December Mvp: Fill & Download for Free

While both feats would be impressive, Luka Doncic winning the regular season MVP would be more impressive.There are a handful of reasons for this that I'll lay out below, but the most important reason is that Lebron James wouldn't be the oldest MVP in history if he wins it this season. I suppose in a way that would make it more impressive, but it's impossible so I won't address that directly.Karl Malone is the oldest ever winner, having won the 1999 MVP at 35 years and 284 days old. Lebron is turning 35 at the end of December and thus would be at least a couple months younger than Malone was when he won it even if we take Lebron's age at the latest possible date, which would likely be the night of the NBA awards.Old man Karl Malone won the MVP in the lockout-shortened 1999 NBA season.If Lebron wins the MVP at the end of the 2020-2021 season then he would be the oldest winner in history. With all that in mind, I'll still discuss a key reason why Luka's MVP would be more impressive.The majority of MVP winners play on elite NBA teams. Aside from Russell Westbrook's MVP a few years ago, it has almost always gone to a player on a team that earned a top-3 seed in their conference. Westbrook's MVP was narrative driven, considering the impressive fact that he was the first player to average a triple-double for an entire season since Oscar Robertson in 1967. The following season Westbrook again averaged a triple-double, but didn't win the award even though his team was the 4th seed in the Western Conference.Now that the MVP voters have grown more accustomed to players putting up insane averages like Westbrook's and Harden's for the past few years, they are again showing a preference towards dominant players on dominant teams. Assuming that they stick to that trend, that is why it would be more impressive for Luka to win the MVP.Lebron James plays on a team with Anthony Davis. That's two top-10 players in the league, and that's a conservative statement. I would argue that they are both top-5 players. The Lakers are currently tied for the best record in the NBA, and they have a team full of veterans. Sure, it's not a perfect roster by any means, but they have experienced players and two unstoppable forces.Lebron and Anthony Davis make up one of the most dominant pairings in NBA history.The Mavs, meanwhile, have gotten off to a respectable start to the season. At the time of writing they are 8-5 and sit at the 5th seed. There are other respectable players on the team, but Doncic will be the only All-Star. Porzingis could reach that level in a few years, but he's struggled offensively this season, which is to be expected from a young player that missed a full year to injury. Doncic currently leads the team in points, assists, rebounds, and field-goal percentage. Again, there are solid role players on the team, but nobody expects them to be a top seed in the playoffs.Porzingis has struggled to fit into the Mavs offense so far this season.For Doncic to win the MVP this year he would have to earn a top-3 seed in the Western Conference. Again, the Western Conference is loaded. He's competing with the Lebron/AD led Lakers, the Harden/Westbrook Rockets, the Jokic/Murray Nuggets, the Kawhi/Paul George Clippers, and the Gobert/Mitchell Jazz. That's why I believe Doncic becoming the youngest MVP would be more impressive. It would require him to carry his team to a level above what anyone expected based on their roster talent.Oh, and he would be more than a year younger than Derrick Rose when he won it.

Basketball-Reference has a nice statistical model to helpfully generate a list for us:2018-19 NBA MVP Award Tracker | Basketball-Reference.comThe top three names on this list:Giannis Antetokoumpo (42.0% chance of winning MVP)James Harden (13.8% chance of winning MVP)Anthony Davis (8.1% chance of winning MVP)They don’t give us the exact methodology behind this model as far as I am aware, but upon a little investigation I think we can understand why.Box Plus/Minus: 1. Harden 2. Giannis 4. DavisValue Over Replacement Player (derived from BPM and number of games played): 1. Harden 2. Giannis 3. DavisPlayer Efficiency Rating: 1. Davis 2. Giannis 3. HardenWin Shares: 1. Davis 2. Giannis 3. HardenThose are the four most commonly used advanced metrics intended to represent a player’s holistic production, and the same names are topping all four lists.And just looking at their basic statistics, it’s easy to see each player’s claim to fame:Harden - #1 in points and #4 in assists per gameDavis - #4 in points and #4 in rebounds per gameGiannis - only player in top 20 in points (#9), rebounds (#7 - only non-center in the top 15), assists (#17); #10 in FG%When the model indicates that Giannis is the clear favorite, with Harden currently a distant second, I think it’s pretty much spot-on. If Harden can sustain his incredible performance in the month of December, he may be able to close the gap, but that’s asking quite a lot. Then again, winning the MVP title shouldn’t be easy.

LeBron James has just won its fourth NBA title with a third franchise.He has also just been elected MVP of the Finals for the fourth time. He is the first player in history to accomplish this feat.His stats in this year's NBA Finals with the Lakers speak for themselves:29.8 pts (58.6% FG / 39.0% 3-PTS) - 11.8 rbds - 8.5 astsIt's incredible when you think that LeBron James is in his 17th season and that he will be 36 years old in December 2020.In front of him, Jimmy Butler was huge. He's 5 years younger than LeBron James, but in Game 6, it was Jimmy Butler who took the blame physically.LeBron James showed again that he had incredible energy. He was the one who took the lead when it was needed against Butler and the Heat.Last season LeBron James was injured and missed the second half of the season. The Lakers missed the playoffs, and many said it was the end of the King's reign.LeBron James didn't take these criticisms well. He came back more motivated than ever this year.Anthony Davis' arrival was welcome, but not easy to manage. The Clippers' mid-flight explosion showed that it's hard to win in the first year when NBA stars are involved.The Lakers did it because Anthony Davis and LeBron James wanted to play together. LeBron James did everything they could to make Anthony Davis shine. Anthony Davis is happy to be learning from LeBron James to win.Little by little, the balance of power between the two stars will be reversed in the coming years, but the goal is to make these Lakers win again.LeBron James had a monstrous regular season and felt he deserved the MVP title. He felt that Anthony Davis deserved the MVP title as well.He thought Frank Vogel deserved the Coach of the Year award for everything he did with the Lakers this year.And yet the Lakers were snubbed.LeBron James and the Lakers felt repeatedly underestimated this year compared to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George's Clippers.And finally, at the end of this special season, it is the LeBron James Lakers who have won the trophy. LeBron James simply wants to be considered for what he is: the best NBA player of the last 15 years.LeBron James is also more than ever in the discussion for the GOAT.He now has 4 NBA titles, and all indications are that he could win at least one more in the coming years with the Lakers.One word: respect champion!