It’s hard to believe that LeBron James is 40 years old. The legendary superstar is still playing at an elite level in this league. In fact, if you look at his current stats this season, he is putting up better numbers than Derrick Rose did in his 2010-11 MVP-winning season when he put a stop to James’ three-peating as the MVP.
LeBron James in 2024-25 season: 24.7 points, 8.7 assists, 7.8 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks per game. 52.0% FG, 39.6% 3-PM, 76.8% FT, 61.0% TS.
Derrick Rose in 2010-11 season: 25.0 points, 7.7 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks per game. 44.5% FG, 33.2% 3-PM, 85.8% FT, 55.0% TS
Outside of his scoring numbers and free-throw percentage, James leads Rose’s MVP season in every major statistical category. This provides some perspective as to how competitive the NBA race has become in the modern era. In 2011, James’ stats would be enough to earn him the MVP award. But in 2025, he doesn’t rank in the top 3 candidates for the award.
For comparison, LeBron James missed out on the chance to earn his third consecutive MVP award, despite averaging 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 51.0% from the field, 33.0% from the three-point line, 75.9% from the free-throw line, and 59.4% true shooting.
Rose helped the Chicago Bulls earn the first overall seed in 2011 with a 62-20, and that played a big factor in him winning the NBA MVP over LeBron James, who helped the Miami Heat secure the second seed in the East with a 58-24 record. Even though James had the better stats in almost every major category outside of assists, three-point percentage, and free-throw percentage.
James’ numbers today, much like his numbers back then, are more impressive than Rose’s. Not only does it show how much Rose’s MVP win was impacted by voter fatigue over LeBron James winning twice already, but also the fact that Rose and the Chicago Bulls had the best record in the NBA.
Whereas right now, the numbers James is averaging don’t put him close to the NBA award. Currently, Nikola Jokic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the two frontrunners for the MVP award this season.
Jokic is averaging a triple-double this season with 29.2 points, 12.6 rebounds, 10.4 assists while shooting 57.5% from the field, 44.5% from the three-point line, 82.1% from the free-throw line with 66.3% TS. As for Shai, he averages 32.4 points, 6.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 52.4% from the field, 36.4% from deep, and 89.3% from the stripe with 64.2% TS.
These numbers show just how competitive the race for the MVP has become. Despite LeBron James putting up numbers similar to those he was in his prime, it still isn’t enough to get him close to the MVP race.
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