LeBron James' Flawless Performance Puts Lock on MVP Award

LeBron James is going to be the MVP of the 2011-2012 NBA season.

There is no doubt about it, especially after his performance on Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Without star PF Chris Bosh in the lineup, James led his team to a 107-93 victory with 38 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and a block.

Coach Erik Spoelstra gave him extra motivation during the pre-game shootaround.

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"Really, it was as simple as this: 'We need a Magic Johnson-type, not necessarily performance, but awareness," Spoelstra said. "Man, he really took the challenge. It's his ability to do all these different things in the course of one game."

James said he, in turn, told his teammates that he was going to guard everyone.

"We had a big piece of our team out, so I definitely had to step up my game to bring home this win," he said.

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So not only did LeBron stuff the stat sheet, but he took it upon himself to guard whoever had the hot hand on the Blazers.

There is nothing more valuable to an NBA team then the ability to be both a force on offense and completely lock down a man on the other side of the court. That’s exactly what James does for this Heat team.

Players like Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant deserve recognition for what they are doing for their respective franchises, but no one has been more consistent than King James this year.

He’s averaging 27.7 points, 6.8 assists, 8.2 rebounds and has a ridiculous 33.01 PER rating. That PER rating is the highest of LeBron’s career; surpassing the 31.76 and 31.19 he recorded in his two previous MVP seasons.

It would be ludicrous not to reward him with the highest regular-season honor, as his individual stats are eye-popping and his team is on their way to the No. 1 seed in the East.

Whatever you feel about LeBron and his inability to win a ring, you have to admit he deserves the nod as the league’s best player.