Why LeBron James is the NBA’s MVP

When someone is consistently excellent at something, we begin to take it for granted. It’s simply human nature, as greatness is seemingly overlooked in today’s world. This is mainly due to us always looking for someone or something new to obsess our lives over.

In the case of the 2014/15 NBA MVP though, the excellence and greatness of one LeBron James simply cannot be overlooked but the sad reality is that it probably will be. James’ abilities on the basketball court have been viewed millions of times by hoops heads everywhere, that his stat line of 25.8 points a game, 7.3 assists a game and 5.8 rebounds a game doesn’t even seem impressive anymore. This, of course, is an unfair statement to make, as James isn’t measured against the rest of the NBA. Instead, his play is now put up against his previous years of dominance. This is the main reason why James’ name hasn’t been thrown around in the MVP discussion as much as it deserves to be.

Stephen Curry, James Harden and Russell Westbrook seem to be the leading candidates for the MVP award and for good reason. Curry has lead his Warriors to the number one seed in the brutal Western Conference, Harden has taken his game to the next level and Westbrook has been a stat-sheet stuffer all season long. All of these qualities that this trio has displayed this season is MVP worthy but none of them make as much of an impact on their team as James does. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal gave his thoughts on why James has been the most valuable player this season:

"“Yet if the true definition of the MVP is a player’s value to his franchise, how is he (James) not the overwhelming favorite? The Cavs are 43-17 with him in the lineup and 2-9 without him. He has resurrected an entire franchise — an entire region — just by showing up.”"

Lloyd hits the nail on the head here- James’ presence in Cleveland this season has completely turned the team around. The Cavs record with/without James is truly telling when building his MVP case. When James has played, Cleveland has looked like the championship contender everyone expects them to be. When he doesn’t play though, everything falls apart. The offense becomes out of sync, the defense isn’t as aggressive and the Cavs loss that edge that has led them to so many victories this season. James is also the leader of this squad and when the team’s leader is out, players can get into rough situations.

It isn’t just when James simply does or doesn’t play. The Cavaliers take a major hit when James is on the court and when he is having a breather on the bench. James has an incredible NET rating of +16.6 this season. When he is on the court, the offense rating is 115.9, the largest in the league by a far margin. When he sits, that number dips to 105.0, a 10.9 difference. On the defensive end of the floor, the Cavs have a defensive rating of 106.6 when James is on the court and a rating of 112.3 when he is off it, resulting in a 5.7 difference. Neither of those defensive efficiency ratings are good but the difference James makes is the difference between a respectful defense and a downright atrocious one. For comparison, Curry’s NET rating this season is +16.2, Harden’s is +11.3 and Westbrook’s is +9.7. This proves that out of the MVP candidates, James makes the biggest on/off court difference of the bunch.

I touched earlier on how the Cavs offense looks a whole lot better when James is on the court and this is proven when looking at the numbers. The Cavaliers effective FG% when James is on the court is at a 53.2% rate but when he sits, that number dips to 47.7%, a 5.5% difference. Another major area on the offense where James positively affects the offense is fast break points and points off turnovers. Cleveland has scored 814 points off turnovers when James has been on the court this season, compared to just 391 when he is off the court. The fast break point total also takes a hit when James is resting, as the Cavs have scored 704 with him on the floor and just 180 when he is off. Cleveland also plays with a better pace with James on the floor, as they have a 95.07 pace with him on compared to a 94.84 pace with him off. These numbers show us how much more effective the offense is when James is on the floor, as he takes and creates better shots for himself and his teammates and he also pushes the pace and gets the Cavs out in transition. While Curry, Harden and Westbrook all have a positive impact on their respective teams offense, James is a more valuable piece to Cleveland’s offense then the other MVP candidates are.

James is also making a positive impact on the defensive end on the floor in Cleveland this season. The Cavs defensive has taken a serious turn for the better ever since Timofey Mozgov came to town but lets not discount the impact that James has had all season long. In isolation situations, James has been excellent. Opponents only shoot 30.2% from the field when being defended by James in isolation situations and their turnover frequency goes to 8.0%- the same percentage as their free throw frequency when being defended by James. It isn’t just in isolation situations where James has stood out though. Overall, players only manage a 42.8% field goal percentage when being defended by James. The usual field goal percentage of shooters that James is guarding is 44.6%, resulting in a -1.7% difference between the players usual shooting percentage and shooting percentage when being guarded by James.

As I mentioned earlier, James is unquestionable Cleveland’s leader and this makes a considerable difference on the defensive end of the floor. Defense is all about communication and trusting one another and none of that would be possible without a vocal leader- exactly what James is. When James is on the floor, the defense is more active, as he is constantly communicating to his teammates and making sure they’re in the correct position at the correct time. James’ innate combination of agility, basketball IQ, strength and quickness is something that no one in the league can match. James carries so much of a load offensively for Cleveland that his defense is sometimes overlooked but that shouldn’t be the case. Neither Curry, Harden nor Westbrook can impact the game on the defensive end as James does and the MVP voters must take this into account.

Another important aspect that needs to be looked at when breaking down James’ MVP case is that fact he is doing all of this with a new team. Continuity is a crucial part of success in the NBA, as it takes time for a new team to build the chemistry needed to win a championship. Curry, Harden and Westbrook have all been around their current teams for years now, which makes James’ season even more special.

James has been operating at this sensational level while trying to fit Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love into the offense, adjusting to David Blatt and figuring out a new defensive system. James has excelled at doing all of this and more, as he has helped Irving to take his game to the next level, been a pivotal part in helping Love adjust to his new role and he has even removed JR Smith’s bad habits and has gotten the best out of him. Numbers can’t calculate all of the good James has done in the Cavalier locker-room this season and with the expectations that are always placed on James’ shoulders, his season just looks better and better.

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Curry, Harden and Westbrook have all had great seasons but none of them has been as valuable to their teams as James has. The on court numbers speak for themselves and James’ impact in the locker-room cannot be measured. James probably won’t win the MVP, as the voters usually like to see someone new take the crown. This doesn’t mean James hasn’t been the most valuable player in the NBA this season though.

James is already a 4 time NBA MVP but this season has been his most valuable.

Next: Cavs Should Rest Kevin Love

Do you think LeBron James is this seasons MVP? Let us know in the comments!

All stats courtesy of NBA.com and 82games.com