LeBron James' Play Makes Him Early NBA MVP Lock

Much was made of the failures of LeBron James and the Miami Heat after they came up short during last season's NBA Finals.

There's also the thought that nothing James does during the regular season means much until he comes through in the finals.

That may or may not be true, but one thing is for sure—James is having one heck of a season so far.

It's no lock that James has a great postseason run or that he finally gets a ring. But one thing that should be a lock is that LeBron should be the easy choice for MVP at this point in the season.

Quite frankly, his numbers alone speak to the season that he's having.

He's second in the league in scoring to Kobe Bryant at 29.2 points per game. That's impressive enough, as we expect LeBron to score.

But it his his total stat line that jumps off the page.

James is pulling down 8.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists per night as well. He currently leads the Heat in all three categories and has been the main reason why Miami is off to an 18-6 start to this season. This could be James' best season yet especially when you consider the fact that Dwyane Wade has only played in 15 of Miami's 24 games.

That's saying a lot considering LeBron is a two-time NBA MVP already.

Looking even more closely, James is getting it done at the defensive end as well, averaging 1.7 steals per night.

There's also the need to consider his efficiency.

James has career shooting averages of .481 from the floor and .330 from behind the arc.

But this season he's destroying those numbers, with a field goal percentage of .552 and a three-point percentage of .415.

Some may have actually overlooked him coming into the season after his career postseason struggles, but James has made a statement this year that he's still the NBA's best player.

And at the end of the day, LeBron James should have a third MVP trophy to show for it.