All season in this space, the rankings of my running NBA Most Valuable Player ballot and the corresponding top spot for MVP have fluctuated: James Harden. Russell Westbrook. Long looks at Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Isaiah Thomas.
And right now, for good reason, Kawhi Leonard is the trending player -- another superb player having a superb season rising near the top of a very crowded, impressive and too-close-to-call MVP race.
Which means we’ve again undersold, and under-appreciated, LeBron James.
Year after year, James comes up just short. He shouldn’t. Not again. Not, at least so far this season.
My current MVP ballot, with the King sitting comfortably at the top:
LeBron James is handily the greatest player of his generation and one day might be considered the greatest of all time, but that is an argument for another day. While he already has four MVP awards, several he might have deserved have eluded him.
It would be a shame to make that mistake again. Last season, Stephen Curry was the clear non-LeBron choice, and the right one. There is no clear alternative this season, and there probably shouldn’t be. James has the Cavaliers poised to make a third straight NBA Finals and chase back-to-back championships largely because he is astoundingly great and, for anyone lucky enough to have him, valuable.
He’s averaging 26 points, and he’s still a two-way player on the level of Leonard, whose name appears soon after James’ on this list. But James also is averaging career highs in rebounds (8.2) and assists (8.8).
Career highs.
For one of the two or three greatest players in the history of the game.
It’s the second-best performance of his career shooting 3-pointers (39.8 percent), as well as second in his career in overall field-goal percentage (53.8 percent).
We have taken him for granted too often. It needs to stop. In a career year, despite the greatness of other players around the league, James is the most valuable.
It’s tight, but for now Kawhi Leonard, the rising Spurs superstar, sits just outside the top spot. He’s a two-way player whose defense alone makes him a game-changing force. And he’s still averaging 26.3 points. Thanks to his excellence the Spurs, despite losing longtime soul of the team and top 10 all-timer Tim Duncan, have the league’s second-best record. That’s the very epitome of valuable in MVP.
What can I say? Yes, the Thunder have played poorly lately, but Russell Westbrook continues to be the bright spot for an organization still reeling from Durant’s departure for Golden State. Westbrook is averaging a triple-double, something only Oscar Robertson has done for an entire NBA season. If Westbrook pulls off that statistical feat, can he really be denied an MVP? We’ll cross that bridge if and when necessary, but for now the answer is: Yes. Yes he can be denied. He’s No. 3.
I had James Harden atop the list not long ago, and his performance hasn’t changed. That speaks to how tight this race is, and how small things -- like Houston somewhat coming back to earth despite still being at the West’s No. 3 seed, or Harden’s excessive turnovers -- make a difference. The Mike D’Antoni system also helps him, but he has fallen for me simply because James and Leonard have upped their games, and Westbrook continues to keep pace with history and the Big O.
Isaiah Thomas is barely hanging on at No. 5. The Celtics guard probably should enjoy the spot, because he’s trending the wrong direction. Yes, his 29.5 points per game are still second in the NBA behind Westbrook. Yes, his fourth-quarter scoring remains phenomenal. And yes, the Celtics are still a true Eastern Conference power. But of late, he has called out his coaches, and his team has real competition from an emerging Wizards team for the East’s second seed.
Still in the hunt
John Wall is coming on strong, having powered the Wizards to real-threat status in the East. Wall is averaging career highs in points (22.6), assists (10.8) and steals (2.0), and the Wizards are just behind the Celtics for No. 2 in the East.
Anthony Davis belongs here, too, even though his team is awful. But I can’t let go of him because his talent won’t let me. He’s second in blocks per game (2.3) and fourth in scoring at 28.1.
Finally, there’s Stephen Curry. Durant had largely obscured his place in the race, but with K.D. out, Curry is a late dark-horse candidate. Anything can happen from here until April.