James clear 2011 - 2012 NBA MVP

The NBA regular season is nearly over, which means it is about that time when everyone agonizes over the season’s awards. In particular, fans and columnists alike are debating who should win the Most Valuable Player.

Some columnists, such as Bill Simmons of Grantland, contend that this is one of those seasons when a player will win MVP by default. The argument goes as follows: it is a strike-shortened season, and the league’s quality of play has decreased, as we can see by the decrease in scoring.

Quite simply, I disagree: LeBron James is very clearly the MVP this year.

The media loves storylines, and as a result it sometimes creates its own. Last year, for instance, when Derrick Rose became one of the top players in the NBA as the Bulls came in first place in the Eastern Conference, the media, who vote on all NBA awards, decided that it was more interesting to name Rose the MVP than to give it to James, who had won the previous two seasons, despite James outplaying him statistically last season.

It is the same reason that Charles Barkley won the 1993 MVP and Karl Malone won the 1997 MVP, both instead of the more deserving Michael Jordan: it is much more interesting when different players win the MVP, and it creates a narrative that those who cover the NBA can use to their advantage. Even though Jordan deserved eight or nine MVPs, he “only” won five because other players needed to be rewarded by the media.

James is a strongly polarizing figure because he is considered a postseason “choker” and was widely derided for the way in which he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010. Because of this, many NBA fans and observers refuse to recognize that James is not only the best player in the league, but also is the most valuable to his team in the regular season. Despite the fact that James’ best teammate, Dwyane Wade, missed thirteen games, and despite only two other players on the Heat besides James having an above average Player Efficiency Rating (PER), the Heat are 43-17 and in second place in the Eastern Conference. This Miami team does not have any depth, and does not even have a starting-caliber center.

James is the reason that the Heat is a serious contender to win the NBA championship; Chris Bosh more of a very good third wheel than he is a member of Miami “Big Three.”

Whether you choose to examine basic or advanced statistics, James is clearly the best player this season. In just under 38 minutes per game, James is averaging 27.1 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, and 6.3 assists per game. He also averages 1.9 steals per game and is shooting nearly 53 percent from the floor, despite taking more shots than nearly anybody else in the NBA.
In addition, James is first in the NBA with a 30.5 PER, first with 13.6 Win Shares, seventh in Offensive Rating, and eleventh in Defensive Rating. To sum all up all of those statistics, James has dominated both offensively and defensively on a level which no other player can match.

Some people may not like James, but they should at least respect that during the regular season, when the media votes on the awards, he is consistently both the best and most valuable player in the league, and it is not particularly close. Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Love (before he got hurt) have all had great seasons of their own and should be recognized with selection to the All-NBA teams that also are voted upon after the regular season is completed.

However, just because James did not play well in an NBA Finals game last season does not mean that he should be penalized for MVP this season, just as some other player should not be undeservingly rewarded simply for not being James.