Lillard is a player, though, not a talent evaluator or GM. Players are notorious for focusing on rep rather than current ability. LeBron is a legend, of course players are going to pick him.
Btw- speaking of John Stockton, looking up his stats, he played 19 seasons and didn't miss a single game in 17 of them. Unbelievable right? 16 82 game seasons and 1 50 game season.
Yeah, Stockton is one of those players that I've appreciated more and more since he retired. I thought he was a great, star player when he was playing and an obvious Hall of Famer, but I never really appreciated just how mind-blowing his durability and consistency was. He basically played 19 great seasons--he was never as good as a peak Magic Johnson or Steph Curry or Chris Paul, but he basically never had a down season, every season was greatness.
So reporters and sports writers are the best evaluators of talent right??? I mean seriously, do you think that the media has a better grip on who the best player is than the players playing against the guys up for MVP?
I'm saying that Lillard endorsing James for MVP isn't some conclusive point. Sure, reporters get it wrong all the time. So do players. How did Michael Jordan do as a GM? I mean, he played the game. Pretty well, too.
Right, I don't have a problem with people who think that Giannis should be awarded the MVP. I do have a problem with people that think it isn't even close. First of all the numbers are close enough, the intangibles/leadership are something that players pay a lot of attention to and those are obviously a huge strength for LeBron. I actually think it says a lot when the best players in the game speak up and say that they think another of the best is the MVP. It's funny you bring up Jordan because he was another all time great, like LeBron, who lost a few MVP trophies to lesser players. People tried to think of reasons not to give the MVP to Jordan and to give it to Karl Malone twice and Charles Barkley. When we look back at this era it will be obvious that LeBron was playing at a different level than everyone else... in my opinion he still is. I think LeBron should be MVP, I don't think that is ridiculous but I can see an argument for Giannis.
Oh I think he was better than Chris Paul. It's a toss up with Curry for me. Stockton ran that team in a way Curry never has had to and Stockton was a better defender. Magic went to 9 Finals and won 5 titles so okay, I'll give you that.
When the votes are counted, it will be a landslide for Giannis. And I don't see any argument for LeBron. IMHO.
This year it’s close..but there was at least a decade or more where, if we’re being honest, LeBron should have gotten it every single year. The media won’t let that happen, but he really was from about 2006-2018.
