LeBron James' MVP Case Backed by Frank Vogel Despite Lakers' Shaky Record
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel touted LeBron James' MVP candidacy in a post-practice chat with reporters on Friday.
"He is as deserving for MVP consideration as anybody in the league," Vogel said, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
"I know how the voting goesโthe team with the best record or top couple of records usually gets most of those considerations, so the win-loss record definitely would probably hurt him.
"But you can't tell me that anybody has played a better season than LeBron James has this year."
The 37-year-old James is fourth in player efficiency rating (26.3), 18th in win shares/48 minutes, fifth in box plus/minus and fifth in VORP (value over replacement player), per Basketball-Reference.
He's averaging an NBA-high 30.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game and shooting 52.3 percent from the field.
What James is doing in his 19th NBA season is nothing short of remarkable and only gives more evidence as to why he may be the greatest basketball player of all time.
As for this season relative to his peers, an MVP vote would be hard to come by given the Lakers' 31-42 record.
Granted, James is the biggest reason why L.A. is alive for the play-in tournament as opposed to languishing near or at the Western Conference basement, but MVP awards simply don't go to players on losing teams. It's never happened before in the NBA.
The current MVP race appears to be a two-player battle between Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic. James, a four-time MVP, won't be winning his fifth this year. But right now, he's likely more focused on leading the Lakers to the playoffs with nine regular-season games left.
