LeBron James would vote for himself for MVP
By Will Osgood
![](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/9c49bf428ff1c9c3ebef72d42e7efe855a6e66505310d4d86a9d869e9e690b68.jpg)
LeBron James admitted Wednesday he’d vote for “myself” for MVP this season.
In what has become a hugely popular, and to some degree controversial subject, the NBA MVP race is coming down to the wire in the season’s final week. It is by most accounts a four-player race, between Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and LeBron James, who has already won the award four times in his storied career.
This season, for the first time, NBA players will be able to vote for player awards, according to a memo made public on Wednesday by players union executive director Michele Roberts. The awards handed out the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association) will not be the official awards, but will indicate an interesting dynamic of who the men on the court think are most deserving for certain awards.
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With that in mind, James was asked who would get his vote. His response simply, “Myself”.
In his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, after four seasons with the Miami Heat–which he himself compared to going off to college–James, now 30-years-old, has led the Cavaliers to the second seed in the Eastern Conference and has them playing their best basketball in the second half of the season.
Reports surfaced last week that James has been the primary offensive play-caller for the Cavaliers, despite that supposedly being the strength of first-year head coach David Blatt, and the reason Blatt was hired by the Cavaliers this offseason after a wildly successful coaching career in Europe, most notably in Israel.
As odd, yet impressive as that fact would be, it stands against the fact that James is on pace to finish with his second lowest scoring average per game in his career, at 25.6 points per game, bettering only the 20.9 he averaged in his first season in the NBA.
Still, James’ impact on the Cavaliers should not be denigrated. He has set the tone on the offensive end for Cleveland, getting to the line 7.7 times per game and taking what is almost a career high 4.9 3-point attempts, making a career high 1.7 per game.
Like the Rockets, the Cavs offensively this season have mostly been a 3-or-layup offense. James has also been the offense’s primary facilitator, leading the team with 7.3 assists per game–the second best mark of his career.
Though the Cavaliers have a markedly improved roster over the one James left four years ago, it is still James carrying the bulk of the weight for the Cavaliers despite the August trade acquisition of Kevin Love and the presence of two-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving.
Next: LeBron James Should Win MVP
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