He's the best player on Earth. He's chasing Michael Jordan's legacy, the Golden State Warriors' attempt at NBA hegemony, and a shot at having as many or more NBA Most Valuable Player Awards as anyone who has played the game.
LeBron James has four. The record is six. He's 31 years old. Which means he most likely needs to win the award again this season to have a chance at that history.
Here's how he does it:
1. Lead the Cavaliers to the league's best record: This is the big one. With Kevin Durant heading to the 73-win regular season Warriors, James would have a near-unassailable case if it turned out his team -- and not the highfalutin super squad out west -- posted the league's best record.
For starters, it would greatly defy expectations, and the credit surely would go to the King. Las Vegas likes the Warriors for about 66 wins. They see Cleveland getting about 56. That's a huge gulf. If LeBron helps his team bridge it, another trophy can adorn his mantel.
Oh, and the Warriors can help. Sometimes super teams take some time to find their rhythm. Expectations, at least early on, aren't easy to meet. LeBron knows this better than anyone. The Miami Heat's first Big Three team started 9-8. If the Warriors flounder before figuring it out, the MVP race opens wide -- if James can push his teammates to shake off a championship hangover and play like hell every single night.
2. The Warriors help him out: The Warriors can help by doing more than losing enough games. For starters, Durant and Curry sharing the ball and the spotlight might be good for their team, but it would also aid LeBron's MVP quest.
If neither Warrior emerges as the clear star, they'll share more than the ball: They'll also split votes on the MVP ballot. And that, as we all know in an election year, can only help a candidate competing against them.
There's also the very real fact that LeBron was put out by Steph Curry's MVP-winning season -- and the adulation, the love, the idea Curry ruled the league. LeBron openly scoffed at it. The motivation, coupled with James' competitive spirit in the face of Durant joining a team he's surely learning to hate, might motivate him on those random January Tuesday night games to play like he still has something to prove.
3. Own the narrative: No NBA player, or perhaps athlete, better understands the power of narrative more than LeBron James. He has resurrected Cleveland's hopes, melded his sport brand to his views on social justice (The ESPYs call for unity), the political (endorsing Hillary Clinton) and the realm of acting and Hollywood (roles playing himself, and his own surging production company).
Yet, for all his star wattage, LeBron was overshadowed last season by the Warriors, Curry, their flurry of threes and those record-setting 73 wins. Writers are attracted to storylines and interesting tales, and they also vote for the MVP. LeBron needs to command the NBA narrative in a way he could not last season.
Winning more games than Golden State squad helps, but so does delivering a tantalizing season, being engaging and likable, and owning news cycle after news cycle -- something LeBron does with ease when he chooses to.
4. Bring home the stats: Finally, LeBron needs to own the numbers game. Curry's record-setting 3-point spree was gist for MVP votes last season.
LeBron's remarkably deep and nuanced game means he doesn't, say, have to lead the league in scoring. But he does need to bring home big numbers to attract those voters who fixate on them in picking the best player in the land. Analytics impacts not only front offices, but also writers, so moving up in the most comfortable new-fangled stat would help. And that's Player Efficiency Rating. Last year LeBron was an impressive fourth behind Steph Curry, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (his chief foes for the MVP this season) in PER. He needs to do better. Many voters look at that category and see a benchmark for excellence that sets the baseline of their thinking, silly as it may be.
LeBron was fifth in scoring last season, and I'm certainly not suggesting he needs to make a run at a scoring title. That's not his game, nor necessary. But stats matter. Move up in the triple-double sweepstakes (he was sixth last year with three -- Westbrook had 18), pour in some 40-point nights, and generally look to the scoreboard during games and the box score afterward for motivation. He did that his first year in Miami. Why not again?
LeBron, in the Finals, was able to be superhuman, and the numbers reflected it. Channel that energy a little more often and the MVP can be his yet again.
