NBA: 10 way-too-early predictions for the 2019-20 season

LeBron James will win another NBA MVP award

Perhaps we’re beginning to see the beginning of LeBron James’ descent from a god-like basketball player to a simply great player. Perhaps he’s not on one of the most talented – from top to bottom – teams that he’s been on in years. Perhaps his sidekick, historically, can’t remain healthy for a full season.

Those are all facts, or as close to being fact as possible, one can gather from LeBron’s current situation and his last 12 months. However, I firmly believe that we might still see one historically great LeBron season. And 2019-20 is the “perfect storm” for such development.

LeBron is coming off a season in which he’s seen a significantly less workload than usual – he only played 55 games last season as the Lakers missed the playoffs. LeBron will be fresh and healthy – and possibly with a chip on his shoulder – heading into this season, and, quite frankly, I’m not sure that’s a combination of adjectives that we’ve used about LeBron heading into the season in quite a while.

Many are quick to close the book on LeBron’s prime, but I’m not sure he’s going to willingly go away quietly. My gut tells me that we could see one more LeBron “moment” before his career arc comes to an end.

If the Lakers finish as the top seed in the West, there’s no question that LeBron will have played a big part in that happening. He could be in line for his last league MVP award, and him doing it in his 17th season would be quite remarkable.