It's crazy to me that you don't see this as being closer. LeBron is a more potent player offensively. The points he accounts for from both points scored and assists are greater than those Giannis puts up. Then again there is the undisputable reality that LeBron is a better leader and has more of an impact on his teammates than Giannis does. On defense Giannis is better at his role but LeBron is more versatile. Statistically Giannis has put together an amazing year, maybe a historical season but he isn't the best player in the league, that's still LeBron but that is up for debate obviously. That's why it's not astounding to me that you see things your way, what astounds me is that you can't see things the other way... the way that I do, the way HCP does and the way Dame does. I mean you really don't see any validity in Dame's opinion, not that it would change yours or be definitive, just that there is an argument for that side of the coin? I also don't think it will be a landslide win for Giannis if he gets the MVP but even if it is it won't mean much to me. Steph was the only unanimous MVP in league history... he wasn't even then and never has been a reliable defender. The media were captives of the moment, Steph wasn't a better player than LeBron that year or any year. You are a captive of the moment right now, history will show that LeBron was the best player in the league this year. If the Lakers play the Bucks in the finals like Vegas thinks will happen, it will be plain to see who is better and the Lakers will win it all, lead by the best player in the league and the best player of this era.
Steph was a reliable defender by that point. When he entered the league, he was a terrible defender. He had a similar evolution as Lillard on defense, except earlier. The defensive evolution Lillard's shown the past few years, Curry had about 6-7 years ago. And Curry isn't better than James as a one-on-one player, but since his first MVP year, +/- numbers have made it a toss-up as to which player has a bigger effect on the floor. It's not just a question of running down a checklist of basketball abilities and seeing who has more advantages...by that kind of analysis, someone like Jason Kidd would come out ahead of Shaq, and Shaq was clearly more impactful in his prime. In a five-on-five game, Curry had massive impact beyond his stats through his gravity--an unprecedented warping of defenses toward him, creating much easier offense and shots for his teammates. The numbers bear that out--Curry may not be able to win games against prime James or Jordan in one-on-ones, but the team impact stats show that he's in their class for impact. I think you're a captive of reputation. James is still a great player, but he's lost a step on defense and he's not as efficient as he used to be. I don't see any argument for James being a more versatile defender--Antetokounmpo is both a superior rim defender and can guard any position on a switch. He's not Gobert. He's like Gobert combined with prime Kevin Garnett. Defensive stats validate his incredible ability and he's leading arguably the best team defense ever. James is having a remarkable season as a passer and yet Antetokounmpo is putting up point guard like Assist Rate, as a seven-footer! Antetokounmpo is a far superior rebounder by Rebound Rate, he's scoring significantly more efficiently. Essentially all the advanced numbers show Antetokounmpo to be a significantly better player. The only edge James has this year is in passing--and, as I noted, that's not even a weakness for Antetokunmpo. What he's doing as a passer for a big man is incredible. I think James is still a fantastic player, but I think Antetokounpo wins the MVP easily and I don't think it'll ever be viewed as a bad selection in the future. James deserved more MVPs in his career than he won, but he's been passed up this year (and last year, but last year was obvious to everyone).
No one thinks LeBron isn’t a great player. But Giannis has had the better season and it’s not close. Also- a case can be made for AD being ahead of LeBron for MVP. AD has had better numbers and his presence has made the Lakers much better than they were last year with LeBron and Ingram.
Zach Lowe picks Giannis for MVP and DPOY. He also ranks Dame as 4th for MVP. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.es...h-lowe-picks-mvp-roy-close-races?platform=amp
The staff of The Score picks Giannis to win MVP and DPOY: https://www.thescore.com/nba/news/1988104/picking-the-2019-20-nba-award-winners
Why would it be sarcastic? He's remarkably informed on every team and player, and is great at breaking down the sets teams run. Zach Lowe being an exceptional basketball writer is hardly a minority opinion.
