By February 10, LeBron James strengthened his hold on what could be his fifth league MVP award. He now leads all players with +278 odds to win the most coveted individual award in the NBA. Just barely trailing James in the race for this year’s Most Valuable Player award is Denver Nuggets’ big man Nikola Jokic at +470, Philadelphia 76ers’ center Joel Embiid at +525, new member of the Brooklyn Nets Kevin Durant at +725, and rounding out the top five is Dallas Mavericks’ guard Luka Doncic at +825.
Falling just outside the top five are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and Kawhi Leonard.
In 26 games this season, James has led the Los Angeles Lakers to the second seed in the Western Conference with a 20-6 record, one half game behind the league-leading Jazz. James has produced otherworldly numbers in his 18th NBA season. He is averaging 25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks. He is shooting 49.5 % from the field, 39.4 % from beyond the arc, and 72.3 % from the charity stripe.
Although James likely won’t set any records this season, as long as he keeps the Lakers in the midst of another championship title run, he will surely be happy. James will easily be voted into the All-Star Game and is the favorite to win his fifth MVP award. It appears only an injury or extremely poor play will prevent LBJ from capturing this elusive award.
