At what point does individual greatness weigh more than team success? For LeBron James and the Lakers, that is among the biggest questions this season as they continue to battle for their playoff lives.
As a team, the Lakers have been borderline unwatchable at times, especially at the beginning of the season when they started 2-8 through the first 10 games. They have been playing much better lately, and Anthony Davis is finally healthy, but nobody is predicting a Finals run for this Lakers team, and many are unsure if they’ll even come out of the play-in.
At the same time, LeBron James has been having an all-time great individual season. At 38 years old, in his 20th campaign, he’s averaging 29.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 7 assists per game on 50.7% shooting.
Can LeBron James Win MVP This Season?
LeBron’s stats would be MVP numbers on a higher-seeded team, and that’s exactly the point former NBA big man Tristan Thompson tried to make on NBA Today.
“If the Lakers and LeBron can go 8-10 and get to the 6th or 7th seed he’s got to be in the MVP conversation. In year 20, scoring the way that he is scoring, holding the fort down while AD’s out.”
It was an interesting take from Tristan, who won a title with James in Cleveland. Unfortunately, it didn’t hold up to scrutiny from Kendrick Perkins, who responded with an epic rant on why James can never be the MVP this season.
“When you talk about the MVP conversation we can’t crown anybody that’s 23-26 and talk about if they get to the 7th spot they are gonna be in the MVP conversation. We could say that about Damian Lillard, we could say that about SGA with Oklahoma City. As a matter of fact, they are sitting ahead of the Lakers and LeBron James right now. The race is too much they have too many candidates that’s at the top of the chart for us to say, ‘if LeBron gets on a magical run and gets the 7th or 8th spot he should be considered in the MVP conversation.’ Like, what are we talking about? This Lakers team is set up on championship or bust. “
You don't want to miss this LeBron take from @RealTristan13 👀 pic.twitter.com/L5C4amHiN6
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) January 27, 2023
It’s rare for an MVP winner to fall outside the top three in their conference, but it has happened before. In the case of LeBron and the Lakers, however, their standing at 13th in the West just isn’t good enough.
We will see how the Lakers finish and if they make any moves at the deadline, but the MVP is probably out of reach for LeBron at this point… or is it?
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
