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After seven weeks of the league have come and gone, LeBron James has taken over from Luka Doncic among the bookies favorites to win the NBA MVP trophy. His latest displays in a 5-game winning streak for the LA Lakers has shown that his brilliance shows no sign of letting up even at the age of 36.
In the latest NBA News, the league's media have had their say on who they would give the MVP trophy to currently, and should the outcome remain consistent throughout the season, the race could come down to the wire.
LeBron James leads contenders for MVP award 7 years after his last trophy
The NBA MVP race is not always a fascinating contest, with recent winners gathering most of the votes - think Steph Curry in 2015. However, this year could prove an anomaly and may be one of the closest yet with several players already being discussed, given their early season credentials.
In the latest NBA News, Tim Bontemps of ESPN has put together his first strawpoll from 100 voters to see who the league's media believe deserves this year's MVP trophy. Though LeBron James currently leads the way, contention for votes at the top could mean it is one of the closest MVP races in the league's history.
LeBron James continues to defy the odds as he averages 25.6 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in his 18th season in the league. He has played every one of the Lakers games and led them to the second-best record in the league, 19-6.
Following his performances, LeBron James currently leads the contenders for the NBA MVP vote, according to the poll. The vote had the same rules as the traditional end-of-season scoring system, with participants asked to rank their top-5 candidates.
LeBron James received 54 out of 100 first-placed votes, though is not currently a run away certainty to win the award. Many felt the forward deserved the trophy last season and he could well be involved in a close race for it this year.
Joel Embiid, LeBron James' closest competitor in the vote and the only player to be named on each of the 100 ballots - LeBron was surprisingly missed by one - received 23 first-placed votes and the most second-placed votes with 39. This will likely be in part due to the fact the Philadelphia 76ers have also begun the season strong and currently top the East.
Another center, Nikola Jokic, was ranked in third place and is only 164 points behind LeBron James. The Serbian center struggled against the Lakers, though is averaging a staggering 27.6 points and 11.5 rebounds.
Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry and Paul George all received first-placed votes showing the variable nature of the award already this year. No MVP contest has had as little of a voting difference between the top-3 players since the 1998-99 season. With what is expected to be a long and disjointed season ahead, fans can expect the vote to be this close throughout as the favorites fluctuate.
