Say Hello to LeBron James, Your NBA MVP

It was announced earlier today that LeBron James will be named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2008-2009 season. It was really no surprise.

Going into this season, I felt like LeBron still had a lot to prove to put him on the same level as Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade. He's definitely done that this season by carrying the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 66-16 record.

There is no other player that is more valuable to his team than LeBron is to the Cavaliers.

LeBron averaged more than 28 points per game, seven rebounds per game, and seven assists per game. Oh yeah, he also made a strong case for the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Needless to say, he's earned my utmost respect after this season, and he's lived up to all of his hype. Now LeBron just needs to work on ESPN's Skip Bayless, who is his biggest critic.

The only other player that had even an argument for MVP was Wade because, like LeBron, he had little to work with around him and still carried his team to the playoffs.

What puts LeBron ahead of Wade is where he carried his team compared to Wade.

Kobe Bryant is still arguably the best player in the league, but there's no way he is more valuable to the Lakers than LeBron is to the Cavaliers.

As for Dwight Howard, we all know he is a beast inside the paint. However, Howard had his moments in the season where he was less than stellar, and his offense still has room for improvement.

You can't forget how great the Magic looked without Howard in closing out the Sixers the other night.

The only career accomplishment left for LeBron to achieve is to win an NBA championship, and he's got a great chance this year if he can get past the Lakers. After all, he's only 24.

From top to bottom, the Lakers are the better team, but LeBron has carried this team on his back all season. I can't count him out to do that again.

I can't get ahead of myself because the Nuggets are looking really good in the West and you still can't count out the Celtics if Garnett sneaks his way back into the lineup.

Here's my final list of nominees for this year's MVP running:

1. LeBron James 28.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 7.2 apg. Led team to 66-16 record
2. Dwyane Wade 30.2 ppg, 7.5 apg, 31 percent 3-pt. Lead Heat to 28-win swing from last season
3. Kobe Bryant 26.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 4.9 apg. Lead Lakers to best record in Western Conference
4. Dwight Howard 20.6 ppg, 13.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg. Defensive Player of the Year