Some ask why – I ask why not.
As in: Why shouldn’t Lebron James win the NBA Finals MVP, win or lose Tuesday in game 6?
I asked the question on twitter after game 5 and got push-back immediately.
https://twitter.com/SeseMadelyn/status/610286086196207616
The King should be crowned for no other reason than the fact that a performance this great cannot go without acknowledgement. It cannot be just a historical footnote, because it’s been the main story all along.
And his case becomes even stronger if he pushes one of the best regular season teams ever, the 2014-15 Golden State Warriors, to a game 7.
LeBron has been everyone’s sole focus, including the Warriors’ brain trust. Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has used Harrison Barnes, Andre Igoudala, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Shaun Livingston and even Steph Curry to try to stop him (in contrast, Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt is only playing 6 bodies to try and help LeBron).
Only Igoudala has seen any semblance of success—and even then the only person that has really been able to stop LeBron is the under-the-basket cameraman, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time when the 260 pound James crashed on top of him.
As dangerous as the scene was, no play is a better indicator of his value. Not only did the entire arena go silent in the immediate aftermath of the incident, but the Cavs staff didn’t even opt to take James back to the locker room to stitch him up. The multiple gashes in his head were glued back together so he could get back into the game quickly.
It would be a shame if the only thing Lebron had to show for these Finals is a scar on his head.
Of course, the statistical data perhaps makes the most overwhelming case:
Multiple triple-doubles in same NBA Finals
Most points scored or assisted in single Finals game
LeBron has tied Oscar Robertson for the most 30-10-10 playoff games with 8 (with a real shot of breaking Tuesday night). No other player has more than two.
His three 30-point triple-doubles in the NBA Finals is even more impressive when you consider that since 1955, the rest of the NBA has three.
Ben Golliver of SI pointed out that the level of James’ dominance has reached both historical and humorous proportions.
Yet not everyone has been impressed with LeBron. Michael Grange, for example, has said James could do more. Some have critiqued his efficiency, while others, like Mike Foss, made the illogical argument that LeBron was by far the best player in the series—but not the most valuable. In his mind, that title was reserved for Igoudala for preventing Lebron from being even more incredible. Isn’t the best way to add value to your team by being better than everyone on the court?
Bolstering the James-for-MVP argument further is the simple fact that nobody has ever been asked to do as much.
When your usage rate is so high and you extrapolate that over such a large sample size, your efficiency is going to drop. It’s the difference between being a machine and being a human being. And make no mistake—LeBron’s is as close to a robot as we’ve ever seen.
Only once before has a non-winner taken home the Finals MVP award. In 1969 Jerry West won it, even though the Lakers lost to the Celtics – being the brilliant loser who has come amazingly close time and time again has become part of West’s legacy.
West’s Lakers faced the Celtics in the finals 6 times in the 1960’s and lost every time. The prospect of Lebron going 2-4 in the Finals would be a crack in his armour but the MVP in a loss will remove some of the culpability, as this loss was not due to his shortcomings.
So if West is the standard for being a losing MVP, how does Lebron compare?
In short: favourable.
West averaged 37.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.4 assists when he lost but won 1969 Finals MVP. LeBron James is averaging 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 8.8 assists.
Unlike Kobe Bryant, this hasn’t been a case of LeBron playing “hero ball” (code for hogging the rock). LeBron is a willing passer and uncomfortable dominating the offense, as it’s not in his nature even though it’s how the Cavs have to play to have a chance. Cleveland shot 6-of-25 from the field and 1-of-11 from 3-point range when LeBron James didn’t shoot or create a shot off a pass in game 5.
Take game 3, for example, where 39% of the Cavs FG’s were shot with 7 seconds or less on the shot clock, meaning Lebron has to pound the ball for the majority of the shot clock and then create a shot for himself or others, then play great defense. Shouldering all of that would be physically and mentally taxing.
So it is natural he’s going to tire late. In the first three quarters James is averaging 25 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists against the best regular season defence in the league. That would be great for most players as a game total.
Lebron is giving you legendary production and unprecedented value in comparison to what a replacement level player would muster. Steph Curry would be the safe MVP choice if the Warriors win and he has had moments of brilliance. He’s also had stretches where a replacement level player in Mathew Dellavedova went toe to toe with him. Lebron does not have the luxury to have momentarily lapses of simply being ordinary.
The criteria for the award, which is named after Bill Russell, is remarkably simple: Who was the most valuable player in the Finals? Not who is the most valuable in the entire playoffs. Not who was the most valuable in games his team won. Not who is the most valuable from the winning team.
From the outset, the answer was, and remains, as clear as the first time it was awarded to West back in ’69. Even if this time around we seem to have lost our way.
The sports community creates arbitrary rules that for some reason we feel compelled to follow. Two examples: If your team didn’t win, you aren’t the most valuable, and jump-shooting teams don’t win championships. This series is erasing both of those notions.
So go ahead and rid yourself of the notion that LeBron becomes disqualified from the MVP race the moment his team is disqualified from championship contention.
The King is playing out of his mind. We need to expand ours.
