to reinvent itself as a mostly small-ball team, with James at power forward and an army of shooters at his disposal. Scott Brooks hasn't trusted Durant quite enough to tilt Oklahoma City as much in the small-ball direction as the team probably needs to go.

The Durant-backers can't lean on the "clutch" argument anymore, either. Both have shot well in the last five minutes of close games, with James going 18-of-38 over 66 qualifying minutes and Durant a scorching 19-of-36 in 63 such minutes, per NBA.com's stats database. James has been just as willing a shooter, he's solved (for now) his free throw issues in high-leverage moments, and his assist and rebounding numbers just blow Durant out of the water. James's shooting percentage slips to around 40 percent once you cut the minutes/scoring margin from five toward zero, but his supplementary numbers remain strong; ask Ray Allen about it.

Both Oklahoma City and Miami have ranked among the three or four best "clutch" teams so far. The sample sizes are tiny, and relying on such tiny sample sizes is generally bad in handing out awards that honor a season's work. But in this case, they don't sway things either way.

Basically: LeBron James is the best player in the world, and the best player should usually win MVP. When the race for "best" is close, as it is here, there is room to use that amorphous word "valuable" and award MVP to the "second-best" guy if he plays on a roster unusually dependent on his skill set; this is the argument I used in giving my (fake) vote to Dwight Howard over LeBron in 2010-11.

But it doesn't work here. Westbrook and Serge Ibaka are both better players than they were last season, and have proven to be up to assuming portions of Harden's burden. Kevin Martin has been ultraefficient as a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Given some injury nicks to Battier and Dwyane Wade, and Miami's thin bench, it's hard to see much difference in roster quality after the alpha dogs.

James is still the league's MVP.

It's an argument that's brilliant in its simplicity.

[Jace]

Stat update:

Kevin Durant (43 GP)
29.6 PPG
7.4 RPG
4.4 APG
1.6 SPG
1.3 BPG
52% FG / 42.1% 3P
39.7 MPG

LeBron James (39 GP)
26.5 PPG
8.2 RPG
7.1 APG
1.6 SPG
0.9 BPG
55% FG / 39.2% 3P
38.5 MPG


Per 36:

Durant
26.9 PPG
6.7 RPG
4.0 APG
1.4 SPG
1.1 BPG

James
24.7 PPG
7.6 RPG
6.6 APG
1.5 SPG
0.8 BPG


Ridiculous numbers. Close enough to go either way right now, though most feel LeBron is having the better season.

[PauloCatarino]

Originally Posted by Jace

Ridiculous numbers. Close enough to go either way right now, though most feel LeBron is having the better season.

Interesting fact: Durant his having back-to-back seasons with >.500FG%, >.4003PT% and >.900FT%.
Only 2 other players (Bird, Nash) have ever done that.

[Luke]

Lebron still runs this league but durant is one of the best players we've ever seen. Both are just incredible basketball players


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[Jace]

Funnest MVP race since DWade vs. LeBron in 2009

[roux2dope]

Originally Posted by roux2dope

The michael jordan rule is in effect for me. Lebron is the best player in the league and he is on the best team. He wins it every year until that fact changes

Might be changing my tune to Mr. Durant

[yodurk]

If voting happened today, I would hope Durant gets it.

For one, OKC simply has proven to be the better team and ultimately winning is the most important thing a player can do on the hardwood. Maybe that won't be the case in the playoffs but you can only go by what's been done this season, not by who is better on paper or in the playoffs. You also see the culmination of Durant's improvement in his all around game as having an impact, and he was already so good to begin with.

Second, if you want to justify on the stat sheet, Durant is technically a more efficient scorer this year. Both Durant and Lebron average around 18.5 shots per game, but Durant is garnering 3 more PPG out of the same # of shot attempts. That goes to show the value of Durant's superior FT and 3-pt shooting (both in accuracy and volume).

People like to cite defense as boosting Lebron's argument, but Miami HAS slipped in that area (as opposed to last year when Miami was one of the best defenses in the league). Maybe not Lebron's fault per say but the fact of the matter is this is a team game.

And if it's truly too close to call, then just give the damn thing to Durant anyways. Michael Jordan is the GOAT and even he couldn't win MVP every single year; it's too boring to just give it to the best player every year. Just as with Jordan's era when they found reasons to give MVPs to guys like Barkley and Malone, it's fair to distribute MVPs to deserving elite players not named Lebron who are having outstanding seasons. Hell, Lebron already has 3 of them and will likely win a few more...whereas Jordan had 5 in his career. I'm not about to put Lebron over MJ just yet, he still has a long long ways to go.

[Jace]

In fairness, you totally glossed over LeBron's playmaking, and unfairly punished him for the team's slippage in D. His D has still been great. The additions of Allen/Lewis to the rotation, as well as Chalmers and Haslem's awful/declining D have been the main culprits.

I've always felt it should be judged in a vacuum as much as possible. Give it to the guy who had the best season, even if he won the last 7. Even great players only have ephemeral playing careers. Let them rack up MVP after MVP if they earn it. I hate seeing them gifted to players because the basketball community felt it was their turn or were heartwarmed by their story or the best player has won too many.

I understand the record argument, but OKC's isn't drastically better, and you can make a strong case Durant has the better supporting cast. On top of that, Miami has won the only matchup thus far.

[yodurk]

Originally Posted by Jace

In fairness, you totally glossed over LeBron's playmaking, and unfairly punished him for the team's slippage in D. His D has still been great. The additions of Allen/Lewis to the rotation, as well as Chalmers and Haslem's awful/declining D have been the main culprits.

It's not most versatile player, though. Value comes in many different packages; they don't always have be capable of doing every role on the court. And yeah it's unfair to punish one player for subpar D, but that's how the narrative goes. Voters like to spin it as who had the biggest impact on what the team accomplished. If the team didn't accomplish much on one side of the ball, then the MVP candidate may very well lose some brownie points. Not saying I agree with it, just some voters think of it that way. It was alot easier to justify Lebron last year when the Heat were excellent on both sides of the court. Besides, he will still make All-Defense 1st Team and get recognized for his individual D that way, I guarantee it.

I've always felt it should be judged in a vacuum as much as possible. Give it to the guy who had the best season, even if he won the last 7. Even great players only have ephemeral playing careers. Let them rack up MVP after MVP if they earn it. I hate seeing them gifted to players because the basketball community felt it was their turn or were heartwarmed by their story or the best player has won too many.

I don't blame you for wanting it that way. But historically that's just not the way it is. The precedent has been set, especially with MJ winning MVP in less than half his seasons played, despite being the unanimous league's best player for most of his career.

I understand the record argument, but OKC's isn't drastically better, and you can make a strong case Durant has the better supporting cast. On top of that, Miami has won the only matchup thus far.

It's far from the only factor, true, but it does supply another piece of evidence for justifying picking one over the other, especially if voters are explicitly seeking a reason to give the award to a particular player.