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Los Angeles Lakers: Why LeBron James is the 2019-2020 NBA MVP

By Zane Harris

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on February 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 08: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game at Chase Center on February 08, 2020 in San Francisco, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Los Angeles Lakers
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With the NBA season suspended due to the coronavirus, here is why LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers should be the NBA MVP.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is one of the front-runners to win the 2019-2020 NBA MVP award. It looked as if he was about to go on a dominant run to close out the season with wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers.

These are two of the best teams in the entire league and the Lakers dismantled them both with the help of two dominant performances from James. With the Lakers finishing with the best record in the stacked Western Conference, along with the amazing stat line that LeBron put together on the year, it could be enough to bring home his fifth MVP award.

Here is  LeBron’s competition and their case for MVP, LeBron’s case to win the award, and what it would mean for LeBron’s legacy will all be analyzed.

LeBron’s Competition and The Case For MVP

The way the MVP race is shaping up towards the end of the year, it has dwindled to a two-man race. The two players left contending for Most Valuable Player are LeBron James and his competition, Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Giannis has a very strong case to win MVP and it would not be unrealistic to believe that he will be the one taking home the trophy. Giannis is the leader of the team with the best overall record in the NBA.

Arguably, Giannis has a weaker supporting cast than LeBron as the next best player on the team, Khris Middleton is much worse than Anthony Davis, however, the rest of the Buck’s supporting cast as a whole has played better than the Lakers supporting cast.

The stat line that Antetokounmpo has put together on the year has been unreal. On the season he has averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals a game. He scored these points per game on 54.7% shooting and an effective field goal percentage of 58.3%.

In any season these would be almost impossible numbers to compete with, especially coming from the best player on the best team in the league record-wise. Antetokounmpo is also in contention for winning defensive player of the year which only helps his case for winning MVP.

James is nowhere near winning that award speaking to the difference between the two on the defensive end. In terms of having a good story behind an MVP win which is very important for any candidate Giannis is a foreign-born player.

Having him as an MVP winner would further push the global reach of the game. On top of this, it would give a young superstar his second consecutive MVP award and could effectively make him the player who will be passed the torch from LeBron after he retires as the face of the NBA.

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