FILE - Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, rear, and Anthony Davis (3) celebrate after the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 of basketball's NBA Finals in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in this Oct. 11, 2020, file photo. Anthony Davis is finalizing a five-year contract worth up to $190 million to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. Davis' agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, confirmed the terms of Davis' pending free agent deal to The Associated Press on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020. One day after LeBron James agreed to a two-year, $85 million contract extension with the Lakers through 2022-23, Davis committed to the Lakers through the 2024-25 season. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Lakers' Anthony Davis Says LeBron James 'Should Win' 2020-21 NBA MVP Award

Timothy RappFeb 11, 2021

Anthony Davis has picked his front-runner to win the NBA's MVP this season, and shockingly it's his teammate, LeBron James.

"He should win," Davis told reporters Thursday. "You never know all the politics, but he should."

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel thinks James is the front-runner for the award too:

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With about a third of the season finished, the favorites for the award are James, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. Let's break down what each player has done:

James: 25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three. He's played in all 26 games for the 20-6 Lakers.
Embiid: 29.1 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 37.7 percent from three. The Sixers are 17-3 in games he's played and 1-4 in games he's missed.
Jokic: 26.9 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from three. He's played in all 24 games for the 13-11 Nuggets.

The 36-year-old James is perpetually in the MVP hunt. The 16-time All-Star and 13-time first-team All-NBA selection remains arguably the game's best player, though he hasn't won an MVP award since the 2012-13 seasons, which seems absurd.

If you subscribe to the belief that a player of James' talent could be named the MVP every year, well, he's due for one. Embiid and Jokic might argue otherwise, of course.