LeBron James: Don't Discredit His MVP Season Because of the Miami Heat's Talent

Why is LeBron James being punished for winning? It’s understandable that people were upset at James for deserting his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers on national television, but making him ineligible for the league’s MVP award is just spiteful.

LeBron James is having one of the best seasons in NBA history. James is averaging 27 points per game while also putting up about seven assists and eight rebounds per contest. James’ 53 percent shooting from the field has been equally impressive, as has his ability to keep the team running on all cylinders when star shooting guard Dwyane Wade was sidelined due to injury.

There is still a strong backlash against James for his decision to “take the easy road to a championship,” by joining fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris bosh in Miami instead of winning a championship on his own in Cleveland. James definitely handled the situation in the wrong way, but isn’t the knock against most athletes today that they don’t care enough about winning and focus too much on making money and gaining notoriety? James' decision to go to Miami was strictly about winning, and I don’t think anyway can dispute that.

Let’s look at a recent example. Peyton Manning opted to sign with the Denver Broncos instead of the San Francisco 49ers because of the comfort level he has playing in the AFC and with the Broncos coaching staff. Everyone knows that Manning would have had a better chance at winning a Super Bowl with the 49ers, and most fans have questioned his decision because winning wasn’t the deciding factor in him choosing a team.

In LeBron James’ case, his play on the court has been minimized over the past two seasons because of the talent his team possesses. If anything, it is impressive that James is putting up such gaudy statistics this season, since he is forced to give up a lot of shots due to the scoring ability of the players around him.

The argument that James cannot be the MVP due to the Heat’s talent is an invalid one. Before James joined the Heat, they were a team that got knocked out of the first round of the playoffs. In just his first season last year, the Heat reached the NBA finals, showing how substantial an impact James had on the team’s performance.   

There have been plenty of players who have won MVP awards while playing on a talent-filled team. Magic Johnson won MVP awards while playing with all-time greats such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and James Worthy. Larry Bird won three consecutive MVP awards despite the fact he was surrounded by future hall-of-famers Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Dennis Johnson.

LeBron James raises the play of his teammates. He is the Heat’s best distributor, rebounder, defender and scorer. He does so many things on the court, making the game easier for everyone he plays with. His impact on the game is undeniable and unmatched by any of the league’s top players. Trade James to whichever team for any single player, and the team you put him on instantly improves.

No matter how much venom fans have towards James, the fact remains that he is having a spectacular season. He leads the entire NBA in player efficiency rating (PER), and does more things for his team than perhaps any player in league history. Too many times voters give the MVP award to someone who is “due” or has a breakout season, but was not necessarily the most valuable to his team.

LeBron James epitomizes what an MVP should be, and he deserves to be given the award in a landslide decision.