Around the halfway point of the NBA's regular season, many fans argued about who would be named the league's Most Valuable Player. Names like Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard were mentioned in many MVP conversations.
Some figured dark horse Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat might steal the award if his team wound up among the top four teams in the Eastern Conference, but in the end, the right man won the award, as well as my heart.
It is said that one player can't lead a team by himself. A superstar needs role players around him that can step up. However, that was not the case for this year's MVP: LeBron James.
James did not need help to win games. If you believe that James won because he finally has a point guard that can score, Mo Williams, you are erroneous on all accounts.
James needed legitimate players on his team so that he could rack up statistics other than scoring. Averages of 28 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block per game show just how dominant James was. Sure, he distributed the ball to his teammates so that they could get some points and confidence, but what did that do? It got James assists, and put him in the "team player" conversation. James no longer needs to close his eyes and pray that the ball swishes in when he passed to a teammate, because he now has confidence in his teammates' ability to score.
Of course, I am not saying that other players did not put up strong fights against James in an effort to win the award. Personally, Wade would have received my vote for MVP. Yes, I am from Miami, but when you watch Wade bounce back to his feet after taking an elbow to the mouth and proceed to score 15 points in the fourth quarter to win a game, as he did on February 28 against the New York Knicks, you realize what an amazing player he is.
Wade does not have the body that LeBron does -- at six feet, four inches, Wade is at a disadvantage against the chiseled six-foot, nine-inch frame of James. D-Wade had even less help than James did (discounting rookies Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley, who were very inconsistent during the season, but like I've said, will mature immensely in the next few years), so he had to single-handedly win some games. Wade's heart and finesse clearly put him as the front-runner for the award in my eyes.
Another player who deserves credit is Bryant. Critics say he can't win a championship without his now-nemesis Shaquille O'Neal, but Bryant has almost hushed the doubters, taking his team to first place in the Western Conference. His leadership and ability to score made a strong argument for Bryant, but King James deserved the award.
James' quick ascent to defensive stardom also helped his MVP case. If it wasn't for defensive freak Dwight Howard, who had statistics of nearly 14 rebounds and three blocks per game, James would've won the Defensive Player of the Year award as well.
Possibly the best defensive play of the year, and also one that illustrates James' fervor on defense, came when Phoenix Suns guard Jason Richardson stole the ball and, on a breakaway, attempted a showboating 360-degree dunk, only to be blocked from behind James, who was hustling back to defend the break like any journeyman defensive specialist.
What more can a guy do to secure the title of most valuable player of a league? Oh, that's right: he can lead his team to an NBA championship without losing a game in the playoffs. Impossible, you say? Think again. The Cavaliers are steam rolling through the playoffs, having won each game by a double-digit margin -- and in the process, the Cavs have swept the defensively-inept Detroit Pistons and the injury-riddled Atlanta Hawks.
If I were truly biased, I would be livid that Dwyane Wade did not win the MVP award (Wade came in third in the MVP balloting, behind James and Bryant), but I am at peace with the selection of LeBron James as MVP because his leadership, offensive and defensive skills, attitude and Bowflex-cut body have proven to me that the award was rightfully earned.
