“LeBron James is ahead in the MVP race. There is no doubt.” — Jay Williams
Those in the media such as Williams, Colin Cowherd, Kendrick Perkins, etc. have gone to great lengths to declare LeBron James of the Los Angles Lakers as this season’s MVP.
ESPN’s talk show, ‘The Jump’, even went as far as to use the death of Kobe Bryant to support LeBron’s MVP campaign.
As much as LeBron’s fanbase may disagree, and as great as LeBron has been, the MVP award is rightfully Giannis’ for the taking. And it isn’t really close.
At the forefront, Giannis’ resume has all-together been more impressive.
He leads James in all box-score metrics except for assists while playing 4 fewer minutes per game. Giannis also has the advantage in advanced metrics as well, leading the NBA in more than half of them, while James doesn’t lead in a single one.
Perhaps the most conspicuous argument you may hear is surrounding LeBron’s age.
The media has developed this into a feel-good story that people have manipulated to support LeBron’s MVP validity. Don’t get me wrong; we’ve seen nobody perform at this high of a level at age 35 since Jordan. But using this as a justification to declare LeBron MVP is just ignorant. The MVP should go to who truly deserves it more.
Another common misconception that people base their support for is that he has been more valuable for his team than Giannis has.
However, when looking at who LeBron has around him, this argument is almost laughable. LeBron James’ partner-in-crime is Anthony Davis, who Lakers’ leading scorer and is a top DPOY candidate. When healthy, Davis is a top 7-8 NBA talent.
Giannis has nobody near the talent level of Davis beside him. Middleton is a serviceable secondary option, but he isn’t any superstar. ESPN has nitpicked stats such as net rating when LeBron is on versus off the floor to undermine Davis’ contributions. However, when considering how deep the Lakers are at the center position in comparison to the forward position, it’s clear that this is taken out of context.
I’m sorry, Jay Williams, but Giannis Antetokoumpo is this season’s MVP.
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images
