(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The fact that he’s third on this list shows how special of a year this truly has been. Nobody would be disappointed if he won the MVP; he’s certainly put in a Herculean effort and going off my first criterion alone, he’s the runaway winner. But somehow, two guys were even better…
2. Chris Paul
At the rate he’s going, he may threaten Magic Johnson’s status as the greatest point guard ever. Yes, really. He’s only player in league history to finish top 10 in points, steals, and assists, and did it while shooting 50 percent and with an 11 to 3 turnover ratio.
On a New Orleans team that can only manage 95.81 ppg (26th in league), Paul accounts for roughly half of that between his 22.8 ppg and 11 apg; in other words, they are helpless without him.
Even though his team slipped to the seventh seed with a 3-6 April, you can’t blame Paul for his teammates’ failures. His April numbers were better than his season averages virtually across the board as he exploded for 28.3/11.7/2.4 on 53 percent shooting, while playing 41 minutes a night.
What separates Paul from Wade is that he makes his teammates better while Wade showcased his brilliance almost in spite of his.
Paul’s supporting cast is a bit better but it’s no coincidence that David West’s scoring average has risen every season since Paul has been in the league; it’s because every game, Paul draws defenders away leaving West open for at least a few uncontested jumpers.
Similarly, it’s not happenstance that Rasual Butler went from the Miami scrap heap to starter/crunch time shooter, or that Tyson Chandler and Julian Wright get a few easy buckets per game by throwing down CP3’s lobs.
The truly great players elevate everyone else’s game even as they elevate their own, and Paul exemplifies that better than anyone. Oh, and he’s only 23.
1. LeBron James
The MVP by virtually every possible measure.
Numbers wise, he became the first top three scorer in history to finish top in the top 25 in all five major average categories (scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) highlighted by season averages of 28.2/7.6rpg/7.2apg.
He would go off on super-nova level explosions, such as a four game swing in mid-March during which he followed up three consecutive triple doubles with a 51 point night…and yes, the Cavs won all of those.
Speaking of winning, he led a relatively average Cavs squad to 66 wins and probably would have tied the home wins record if Mike Brown didn’t opt to sit his players on the last night of the season.
He did it while making his teammates better in the process; Mo Williams went from a good point guard who shot too much to an All-Star, Delonte West from a 10th man carving out a career as a trade throw-in to a starter who keeps the backcourt together, and Wally Szczerbiak played his best ball in years.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about his transformation on the defensive end. Simply by virtue of deciding to put in a consistent effort, LeBron went from a below-average defender into one of the best in the league, able to guard four positions man-up and play tremendous help defense as well.
He always seems to make one hellacious, game altering block per night out of nowhere, and his steals average is impressive as well. He’ll probably get some Defensive POY awards and he deserves them; he’s the rare combination of a lockdown on-ball defender who both denies possessions as well as forces turnovers.
Overall, it’s the most convincing MVP performance since Iverson in 2001 and the most dominant one since Shaq in 2000, if not the Jordan era. Simply incredible, and he’s only beginning to truly scratch the surface of how good he can be.
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