The Great MVP Debate

We are still early into the NBA season, but once again one of the re-occurring story lines to talk about is who the league MVP is going to be. That isn't necessarily what this piece is about, however. You see for so long now the MVP debates from every season have followed the same narrative: LeBron James vs Everybody.

On practically every popular sports debate show like First Take or Undisputed or Around the Horn or Speak For Yourself, etc. we find ourselves watching the same conversation being had numerous times over. There’s the person arguing that LeBron should win it every season, and then there’s the person who argues for another standout NBA superstar. All of this is fine, but what bothers me is when the seasons pass and the trophy is awarded already, and years later people still argue LeBron’s case in those past seasons where he wasn't rewarded with the MVP trophy.

So with all that in mind, in an attempt to weather the storm in this great debate, we're going to look at the recent years where LeBron James was not named the league MVP and give you my thoughts on why he should or should not have won the award, and give you my theory on why he doesn’t just win the trophy outright every season.

Let's start with the most talked about year: 2011, Derrick Rose’s MVP season. I cannot begin to tell you how annoying it has gotten hearing over and over again about how LeBron James was robbed of the league MVP award in 2011.

The argument in favor of LeBron for that season went as such: Between James and Rose, LeBron averaged more points, rebounds, was much more efficient, and had about the same assists per game as Rose. No matter how good Rose looked in that season, you knew in the end that LeBron James was - and turned out being - the better player, and when it boiled down to it you knew LeBron gave your team a better shot at the championship than Derrick Rose in 2011. In addition to all that, in that year’s Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron James’ Miami Heat basically mopped the hardwood floor with Derrick Rose’s Bulls in a mere 5 games. So all that being considered, how could LeBron have not won the award that year?

I'll tell you how...

First you have to remember that at the time the MVP award winner is elected at the end of the regular season, so what happened in that playoff series between the two holds no water whatsoever. The regular season is what voters are to look at and it was in the 2010-11 regular season that the Bulls, led by Rose, swept the season series against the Heat four games to none. Moreover, yes LeBron had the more impressive stat line between the two, but you know what else he had that Rose didn't - a better coach, a better ran organization to play for, and above all else, better teammates. Erik Spoelstra is a better coach than Tom Thibodeau, the Miami Heat, as highlighted in recent seasons, are a far better ran organization than the Chicago Bulls, and while LeBron was playing alongside two potential Hall of Famers in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, Derrick Rose was playing with a premature Joakim Noah, a solid at best role player in Luol Deng, what was left of Carlos Boozer, and some dude named Keith Bogans. Despite all the disadvantages facing Rose in how he matched up with LeBron James in 2011, he led the Bulls from barely making the playoffs in 2010, to granting them with the best record in the entire NBA in just one season. All that being said, I think the voters knew what they were doing that year.

Of course LeBron James would go on to win the next two MVP awards and deservingly so. Then came 2014, where then Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Kevin Durant brought home his first league MVP award.

Much unlike 2011, where Derrick Rose had distanced himself quite comfortably from LeBron, Durant and James were basically 1a and 1b for the majority of the season. While there were those who argued leaning one way, I am one of those people who who believe that it really could have went either way without much complaint. Now obviously, me being Thunder fan, you’d probably be able to guess who I was rooting for, but LeBron had a real case for the award much like every season. However, I believe that Kevin Durant was the right winner. Here's why:

At that point in his career, it had been pretty well established that KD was the premier scorer in the NBA, and had the potential to lead a team to numerous NBA championships with the right requisite parts around him. What people didn’t know, however, is how he would fare as the sole star player on the roster. 2014 gave us the answer.

Being a season removed from James Harden being traded to Houston along with having Russell Westbrook sidelined with injury for practically the entire season gave fans the rare opportunity to see KD work largely on his own, and he certainly did not disappoint. Durant would go on a scoring tear of which we haven't seen since the days of Kobe Bryant, torching every team that came his way, 30 point performance after 30 point performance, and breaking records previously owned by the G.O.A.T himself, Michael Jordan. Durant, mostly without the help of his superstar teammate, led the OKC Thunder to a 60 win record and the number one seed in the heavily competitive Western conference and became just the second player in NBA history to shoot fifty percent from the field, forty percent from the three point line and ninety percent from the free throw line on route to his first MVP award. LeBron James certainly had his fair share of great stretches throughout the year, as he always does, but Durant just would not let up, making even the smallest of slip ups from James create all the difference.

On to 2015: Stephen Curry’s first MVP season. If there were any season where LeBron fanatics had the right to call highway robbery for the MVP award not going to him, it was this one. I love Stephen Curry. He's one of my favorite players in the NBA, but he should not have won MVP honors in 2015. In fact, I would argue that he should have finished third overall in MVP votes. Usually when asked about it I contend that James Harden should have taken home the trophy that year, but I cannot disagree with LeBron's case either.

In his first season back with the Cavaliers,things didn't start off all that great. There wasn't much depth beyond the starting line-up, Kevin Love was pretty bad for most of the season, there was little to no coaching, and Irving and James struggled coexisting with one another. By season's end they were no less than the second best team in the conference. What changed might you ask? Well Kevin Love was still pretty bad. The team was able to pick up a little more depth for the second unit, but that can only do so much. David Blatt was still the head coach at the time so coaching didn't really see much change either. That just leaves LeBron and Kyrie. Their chemistry had built up and ultimately allowed the team to elevate to new heights. There lies just one problem. Kyrie Irving had always been there in Cleveland, but struggled to uplift the team in any significant way, yet LeBron comes through and makes all the difference. What does that tell you? LeBron James is what separated this team from being a bottom feeder, contending for a top lottery pick, and a 57 win team, contending for a championship. I don't need to see the stats to know just how valuable to the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron has always been, especially in 2015, and seeing the difference he was able to make in just one season probably should have landed him his fifth MVP award.

Now on to 2016, I'll make this quick… Wardell Stephen Curry II was by far and away the league's most outstanding player in the 2015-16 regular season. He had so damn good a season that he began to overtake LeBron James as the face of the NBA and best player in the world...think about that for a second. He obliterated - and I mean obliterated - the three point record, which was previously owned by himself, he became the third player in league history to shoot 40% from three, 50% from the field, and 90% from the line, and led the league in scoring. All that while leading his team to the greatest regular season record in NBA history at 73-9. I will hear no arguments about this. Moving on.

Then we have last year's MVP race. In a season that lacked much of your usual NBA drama and excitement, thanks in large part to the wide gap between the eventual champions and everyone else, the MVP race did its part in becoming the primary talking point throughout the season. For a large part of the year the Most Valuable Player award was a five way race to the finish between LeBron James, Isaiah Thomas, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook.

Isaiah Thomas was a top three scorer in the league and was the best player on a breakout Celtics team that clinched the number 1 seed in the Eastern conference. Kawhi Leonard emerged as a true superstar, displaying consistent and elite play on both sides of the floor while being the sole star player on a 67 win Spurs team. James Harden nearly averaged a triple double per game while leading the league in scoring and assists, and revived the Houston Rockets back to being a top three seed in the Western conference. Russell Westbrook, the eventual winner, broke the record for triple doubles recorded in a season, and guided a non-playoff caliber Thunder roster to the 6th seed in the West. LeBron James was well - LeBron James: over 25 points per game, career highs in both rebounds and assists, all while having his most efficient scoring season of his career and once again leading the Cleveland Cavaliers to another 50+ win season. It boosted his case for MVP honors even more that in the 6 games in the 2016-17 regular season that James did not play in, the Cavs - the then defending World Champion Cavs - didn't win a single game. So LeBron James not even finishing in the top 3 for the final votes for league MVP was mind boggling for many.

I won't sit here and defend not having him in the final 3, that was disgraceful. However, I didn't have a problem with Russ taking home the award. LeBron James - as impressive a season he had last year, his team overall had underachieved. You had a far more talented roster than the OKC Thunder, yet only finished with 4 more total wins. That doesn't sound right. You finished as the second seed in the Eastern conference behind a Celtics team that was nowhere near being on your level, as shown in your later playoff series in the conference finals. And I know, I know: The Cavs could have won sixty plus if they wanted to. Yeah...but they didn't. LeBron could have averaged a Triple Double if he wanted to, and do it more efficiently than Westbrook or Harden. Again, yeah...but he didn't. Take LeBron off the Cavaliers and you get a team with two all-stars and is a borderline playoff team. It would take some time to rebuild the chemistry, but they would be okay. Take Westbrook off the Thunder - would they have been that much better than the Nets? Their guards couldn't shoot and most of their bigs couldn't defend. Russ is what kept this team afloat last year and it was obvious. So as deserving as LeBron was, Westbrook deserved it just a little more.

Even though he hasn't won the award every single year, it speaks to the greatness of LeBron James that he has a case for the award every single season, and as it stands right now, he's one of the leading candidates once again this year. Big surprise.

Yes, LeBron James is the most valuable player in the league overall, but that isn't what the trophy is really about. If we were going on true value to your team every season, of course LeBron takes the crown every season. Who the trophy goes to is really dependent on who the most outstanding player is in a given season. Not the best, not the most valuable, but the most outstanding player is likely taking home the award; like the guy who broke the triple double record, the guy who broke the three point record on a team that broke the wins in a season record, or the guy who had the longest scoring streak since MJ. Handing the award to other guys not named LeBron James is a matter of how a given player has stood out above everyone else in a particular season.

Thanks for reading. Please remember to like, share, and follow us here at Sportsville. And as always feel free to share your opinions with us in the comments below. Your input is always appreciated.

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