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LeBron James of Los Angeles Lakers
For much of this NBA season, LeBron James clearly had the credit for winning the MVP. He has led the Los Angeles Lakers team to several victories without the presence of his teammate, superstar Anthony Davis. LeBron is said to be the oldest player in the history of the league to receive this award.
Unfortunately, he has sprained his ankle, which has left him out for weeks. This absence has practically wiped out any chance that LeBron will win the MVP. While he’s most likely not in the running for the prize, this fact doesn’t stop people from discussing the matter further. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps recently spoke on the podcast. The Hoop Collective And the conversation between the two experts got quite heated when it came time to talk about LeBron.
Brian Windhorst gets into a heated debate about LeBron’s MVP opportunities 😳
(Via The Hoop Collective Podcast | h / t @BuienRadarNL pic.twitter.com/fyFUqRpIzD
– NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) April 16, 2021
The above video was not the worst part of the discussion, as Bontemps then went straight against Windhorst.
Bontemps called him a Jackass https://t.co/XTbk1RkxRi pic.twitter.com/Wo4fdBtIuQ
– David Mai (@ dmai21) April 16, 2021
Bontemps and Windhorst are two well-respected NBA experts and it is rare for either of them to participate in these types of exchanges. For whatever reason, the LeBron theme sometimes upsets people.
Can LeBron return to the MVP race?
While everything indicates that LeBron has no chance of winning the MVP after an injury, the door isn’t completely closed yet. James Harden, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid are all considered the top contenders.
Harden has been eliminated due to an injury and Embiid has just missed a lot of playing time. Jokic isn’t injured, but his game hasn’t been this solid lately. With Jamal Murray for the remainder of the season, the center of the superstar has an excellent chance of becoming the favorite to receive the award.
The only way LeBron can get back into the race is if the Lakers hit a loss streak and he’s back in a hurry. The team hasn’t been very bad without him, but it certainly won’t make it to the playoffs if he loses all season. At this point, LeBron is just a few lost games away from losing the MVP race completely.
At this point in his career, he is more concerned with winning championships. Based on how he braves the passage of time, LeBron could be another shot at the coveted prize next year.
When does LeBron play?
The Lakers finally got some good news in a long time when Frank Vogel revealed that Anthony Davis will be back shortly after a two-month absence. While this is certainly very good news for the team, there is no precise date yet for LeBron’s return. Your return can depend on a number of factors.
If the team continues to win its fair share of games and rank in the top six of the Western Conference, there’s really no reason to let it play. He’s not going to win the MVP and he has nothing to prove. It would be much smarter to let him rest as much as possible for the playoffs when they don’t need him on the field. If he is feeling better, he will definitely return for the playoffs. You need a period of retraining. It’s entirely possible to see him come back with 10 games to go in the regular season This would give him about two more weeks to recover.
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