Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James Could Still Win MVP, With The NBPA Players Voice Awards

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James could still win MVP at the NBPA Players Voice Awards.

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar small forward LeBron James may still have a chance to win MVP award, even if it’s not with the traditional NBA Awards that are voted on by 100 independent media members. How is that possible? With the “NBPA Players Voice Awards“, which is a lot like the NBA Awards except the votes are cast by the players instead of the media.

Considering that respect from their peers is seen as more important than respect from the media, some players may even place more value on these awards.

In 2015, Durant had this to say about award voting during the All-Star Break:

"“I think media gets too much power to vote on stuff, quite frankly, that you don’t know a lot about, as much as we [players] know about it”"

In 2015, as Stephen Curry won the NBPA award for Clutch Performer, he had this to say about it:

"“I pride myself on being ready for those moments,” Curry said while receiving the Clutch award. “It means a lot to be recognized by my colleagues.”"

Said Chris Paul, president of the NBPA and organizer of the inaugural awards ceremony that aired in 2015, the award show “is about us players“.

I was reminded about the possibility of James winning the NBPA award for MVP when reading a quote transcribed by Jason Lloyd of The Athletic.

Tristan on LeBron: "He should be the MVP, but I heard your guys’ votes are in already. So damn. That sucks. He’s the MVP. Best player."
— Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) April 23, 2017

“Your guys’ votes” is the part of this statement that sticks out like a sore thumb. Not that James is literally the most valuable player (MVP) in the league or the best player in the world. After all, James has been the best player in the league, without a doubt, for the entirety of this decade.

In 2015, when Stephen Curry won his first NBA MVP award it was actually James Harden who won the NBPA MVP award.

In 2015, a season where the MVP battle was a tight two-man race between Harden and Curry, Curry won the NBA MVP award based largely on his otherwordly shooting ability, breaking the record for most three-pointers made in a season while averaging 23.8 points, 7.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field, 44.3 percent from three-point range and 91.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Harden didn’t break any NBA records but he averaged 27.4 points, 7.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 44.0 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from three-point range and 86.8 percent from the free-throw line.

If a situation occurs where Russell Westbrook wins NBA MVP, largely due to the sensationalized narrative surrounding him breaking Oscar Robertson’s long-standing triple-double record, it’s possible that it will be James Harden who wins the NBPA MVP again as, like in 2015, comparable stats to the MVP frontrunner.

However, knowing that this isn’t all about the statistics and players seem to put more stock in facets of the game without objective measures than the media, James also has a chance.

More from LeBron James

Coming into the season as the NBA champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers have had a bullseye on their back from Day One. Being the best player in the world, James has had a bullseye on his back as well.

Nonetheless, despite all the hoopla made about their seeding before the playoffs and the ups and downs of their season, James led his team through a drama-filled, injury-plagued season with the targets on their backs and still has what was always indisputably the best team in the Eastern Conference.

He poked and prodded the front office, teammates and even the coaching staff to nudge them in the right direction. They needed a third ball-handler, preferably a backup big, toughness and to stop telling him to rest.

None of the other MVP candidates have done what James has done, to be honest. However, he’s done what they’re doing. Like Kawhi Leonard, he’s the best two-way player on the team. Like Harden, he’s the best point generator for the team. Like Westbrook, there are a lot of times when James looks like he’s a one-man army on the court.

When have Leonard, Harden or Westbrook led their teams through injuries, drama and targets on their backs while giving the front office, teammates and the coaching staff direction?

James, in ways the other candidates have yet to learn how to do, also has managed to elevate the status of just about every player that became his teammate.

Kyle Korver was basically given to the Cavs as he looked like he was at the end of his rope with the Atlanta Hawks. Channing Frye was a forgotten man in Orlando. J.R. Smith now plays like a heady basketball player and Iman Shumpert was on fire from behind the arc before the All-Star Break. Derrick Williams and former Cav DeAndre Liggins looked better playing beside James than they had at any point in their career. He’s even learned how to let Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love shine.

However, what may give James the best chance to win the NBPA MVP award is that the players votes aren’t in yet and every other MVP candidate is having trouble in the first round.

Despite his stellar play, Leonard’s team is tied 2-2 with the Memphis Grizzlies. Harden and Westbrook are facing off in the first round and have had a couple of bad games apiece. However, Westbrook’s Thunder are in danger of losing in the first round, already down 3-1 in their series against the Houston Rockets.

James just swept Paul George and the Indiana Pacers out of the playoffs with averages of 32.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 9.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 54.3 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from three-point range.

His next opponents aren’t expected to fare much better because this is the point of the season where James proves he’s MVP. James is out there playing bully-ball with a bunch of kids. At least, that’s how it looks when he’s on the court.

If he maintains this level of play, by the time the players votes are in he could very well emerge as the frontrunner for MVP. Right now, you can’t tell me there’s another player more valuable than James.

Do you think LeBron James has a chance to win the NBPA MVP award? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.

*All statistics referenced from www.basketball-reference.com