LeBron wins MVP

[The Regime]

MIAMI -- Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA's MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game's all-time greats.

 

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year's winner of the league's top individual honor, and that he'll be formally presented with the trophy by Commissioner David Stern on Sunday afternoon before Miami hosts Indiana in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

 

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results.

 

James is winning the award for the third time in four seasons. Only seven other players -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone -- have at least three MVP trophies.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/7920762/report-miami-heat-lebron-james-announced-nba-mvp-saturday

Edited May 11, 2012 by Simba

[NomarFachix]

Deserved it.

[Make It Naaaashty]

Well deserved. The man is a beast literally.

[SRV]

Yeaa....i hope the fans don't chant it too much because I noticed that he missed 1 of 2 FT attempts every time we chanted MVP in the 1st round.

Edited May 11, 2012 by SRV

[ChosenOne]

Tough break for Durant. I think if OKC would have held the first spot in the West it would have been his. I wanted Parker to win it but i knew it wasnt going to happen.

 

Regardless LeBron had an amazing year and deserved it fo sho.

[Illuminati]

He deserved it. He's by the far the closest thing we'll get to MJ in forever. What a talent.

[The Regime]

He deserved it. He's by the far the closest thing we'll get to MJ in forever. What a talent.

 

LOL.

[EastCoastNiner]

LOL.

 

Jealousy at its finest.

[Real Deal]

Closer to Magic than MJ (more athletic and more scoring, but less passing), if we're comparing him to legends. Probably Robertson, but I never saw him play live.

 

LBJ doesn't even play like Jordan...completely different style.

 

I really wonder just how many message board posters have ever watched 80's and early 90's basketball, real talk. I would love to know a percentage...would be interesting...and I'm not talking highlights, I'm talking live TV.

 

Almost every basketball player who has defended Kobe and/or MJ, retired or not, will tell you that Kobe is the closest to MJ in regards to overall abilities and style of play. It shouldn't be debated...just nonsense if it is.

 

----------

 

Regarding the MVP, it was going to be LeBron's before the final month of the season began. In fact, many could have predicted this back in December. Durant can put up his big offensive numbers, but he's not the defender LeBron is.

 

From where I stand, I'm on the fence. LeBron is the best player in the NBA, if you take in his overall numbers and efficiency. Still can't say he has a complete game with no holes, but the numbers (and his defensive play) place him on top.

 

However, I hate that the MVP goes to a player with another superstar teammate, plus an all-star teammate. If it was using MY definition, then yes, LeBron wins it because I would give it to the best player every single year, don't care about their teammates or their record (nobody touched Kobe in 2006, but he didn't get MVP)...but if Kobe/Shaq have two combined because they played together, it's sad to see LeBron win his third, despite his two exceptionally-good teammates.

 

I really wish they would just rename the award the "Most Valuable Teammate" award. Nobody can convince me that Rose was the best player in the league last year...so if he won it because he didn't have much to work with (so they say), why isn't he getting it again having nearly the same exact team, and once again winning the Eastern Conference and having the best record in the league?

[Flash]

LeBron ain't MJ, totally different beast but well deserved and glad a Heat player finally wins an MVP. Means nothing though if we don't win a ring.

[Cleveland's Finest]

Parker should've won it.

 

How many years now have people said the Spurs have no chance at being a contender in the West?

 

If anything, the Heat played below expectations. Remember all of that 60-6 talk at the beginning of the year? Also, Parker lead 2 double digit winning streaks, which is impressive.

[Flash]

Parker should've won it.

 

How many years now have people said the Spurs have no chance at being a contender in the West?

 

If anything, the Heat played below expectations. Remember all of that 60-6 talk at the beginning of the year? Also, Parker lead 2 double digit winning streaks, which is impressive.

 

http://lounge.moviecodec.com/images/attachment/the-hst-peace-thread-22732.jpg

[Cleveland's Finest]

Again, you continue to be a hypocrite. Keep trolling.

[Check my Stats]

Don't think anyone is saying LBJ plays like MJ, if they are then they are idiots. I think they are saying he is the closest thing we will see to MJ in terms of sheer dominance and effectiveness, which is a fair thing to say IMO (though still well below, just closest).

 

Congrats though. It's tough to give a guy who plays with 2 other stars the MVP, not a fan, but he was just so much better than anyone else he couldn't be deprived of this award. Plus, statistically, Wade didn't put up superstar numbers so it was easier to give it to LBJ.

 

Also, if you are going to hold Wade/Bosh against LBJ, then you can't really justify giving it to KD. Russel Westbrook and James Harden are incredibly comparable (if not better at this point, let's not sell Harden short), not to mention the other quality players on their teams.

[Real Deal]

I can't really say Westbrook is better than Wade, or Harden better than Bosh. I've seen what Bosh can do by himself, but not Harden...and I won't bother talking about Wade and Westbrook.

 

But, again, LeBron deserves it if the definition of the award changes to the best player in the league (doesn't have the complete game, but the magnitude of what he DOES do makes up for it)...it's just tough for me to hand it to him after seeing guys like Nash and Rose (comparable to Parker this season) and Dirk (comparable to Durant) winning it for being the best players on the best teams in the league, yet not putting up incredible numbers OR playing defense...and the kicker is the Kobe/Shaq issue, which has turned me away from the award for years, even when Kobe won his first.

[SRV]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5m6GL28GiM

[Cleveland's Finest]

I was very impressed during his first acceptance when he had the whole team come on stage at his old high school to accept the award...but this below sums up how meaningless his word were.

 

Edited May 12, 2012 by Cleveland's Finest

[Flash]

I was very impressed during his first acceptance when he had the whole team come on stage at his old high school to accept the award...but this below sums up how meaningless his word were.

 

 

 

 

http://1.asset.soup.io/asset/1522/7297_3688.gif

 

[Oliver P]

The first thing I would like to say in this thread is that LeBron James definitely deserves to be MVP this year. There is no doubt about that. Although I have to admit that I have a problem with LeBron as the MVP which is that I think that Durant would have deserved it even more.

 

First of all I want to make it clear that I am not an anti LeBron, a LeBron "hater" (or anyone hater for that matter) so that is not why Durant was still my 1st choice for MVP this year. As I said above I have no problem with the pick of LeBron, he definitely deserves it (just like Paul, you could not go wrong with Durant, James and Paul for MVP this year, no doubt about that) but I just think Durant would have deserved it "a bit" more.

 

Why ? For a very simple reason : because MVP does not mean the most talented player of the league but the Most Valuable Player. Not the same thing at all.. And in order to get this trophy you need three things : first you need to play in a top team, second you need to be a top player of at the same time your team and the entire league and third you need to show how important (valuable) you are to your team. LeBron has those things (which is why I agree he deserves it), but so does Durant. And there's an important thing for me that shows that Durant would have deserved it more, it's that he is more valuable to his team.

 

Let's face it, without James the Heat would still be a top team in the league with Wade and Bosh (they were a top 5 team in the East with Dwayne alone, surrounded by a bunch of role players and washed up veterans before the arrival of James and Bosh) while without Durant the Thunder would certainly not be. I certainly do not think that they would suck at the same time, I believe they still would be a playoffs team (although in the West it's far from being certain.. they'd be a playoffs candidate at least) but they would have 0 chance to win a ring.. or even to make it to the second round. While the Heat could still make the NBA Finals. So Durant clearly is more valuable to his team than James is.

 

Besides there is another point to take in consideration, it is that Durant has already shown that he is already a better leader than LeBron, this despite being way younger. Sure LeBron is more talented overall, he is the most talented player in the league (but not by miles though, players like Rose, Durant, Paul, Howard or Kobe (who's clearly not washed up yet contrary to what some people might think) are right behind him) but talent is not everything. And even if James has both the stats and the team results to be MVP, he does not have the "attitude". What I mean by the is that I will always have trouble to give this award to a second option. Which James exactly is.

 

Yes because even if I think that all the hate that LeBron received because things like the decision and other "off the court" stuff is totally ludicrous (I could care less about all this) it's still important to consider that James has flaws, which a lot of people seem to totally bypass.. Actually that reminds me to what I told a Cavs fan (with whom I had a discussion) once, with LeBron you either have haters who only focus about his bad sides or lovers who only focus on his good sides. Personally I try to be as objective as possible..

Anyway I heard a lot of people saying that the problem with LeBron is that he still is ringless and that he will instantly get more consideration once he wins a ring.. But I am sorry but no, in LeBron's case it's not a matter of ring. I said it many times anyway, teams win rings in the game of basketball, it is a collective game, no one will ever win alone. Rings are not the problem here. If the Heat won a ring last year there is no way I would think differently about LeBron cause what matters the most is that he just did not play like a leader, and actually never did during all his career.

 

The problem here is that LeBron is no leader material. He is a Pippen, not a Jordan (which is very good nonetheless). He is a second option. And he has to accept it. Jordan was over criticized before he started to win a ring, and it all stopped once he started to win, that is true, but it was WAY different cause Jordan showed as soon as his first years in the league that he was a true leader. That he was not afraid to take the last shot, that he was not afraid to take his reponsibilities. He scared the mighty Celtics (when he was still only a second year player) ALL BY HIMSELF, and Larry Bird even said that it was God disguised as Michael Jordan that day, then he destroyed the franchise of Cleveland ALL BY HIMSELF thanks to The Shots Part I and Part II, he never ever gave up and the only reason why he didn't win earlier was because he didn't have the right teammates.. And when Pippen and Grant finally matured and that Jordan was finally correctly surrounded, he finally won a ring. But we already knew who he was before that.

 

Just like we know who James is. Yes he is the most talented player in the league but he is not a leader, he is no clutch, he is not cold blooded... We saw that once again the whole year just like we saw that once again in the game 2 against Indiana. Funny cause when LeBron went to the free throw line I said to myself : "I am sure he is gonna miss them both.." No lie. He is not a leader. That is a fact now. Not only that but he even quit on his teams many times, something that Jordan would have never done... A ring will not change anything. Pippen has six rings too. But no one considers him as the best player or even a top 10 players of all time.. Yet Pippen was as talented, and actually maybe even MORE talented than Jordan (yes he was a better shooter, defender (very close though), passer, rebounder than Mike.. way more versatile, Mike was only better at scoring). So why most people think that Jordan is the best player ever and that Pip is not even a top 10 players ? Simple : Pippen was just not clutch, no leader material, while Jordan was a true leader and is one of the most clutch players ever (the only one I could put over him is Larry Bird), which is why a case can't simply even be made for Pippen over Jordan. Talent is not everything.

 

So rings will not change the fact that LeBron simply is not a leader. And that despite his huge talent it will always be impossible to compare to the Jordans, Magics, Birds, Ervings, etc... Cause he just is not in the same category. LeBron can become the best lieutenant ever (along with Pippen and Robinson) but no more than that. And in order to win a ring he's gonna have to accept that role now. And to let Wade be the first option. Just like KG accepted that Pierce was the first option in Boston (despite the fact that Garnett is definitely more talented than PP).

 

And that's another reason why Durant would have deserved even more than LeBron to be MVP this year in my opinion, because, even if Kevin still has a lot to prove as a leader as well, at least he has shown that he was clutch, and was never afraid to take the last shot. He never shirked his responsibilities at least. And let's not forget too that his team won one more game despite the fact that the Heat are overall more talented as well.

 

So congratulations to LeBron James, again he deserves this award (I am not denying that) but yes, I definitely think that Durant would have deserved it more.

[Nitro]

LeBron was the easy choice.

 

Every year the MVP tends to go to the best player on one of the top 3-4 teams. There are exceptions; usually players who dominate on teams that seems to overachieve to an elite record. AI, Nash and Rose come to mind. However you want to slice it, that's the way the award tends to go.

 

Durant had a terrific season, but he's still a clear step below LeBron. Besides that, Westbrook and Harden had two healthy, unbelievable seasons...Westbrook had arguably a better year statistically than Wade, while Harden's advance stats were ridiculous this season. Wade missed nearly half the season, and Bosh missed some games as well. If OKC had a big advantage record-wise over Miami, Durant would have a case, but they won only one more game. LeBron also does so much more fot the Heat than Durant does for the Thunder...LeBron is the primary ballhandler, playmaker, scorer, defender (defends 4-5 positions as well, and is the most dominant off-ball defensive wing in the game), and rebounder. He does a lot more heavy lifting than Durant despite having Wade/Bosh by his side. ALSO, a stat- Durant had a net +/- of +4. LeBron is a +14. Just sayin.

 

No way in hell was Tony Parker gonna win. He played only 32MPG, his stats weren't mind-blowing (18/8/3 on average efficiency), and he doesn't make much of a defensive impact. Duncan still anchors that defense, and IMO Manu is still the best overall player on the team.

 

If the Clippers won 4-5 more games, CP3 would have had a really strong case and would have fit the AI/Nash/Rose mold. But, their record just wasn't good enough.

Edited June 1, 2012 by Nitro