[The Athletic] The Athletic’s NBA MVP Poll: A clash of the titans at the top

Rockets don’t have the record to give Harden any chance at another MVP

it’s gonna go to Giannis or Lebron even tho Lebron’s stats aren’t eye popping enough

I can only think of 1 truly remarkable game from Lebron so far this season...when he dropped 39 and 16 on the road in Dallas...Giannis, Luka, and Harden have had numerous games that surpass his best performance

 

If Lerbron keeps playing at his current level and doesn't get popped for whatever crazy PEDs he's taking he will win the MVP.

 

I think as the season goes on the narrative will shift heavily to a "Lebron vs Giannis" two man race, and will largely be decided by whoever has the better team record. The stat lines won't really matter. They won't even bother mentioning Hardens name, or anyone else besides those two. If the lakers and bucks are within a few games of each other I think the race will be close. I think Harden will finish third, he will probably get a lot of 2nd/3rd/4th place votes but close to zero 1st place votes.

 

I think Lebron gets it even if Giannis has better numbers and record -- it'll be one of those lifetime achievement type of awards for an all-time great at the end of his career. This assumes of course he keeps playing at this crazy level with 10 million miles on the odometer.

 

I don’t see LeBron winning MVP playing next to Anthony Davis.

 

Unless the Lakers fall apart, it'll go to LeBron. There's a consensus in the media that he should have 3 or 4 more MVPs than he's gotten. Since this may be his last year to win one (who knows when his decline will start?), they're going to want to give him another while they still can. Giannis has plenty of time to win more.

And Harden is Harden, so he should obviously just be happy with the one they already gave him, because God knows he cheats and ballhogs his way to those big numbers every year.

 

If Lebron keeps up his 25/7/10 while keeping Lakers at top 2 or 3 in regulation, he will get the MVP regardless of what Harden does. This will just give the clowns an excuse to talk down Harden. Lebron has two things going for him, first, he is Lebron, second, he plays for the Lakers. That's double orgasm for the media.

Also if they are looking for a fresh face for MVP, Anthony Davis or Doncic will get it.

 

I meant to add this to my post -- this is absolutely true.

 

u cpuld argue east is weaker so if u great like lbj( im talking bout gianiss here. cause lbj did the same when he was in the weak east)...u should run through. that should count against u.

n lbj has a guy on his team thats actually the better player so no he shouldnt.

 

Its the Los Angeles Lakers...I think there is more chance AD and Lebron get Co-MVP than Harden wins it.

 

the east this year is showing to be as competitive as the west. especially now that the juggernaut GS is out of the way.

and AD is not better than Lebron. That's been evident when AD was on his own all these years. there's a reason why he followed Lebron

 

he definitely has a shot the way he's playing and the Lakers remain a top team record wise. especially when the general take before all this, was that Lebron could no longer be a mvp Lebron.

 

don't get your hope up..bspn already have lebrick to win it all this year..they would rather have giantanus and that kid luka ahead of Harden.
unless we grab that 1 seed or Harden avg.40.. i don't see him winning this time..

 

Lebron is elevating ADs' play while putting up his typical numbers at the very end of his prime. Think of all those years other players were winning the MVP while Lebron was 'the best player in the world' -- he's got the sentimental vote locked up.

The wildcard in all of this is Carmelo -- he already has a player of the week award.

 

When was the last time a player won MVP playing next to another top 5 player?

 

AD's a top 5 player? not to me. that's the weird part. the general public has wanted to anoint AD as this top 5 or even best player in the world for quite a while now. What has he done to get that attention. He did very little leading his own teams. Much more losses than actual wins. He looks like he can be a Robin, which is what is going on now. But the results are still pending

 

LeBron should have won more. Jordan should have won more. When are people going to learn that this award SUCKS, plain and simple.

 

How are they possibly the best ever?

 

If you narrow down the usual MVP criteria to mean best box score numbers per 36, sure.

I’ve never been more convinced that the media serves no real purpose in the Information Age.

 

His per minute box score numbers? His current PER would be the highest on record.