complex's

September 26, 2017

Why LeBron James Will Win His Fifth & Final MVP Next Season

 Hey everyone, for Complex News, I’m Pierce Simpson. We’re preprogrammed to root for possible Davids, even as we grudgingly acknowledge the dominating Goliaths. That’s why Karl Malone won an MVP in 1997 and Charles Barkley collected one 1993, instead of adding two more pieces of deserving hardware to the Michael Jordan’s collection.   That’s also why, after winning four MVP awards between 2009-2013—bookending Derrick Rose’s win in 2011— LeBron James hasn’t won another Maurice Podoloff Trophy since. But that’s about to change in 2018 for the consensus best player in the world. Complex Sports contributor Spencer Lund thinks the King, LeBron James, will once again reign over the NBA regular season, because this could be LeBron’s last chance to claim his fifth award. He turns 33 in December, and his competition for the award has never been surrounded by so much talent.   This year’s prospective ballers for the award, which don’t differ so much from last year’s, have different situations than LeBron. James Harden now has to share time handling the ball with Chris Paul, and we don’t know how those two greats will gel. Kawhi Leonard, despite his two-way brilliance, doesn’t play in a Spurs system that lets him put up gaudy stats.   And in Golden State, Steph Curry and Kevin Durant, when healthy, basically cancel each other out in the MVP discussion. They’re both amazing, but they play on the same dominant team, making it hard to separate the two when zeroing in on one concrete MVP choice.   These great players’ mere existence will present a challenge to LeBron, of course. But with LeBron taking charge as the solo act in Cleveland once again, he’ll be relied upon more than the other candidates to put up monster numbers every night. And there’s little reason to think why he can’t, even at age 33.   Individual competitors to the throne aside, one of the biggest reasons why we like him to claim the MVP crown again is because LeBron should be mad. He was already primed to challenge for MVP the day after the Warriors defeated his Cavs in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years.   Steph’s wedding video—regardless of how harmless—probably added fuel to the fire. Imitating how LeBron James, our modern day atlas, keeps his body in a cyborg state is daring, to say the least. But remember how petty and funny this was?   Well, that’s is the kind of stuff LeBron’s probably been remembering while doing these insane workout videos. All summer his message on social media has been the same: I’m outworking you every day, so expect to feel my full might come this season’s tip-off And still, there’s the perception is that LeBron isn’t cut from the same cloth as the pathologically competitive Kobe Bryant and Jordan, and therefore incapable of a scorched-earth campaign.  If you dive down that route, your mistake is underestimating his capacity for vengeance. Just ask the 2012 Boston Celtics or the 2016 73-win Golden State Warriors.   Remember Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2012, aka the time LeBron mean mugged his way to 45 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 dimes? This was after Paul Pierce hit a game-sealing 3-pointer on James in Miami to give the C’s a 3-2 series lead, and lip readers clearly saw The Truth mouthing off at LeBron And remember what happened after the Warriors went up 3-1 in the 2016 Finals with two of the three remaining games at Oracle Arena? The 3-1 jokes haven’t stopped since. And when have you not seen LeBron rise to a challenge, even when he's out-gunned? The 2017-18 regular season is another challenge, with new teammates and a rival—the Celtics—that appears to be revamped and loaded to make a run at the Cavs.   Allen Iverson is right: LeBron is gonna remind everyone why he’s still the best player in the world. Only this time, it’ll come well before June. That’s all for now, but for more on LeBron James this NBA season, subscribe to Complex on YouTube today. For Complex News, I’m Pierce Simpson.  

SHARE THIS VIDEO

More Shows Like This

  • ComplexCon(versations)
  • Sneaker Shopping
  • Top Gen
  • Good Looking Out
  • Couch Classics
  • Group Therapy
Complex News
Making its debut in 2014, Complex News burst onto the scene with new exciting takes on the world of music, sports, pop culture, style, and sneakers. From coast to coast, IRL or in studio, Complex News anchors Speedy Morman, Pierce Simpson, Natasha Martinez, Hanuman Welch, and Racks Hogan take a deep look into the culture and bringing their unique voices and views to the conversation. Featuring exclusive interviews with sports greats like Mike Tyson, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant to music's biggest names like Kendrick Lamar, Soulja Boy, Cardi B and breaking acts like Megan Thee Stallion, we've met with Hollywood's best and brightest like Lupita Nyong'o, Jordan Peele and Winston Duke, Jamie Foxx, Issa Rae, Samuel L. Jackson, Complex News is on top of everything hot, new and now. With access to major moments like ComplexCon, Rolling Loud, Governor's Ball, Made in America, Summer Jam, and Fool's Day Out to the red carpet at the Grammys, VMAs, and New York Comic Con to the NBA Finals, Complex News is there, talking to your favorite celebrities and bringing you along for the ride.Unique series like 'Get In Line' hosted by Racks Hogan ask the eternal question "Is it for the body or somebody?" to 'Complex News Presents' docu-series that take an inside look into American life through the Complex lens, and profiles featuring on-the-rise names across sports, music, style, the arts, pop culture, and sneakers, we bring what's next for the culture. This is Complex News.