MVP: LeBron James
The 14-time All-Star is my favorite to take home his fifth MVP trophy. The Los Angeles Lakers are expected to make a tremendous improvement from last year’s 35-win season. No one will be more instrumental in the shift than LeBron James.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
With a host of talent around him, and his desire to get L.A.’s young scorers involved in the offense, we could see King James average double digits in assists for the first time in his career.
Sixers big man Joel Embiid may disagree, as he’s already put in a bid for the award this season. Although his game has surely improved during the offseason, he still has some work to do in order to dominate at the MVP level. Meanwhile, LeBron will be proving his worth if he gets the Lakers into the postseason for the first time in five seasons.
Russell Westbrook is always a viable candidate if he averages another triple-double for the season, but OKC’s spot in the standings could hurt his chances.
The same could be said about Harden as the Rockets are expected to get off to a slow start, implementing Melo into the offense. Kevin Durant and Steph Curry will probably steal votes from one another, not to mention voters will most likely penalize the duo thanks to the addition of DeMarcus Cousins to the Warriors roster.
Unless Anthony Davis or Giannis Antetokounmpo have a record-breaking season, this award is LeBron’s for the taking.