Fansided

Forget voter fatigue — LeBron James should be the 2017-18 NBA MVP

By Ti Windisch

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 17: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks to get around Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on October 17, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won the game 102-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 17: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks to get around Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics during the second half at Quicken Loans Arena on October 17, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland won the game 102-99. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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We do not appreciate LeBron James enough right now. It’s always difficult to take a step back and consider the bigger picture in any situation, but NBA fans can be some of the worst when it comes to getting caught in ideological wind tunnels.

There is a serious push for Kyrie Irving to be the 2017-18 NBA MVP, and it’s not just coming from Boston. The idea of the so-called “Kid” leading his Celtics to the NBA’s best record has fans infatuated with the thought of him as the league’s best player, especially since Gordon Hayward was tragically lost for the season just minutes into the year.

The problem with that sentiment, as romantic as it is, is that his former teammate is performing at a higher level. James is having arguably his best season ever, and he has the Cleveland Cavaliers on an 11-game win streak despite featuring an almost exclusively over-the-hill supporting cast.

LeBron vs Kyrie this season
PlayerSeasonGSMPFGAFG%3PA3P%eFG%FTAFT%TRBASTSTLBLKTOVPFPTS
Kyrie Irving2017-182331.717.5.4845.7.379.5464.7.8693.15.21.50.32.22.123.2
LeBron James2017-182337.118.9.5834.7.413.6355.6.7737.98.71.31.24.11.828.3

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/3/2017.

James is playing more than the rest of the MVP field, and it’s not so that he can pad his stats. The Cavaliers have needed him on the floor. The team’s slow start means Cleveland’s plus-minus doesn’t change a lot when James is off or on the floor, although the Cavaliers have been better with him playing.

Read More: Is James Harden the unanimous MVP right now?

Part of the reason the bench has held up without James is that he hasn’t left much time for the team to struggle without him. Cleveland has played just 256 minutes without him all season compared to 853 minutes with him on the floor. In those 256 minutes without James, the Cavaliers have outscored their opponents by 2.6 points per 100 possessions. In 429 minutes without Irving, the Celtics have outscored teams by 6.6 points per 100 possessions.

The Houston Rockets are outscoring teams by 6.1 points per 100 possessions without James Harden, and that number will rise as Chris Paul gets more minutes in Houston. Harden might be the best offensive player the league has ever seen, but he’s not the rebounder or defender that James is.

The Cavaliers need James to play all the time, so he’s done that. They need him to function both as a leading scorer and a primary facilitator in the absence of a real starting point guard, so he’s done that too. No one, not even the Greek Freak, can do literally everything as well as James still can.

Since he returned to Cleveland before the 2014-15 season, only two players have averaged 28 points, 7.9 rebounds (James was at eight until dipping just under after Saturday’s game in which he scored Cleveland’s final 11 consecutive points for the win) and eight assists in a full season. Harden and Russell Westbrook both did last season, with Westbrook winning MVP for his efforts and Harden giving him a run for his money.

James is on pace to be the third, and he’s shooting more efficiently from both the field and 3-point territory than either Harden or Westbrook did last season, and is better from both of those areas than anybody else in the MVP running for this season.

NBA fans didn’t know if they would ever see the kind of crazy production that both Westbrook and Harden managed last season. Now James is nearly matching it, while shooting far better than either of those two did. Not even James himself has managed anything close to these averages and shooting percentages before, not in the same season anyway.

For the first time ever, James is making 2.0 3-pointers per game, while converting a career-best 41.3 percent of his triples. He’s sixth in the entire NBA in true shooting percentage, despite taking vastly more shots than his company at the top of that leaderboard, including sworn enemy Enes Kanter.

He’s aging like the fine wine he loves so much, and somehow, 42,000 minutes into his legendary NBA career, remains the NBA’s most valuable player. Let’s not let the exciting new thing cost James any more hardware this year.

It wouldn’t be the first time the superior player has been robbed — let’s not forget that Michael Jordan only won four MVPs out of his two three-peats despite being obviously better than anybody else for the duration of that era.

Next: Opportunity is knocking for Donovan Mitchell

Not since Jordan has a player had the league in a stranglehold in the way James has, so it’s only right that the King gets his fifth MVP award, joining Jordan in a very exclusive club that only contains Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar otherwise.

It’s one that he belongs in, both because of his storied career and his continued dominance.

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