The Los Angeles Lakers have now won six straight games, with the last three going into overtime or double overtime. The team is as resilient as ever, with superstar LeBron James leading the way this season.
After the team’s third straight overtime victory and second straight win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, head coach Frank Vogel talked about James and the 36-year-old’s MVP candidacy in his 18th season in the NBA.
“LeBron does it on both sides of the ball,” Vogel said. “That why he’s probably going to be this year’s MVP, carrying the load offensively and quarterbacking the defense. No. 1 defense in the league and taking these tough assignments and making these plays down the stretch.”
The consensus around the league right now is that James could be the frontrunner to win his fifth NBA MVP award. However, he could get some competition from Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, who are having career years with their squads.
Even though James has made quite an impression to start the 2020-21 campaign, there’s a lot of basketball left to be played, and anything can happen moving forward.
James has been shouldering the load for Anthony Davis, who has been battling injuries this year and has missed five games thus far.
The four-time NBA champion has played in all 26 games the Lakers have played this season, logging a team-high 34.7 minutes per contest.
James is averaging 25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting an impressive 39.4 percent from beyond the arc this season. The ageless one continues to show no signs of slowing down late in his playing career.
