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LeBron James has been in the MVP race almost every year since setting foot on the court, however 2017 will be the first time since 2008 that he has not featured in the top three in the race, and this may be the only year that this makes sense.
To say LeBron has been the most dominant figure in recent NBA memory would be an understatement, and this season was no exception.
In the regular season, James racked up an impressive 26.4 points per game (ppg), 8.6 rebounds per game (rpg) and 8.7 apg assists per game (apg).
Now he is putting on a clinic in the NBA Playoffs, averaging well over 30 points per game.
It has been a truly dominant season from a player synonymous with dominant efforts. But this year is different. Through no fault of James’, three other stars are more valuable.
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the first player since the legendary Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for the entire season, with 31.6 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 10.4 apg. He also set the NBA record for the most triple-doubles in a season.
James Harden’s 29.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 11.2 apg catapulted the Houston Rockets from a 41-win team that struggled to make the playoffs last season to a 55-win team that finished third in the West.
Last but certainly not least, Kahwai Leonard’s 25.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 3.5 apg established San Antonio’s rising star as the best two-way player in the league. He led the Spurs to a second-place finish in the West, with 61 wins, reducing the loss of retired future hall of famer Tim Duncan.
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When hearing he missed out on the MVP final ballot, James says he did not know he was left off the list.
“What are you going to do about it at the end of the day?” James asked.
“My only job is to try to be the MVP for this team every night, put my teammates, put our franchise in position to be successful and ultimately compete for a championship.
“For me, I know what I bring to the table. This league knows what I bring to the table. That’s for you guys to write about. It’s not for me to be concerned about.”
LeBron is a once-in-a-generation player. Someone who has transcended the game in a way we haven’t seen since the famous 23 in Chicago.
As he said, we all know what he brings to the table. He even improved this year, averaging a career-best in rebounds, assists and three-point percentage.
But was he the most valuable regular season player?
The answer is no.
If you took James, Harden, Westbrook and Leonard off their respective teams, arguably the Cavs would still be a damaging playoff team. They still have two other All Star calibre players in Kevin Love and Melbourne-born Kyrie Irving.
But if the Spurs, Thunder and Rockets lost their MVP finalists, in the stacked Western Conference, none of these teams would have come close to finishing where they did.
If the MVP also considered the Playoff and Finals campaigns, James would leapfrog all three – he has been at his clinical best.
But for the regular season, he was, unfortunately, the one to miss out.
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