CLEVELAND -- When LeBron James told The Associated Press last week that he would vote for himself for the 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player Award if he had a vote, most seemed to shrug the Cleveland Cavaliers megastar off. After all, it's long seemed like a foregone conclusion that Houston Rockets guard James Harden would be hoisting the league's most coveted individual hardware at season's end.
That, however, hasn't stopped James from doing his best to make his final case.
He didn't wait long to do so, scoring 41 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 8 assists in a win over the Charlotte Hornets -- without Kevin Love in the Cavs lineup -- the very next night. On Friday, he continued his push with a 27-point, 11-assist, 9-rebound effort in a comeback victory against the New Orleans Pelicans and fellow MVP candidate Anthony Davis.
“The body of work, how I’m doing it, what’s been happening with our team all year long, how we’ve got so many injuries and things of that nature, guys in and out, to be able to still keep this thing afloat, I definitely would vote me," James had told The Associated Press earlier last week.
Even a 5-for-21 shooting slump couldn't stop LeBron from notching a triple-double in the Cavs' win 98-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. But while the 4-time MVP continues to pile up impressive performances, time is running out. And according to NBA.com's Sekou Smith, Harden remains the MVP race's unmistakable front-runner.
"Topping his performance from last season should be more than enough to secure his first Kia MVP. The official word will come on June 25 at the NBA Awards show," Smith wrote in his most-recent MVP rankings. "But with the way the Rockets have played down the stretch of this season with Harden leading the way, the suspense in this MVP chase has evaporated."
Is there anything James can do in the next week to change that?
While it may seem unlikely, it's worth noting that as a team, the Cavs are on the verge of a semi-important milestone. At 47-30, Cleveland needs to win just three of its final five contests to reach the 50-victory mark, which for many is the arbitrary line between a successful season and an underachieving one for a contending team. There's even a chance the Cavs could match -- or surpass -- their 51-31 record from a season ago, which would be a remarkable feat in and of itself following last offseason's trade of Kyrie Irving and the 22 games Love has missed due to injury.
A 50-win season for the Cavs could also have potential MVP implications for James, who appears hellbent on playing in all 82 games for the first time in his 15-year career. No, Cleveland won't be able to catch Houston, which currently lays claim to a league-best and 62-15 record. But win total didn't seem to matter to voters last season when they awarded Russell Westbrook with the MVP following a 47-35 season.
If Westbrook's MVP was more precedent that outlier, that could bode well for James. Although Harden is averaging five more points per game scoring, LeBron is averaging three more rebounds, while their assists (Harden 9.0, James 8.9) are essentially a wash.
James, however, possesses a significant advantage in shooting percentage (54.4 vs. 44.8) and is on pace to play in at least eight more games this season. Even some of the advanced metrics, such as true shooting percentage, seem to give LeBron a slight advantage.
James' quest to complete his final MVP push continues on Tuesday, when the Cavs host the Eastern Conference's top-team, the Toronto Raptors. After taking on a pair of playoff teams in the Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers later this week, Cleveland will cap its season with a home and home with the lowly New York Knicks next week.
Of course, how Harden finishes out the next week will play a prominent role in how the MVP race is ultimately determined, but at this point, the numbers already seem to give James an outside chance.
Now it's time to see if the voters will too.
