Gee, I wonder who ESPN thinks should win NBA MVP? Every single one of their 30 staffers polled for NBA awards picked LeBron James as their choice for MVP. That even includes people from their regional locations like Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, Chicago and New York. We are in complete agreement with the pick.
James has been the best player in the NBA for arguably the past five seasons. LeBron improved his stats almost across the board. He averaged 26.8 points per game, shot a career-high 56.6 percent from the field, a career-high 40.6 percent on 3-pointers, and he averaged a career-best 8 rebounds.
If you believe in John Hollinger’s Player Efficiency Rating (aka PER), the choice is also clear: James’ 31.67 PER was more than three points higher than the next player — Kevin Durant. Chris Paul’s 26.45 placed him third in PER this season.
Not only did James elevate his game to its highest level, but his team also was by far the best in the NBA, finishing 66-16. James is definitely deserving of winning his fourth MVP award.
The only other award that seemed to have a consensus sentiment was Rookie of the Year. 27 of 30 votes for ROY went to Damian Lillard, while Anthony Davis received the other three. Larry Sanders and Paul George were popular picks for Most Improved Player, while JR Smith, Jamal Crawford and Kevin Martin were Sixth Man of the Year picks.
I like Anthony Davis a lot and think he’s an extremely impactful player, but I would give Lillard the Rookie of the Year award just because he played all 82 games while Davis only played in 64. Smith is also a deserving choice for Sixth Man of the Year.
Thanks to Arsen for the tip
