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LeBron James is perhaps the mightiest NBA player the world has ever seen and he has never turned away from a storm in his whole career. For the mighty stand and raise their glasses towards the storm for that is where they shall find glory. These days, there are many that criticize James day-in and day-out. Criticize him for building super teams, criticize him for his off-the-court antics.
Criticism, like almost everything else in the world, comes with two poles. The two poles are rational criticism and irrational criticism. While there is some rational criticism of James and his career, he is mostly surrounded by irrational criticism.
After all that he has done in the game, to still doubt his abilities and question his achievements can surely not be rational, right?
It is true that LeBron James is aging, as we all mortals do. It is true that LeBron James is not as fast or as strong as he used to be in his prime. However, it is also true that he averaged 25 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 2020-21 regular season.
In contrast, Nikola Jokic, the 2020-21 MVP averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 8.3 assists. The most valuable player in the league only averaged 1.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists more than King James. Yet analysts and fans have called him washed-up. This cannot by any means be considered rational criticism.
Why LeBron James could win the 2022 NBA MVP Award
Agreed that Bron had an inconsequential season. But we conclude his past year being inconsequential only when comparing Bron to Bron. That is the plight of the LA Lakers superstar. However, we believe with all our rational reasoning that LeBron James is still capable of being the MVP and therefore we shall make a case for the same.
#1 New LA Lakers squad
With the kind of team the Lakers have finally built around James, the upcoming season will be a completely different story than it was in 2020-21. James has incredible supporting teammates in Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Anthony Davis.
This year's squad will bring a much-needed ease of responsibility for LeBron James. His team is, on paper, one of the best in the league. The last time LeBron was on a team of this caliber was during the Kyrie-Love-Bron Cleveland Cavaliers era. He was sensational then, outscoring all the stars in his squad and the rival squad each and every game.
It is safe to assume that LeBron James Sr. will also be sensational in the coming year. With such a roster behind him to encourage his brilliance, he could be the 2022 NBA MVP.
#2 LeBron has continued to evolve
LeBron James has continuously evolved with the game. One thing we know about Bron, he is not a player rooted in nostalgia. He has never entered a season with the achievements of the past on his back. Each new season has been a fresh start. Each new day a new battle, each new season a new war.
In the past five seasons, LeBron has drastically improved his playmaking skills. As his speed and strength began to fade. He started to rely more on feeding and setting up offenses to maintain the same level of dominance. It is simple: who is more fear inducing than a man capable of scoring 40 points a game? A man capable of scoring 30 points and 10 assists.
With scoring machines like Westbrook and post-up game specialist Davis on his side, LeBron James can dominate any game by either feeding the ball or scoring himself. From 2016-17 to 2020-21, Bron has averaged 8.82 assists. That puts him at the same level as some of the best point guards in the league.
#3 LeBron James is still a dominant scorer
LeBron James is a force of nature, he is unstoppable when he approaches the bucket. He answers a rival's dominating offensive play with a rim-destroying dunk or a no-look three.
To give you a hint of LeBron James' current scoring potential, let's take a look at the January 26 match against his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Going into the fourth quarter, the Cavs led the game by four points. Drummond and Osman had a great night as they combined for 45 points.
However, in the last quarter LeBron let himself loose upon the players of Cleveland like a blood hound. James would knock down shot after shot without missing almost anything. He scored 19-26 field goals and 7-11 three-pointers.
He registered 46 points in the game. In his tally run, he hit a three from the logo, drove to the basket again and again, and stole the ball for quick turnovers.
To assert James' dominance in the paint even further, consider the following stats: of the 339 attempted shots from less than 8-ft, he made and unbelievable 241. That's 71.1 field goal percentage from under 8-ft. An injury-less LeBron James will prove to the league soon enough how he is still capable of being the MVP.
