5 Reasons LeBron James Will Hold Record for Most MVPs by End of His Career

It's halfway through the 2011-12 NBA season and the early favorite for the 2012 NBA MVP trophy is none other than LeBron James.

With averages of 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.7 steals per game and a league-leading PER of 32.42, LeBron is not only the most complete player and efficient player in the NBA, he's also the most valuable.

This shouldn't come as a surprise, though, as LeBron's played this way before, when he won the 2009 and 2010 NBA MVP Trophies, making him one of 10 multiple-time MVP winners. Atop that list of multiple MVP winners is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with six MVP trophies during his 20-year NBA career.

I'm here to tell you why LeBron James is going to win more regular-season MVP trophies in his career than Kareem or any other player has in the history of the NBA.

Enjoy. 

LeBron's a More Complete Player Than Every Other Player in the NBA

LeBron James is in a league of his own when it comes to being the most complete player in the NBA.

With career averages of 27.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and seven assists per game and a career field-goal percentage of 48.2 percent, there's no player over the past nine years that rivals LeBron's impressive level of "completeness" that he brings to the court night in and night out.

If there's one thing in the NBA that is more valuable than the rest, it is having players on your team that can produce in every aspect of the game, and that's exactly who LeBron James is for the Miami Heat.

There are players like Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant who are pure scorers, and guys like Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum who are double-double machines. But having a guy like LeBron James who can score, facilitate, defend and dominate every aspect of the game is most valuable kind of player to have, hands down.

What makes LeBron unlike any other player in the league today is that he's able to play nearly any position, from point guard to power forward, without seeing a drop in his efficiency and production across the board.

The next players who are closest to matching LeBron's level of complete play are Kevin Love, who can't seem to help his team turn the corner; Kobe Bryant, who's proclivity to jack up bad shots lessens his value; and Kevin Durant, who doesn't facilitate the ball to his teammates the way LeBron does.

There might never be another player in the NBA that plays at the complete level that LeBron James does, and that's what sets him apart from all other players competing for the 2012 NBA MVP trophy and the MVP trophies in years to come.

LeBron's Got Better Talent Around Him Than Any Other Player in the NBA

When LeBron took his talents to South Beach with Chris Bosh to join Dwyane Wade, he helped form one of the most dominant trios of NBA talent that the game's ever seen.

While many thought that joining Wade and Bosh would lead to a decrease in production from LeBron James, it's actually resulted in the opposite—at least this season—with an increase in overall efficiency on the offensive side of the ball.

With the talent he has around him in Miami, LeBron is shooting the ball with the most efficiency from the field (54.7 percent) and from beyond the arc (41.3 percent) that he has in his entire nine-year NBA career. The increased efficiency that LeBron is shooting with is a result of him playing with better talent around him, which in turn makes him look that much better.

Seeing the improved chemistry between Wade, Bosh and LeBron with just one year of experience together under their belts makes you think of just how dominant they will be as they continue to come together.

There's no doubt that the talent the Heat have around LeBron makes James a more efficient and complete player. That's one of the main reasons why LeBron is one of the leading candidates for the 2012 NBA MVP trophy.

If LeBron keeps his talents in South Beach with Wade and Bosh for the rest of his NBA career, there's no doubt that his production and efficiency will only continue to increase, as will his number of NBA MVP trophies.

If you're only as good as the talent around you, then LeBron James is hands down the best in the NBA, because Miami undoubtedly has the most dominant trio in the entire league. 

Almost No Player in NBA History Is More Efficient Than LeBron James

When you look at career player efficiency ratings (PER) of players with multiple NBA MVPs, there is a clear correlation, and that is a high level of efficiency in the way they play the game.

Five out of the seven players in NBA history with three or more MVP trophies over the span of their careers also rank 20th or higher in career PER.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, just to name one, is the all-time leader in MVPs with six in his 20-year career, and he also has the 12th-highest PER of all time, with a PER of 24.58.   

If playing with a high level of efficiency over the span of a career is a prerequisite for making the list of all-time leaders in MVPs, then LeBron James is a shoo-in to keep moving up that list. 

In the history of the NBA, there's only one player with a higher career PER than LeBron's PER of 27.17, and that's "His Airness" himself, Michael Jordan, with a career PER of 27.91.

Jordan ranks second on the list of most MVPs in a career, with five, and LeBron James, with two MVPs already, is well on his way of joining Jordan within the next few years.

LeBron James' game is characterized by efficiency on both ends of the court, which is more than a solid foundation for winning more than six NBA MVP trophies over the span of his NBA career.  

LeBron Already Won Two MVPs with Less Talent Around Him Than He Has Now

In 2009 and 2010, when LeBron won his back-to-back NBA MVP trophies, he proved that he can be the league's most valuable player no matter what kind of talent he has around him.

It's undoubtedly easier to win MVP trophies by leading an underwhelming Cavaliers team to an impressive 61-21 record than it is by leading the Heat to the league's best record with two NBA All-Stars beside him. However, LeBron at least proved in his years in Cleveland that no matter who's around him, he can be the most valuable player on the court when he wants to be.

If LeBron can win multiple MVPs with guys like Anderson Varejao, Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison and Daniel Gibson around him, there's no reason to believe that he can't do the same now with exponentially better talent around him in Miami.

The fact that LeBron has Wade and Bosh now somewhat lessens the value of his production, but if he continues to be the most efficient player in the NBA while also averaging the highest combination of points, assists and rebounds, there's no doubt he'll be in MVP contention year in and year out.

Bringing up the topic of talent around LeBron impacting his legitimacy for the MVP award brings about one question: Would the Miami Heat be the same team with just Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh?

The answer to that question, in my mind, is a resounding no. The defensive focus that exists on LeBron makes the game that much easier for Wade and Bosh, which allows them to play with significantly higher levels of production as well.

LeBron James could be the most valuable player on any team in the NBA, and he proved just that when he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Luckily for LeBron, winning his next few MVPs will be that much easier because of the talent he now has playing with him. 

At the End of the 2011-12 NBA Season, He'll Be Halfway to the Record of Six MVPs

At the age of 27, LeBron is already one-third of the way to joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the top spot on the list of players in the NBA with the most career regular season MVP trophies.

After the 2011-12 NBA season however, LeBron will be one MVP trophy closer to matching Kareem's career mark of six MVPs, which will put him right on track to pass Kareem in the next four or five years.

The reason why LeBron will win his third NBA MVP Trophy in 2012 is the same reason why he's going to win more MVPs than any other player in NBA history: There's just no other player in the league with his physicality, his level of efficiency and his level of complete production.

When LeBron wins the 2012 MVP Trophy, it will be his third honor in nine years in the NBA, which is similar to other players in NBA history who've gone on to win more than three NBA MVPs.

Michael Jordan and Larry Bird each won three NBA MVP trophies in their first nine years in the league. In Wilt Chamberlain's first nine years in the NBA, he won two NBA MVP trophies.

That just goes to show that when LeBron James takes him his third NBA MVP trophy at the end of the 2011-12 NBA season, he will be in elite company and well on his way to having the opportunity to take over Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of six MVP trophies.

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