The Cleveland Cavaliers have cruised through the playoffs to this point, sweeping their way into the Eastern Conference Finals - and LeBron James has been the biggest reason why.
The King is currently playing some of the best basketball in his illustrious career, averaging a playoff career-high 34.4 points per game along with 9.0 rebounds and 7.1 assists. He also already had a triple-double in the postseason, which came in Cleveland's record-tying 26-point comeback victory against the Pacers.
Plain and simple, in front of our eyes, LeBron is showing us one thing. The thing we already know.
He's the best player in basketball.
There is no close second. And, although he won't, he's proving on a nightly basis that he is the MVP of the NBA.
Don't believe me? Let's look at the other MVP candidates and how they've fared when the games matter the most.
Kawhi Leonard, who some think has replaced LeBron as the best two-way player in the league, just had his team win an elimination game on the road by 39 points. Clearly, they need his "value" to perform well.
Of course, his Spurs beat James Harden's Rockets because James Harden seemingly forgot how to play basketball. Houston needed Harden's best in their most important game of the season, and instead, he had his worst performance since the 2012 NBA Finals. That's not MVP-caliber.
Russell Westbrook is the odds-on favorite to win the MVP award for averaging a triple-double, but his team barely finished in the top half of the Western Conference and were easily bounced in the first round, winning just one game. Last I checked, an MVP is supposed to lead his team to wins, which Westbrook didn't do consistently.
LeBron's detractors will say that he has more help than any of those players. The numbers - the facts - disagree.
LeBron is one of three players on the Cavs that are averaging at least nine points per game in the playoffs. One of the other two (Kevin Love) is posting playoff career lows across the board and the other (Kyrie Irving) is shooting below 40 percent from the field and just 28.1 percent from three-point range.
Not much help there.
Another one of James' detractors, Draymond Green, said that LeBron and the Cavs have been doing so well because they "haven't played anybody" yet. It's a common refrain from many people when discussing the Eastern Conference, and it's one that's not entirely accurate.
Cleveland has played the Pacers (42-20) and Raptors (51-31) in the first two rounds of the playoffs, while Golden State has played the Trail Blazers (41-41) and Jazz (51-31). So, not only have the Cavs played teams with slightly better records than their Western Conference counterparts, but Cleveland's opponents had a better point differential during the regular season than Golden State's playoff opponents - meaning Cleveland has actually played the more difficult schedule.
Simply put, James has taken his game to another level (against very good competition) while the rest of his teammates are struggling. And by doing so, he has the defending champions looking as dominant as ever.
That's why he's the real MVP.
Follow our Cleveland Cavaliers news page for all the latest Cavs news!
Back to the Cleveland Cavaliers Newsfeed