LeBron James: Heat Star's Track Record Won't Give Him Fair Chance at MVP Award

Miami Heat fans have heard it over and over again: LeBron James can’t be counted on to win a game in the fourth quarter. They’ve heard about how the pressure gets to him and that he can’t come through in the clutch.

But what’s funny is when James does come up with something special, such as scoring Miami’s final 17 points down the stretch in Monday’s 101-98 win over the New Jersey Nets, not too many people care.

Yet, if James comes up short late in the game on Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors or Thursday night against the Chicago Bulls, all you will hear about is how the Heat don’t have a leader and James continues to fail in the fourth quarter.

Like it or not—and fair or not fair—that’s been LeBron's track record, and it could ultimately wind up costing him the MVP award.

James has put together one of the better seasons in recent memory, averaging 27.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 6.3 APG, all while shooting .529 from the floor. Not only that, but LeBron has put up an outstanding efficiency rating of 30.54.

Yet it’s hard to anoint James the MVP based solely on his numbers.

Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant has MVP-type numbers as well, averaging 27.8 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 3.5 APG, shooting .501 from the floor, with an efficiency rating of 26.36.

With similar numbers and their respective teams having nearly the same type of season, public perception can play a big role in determining the MVP winner.

If that’s the case, LeBron’s track record—at least, the one that everyone tends to focus on—could play a big role in the MVP voting. At the minimum, it will make the voting a lot closer than it likely should be.

All everyone sees in LeBron is a guy who chokes with the game on the line. He’s a guy that’s failed over and over again in the fourth quarter.

While that’s not exactly true, it is how LeBron is perceived. If there is any doubt in voters’ minds who the MVP should be, that perception of James could play a big role in who wins the award.

If it does, James will be robbed of the MVP because of his image.