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LeBron James vs The World: How LBJ Compares To Other MVP Candidates

By Dylan Haines

Mar 9, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gets defended by Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons won 106-101. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2017; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) gets defended by Detroit Pistons forward Marcus Morris (13) during the third quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons won 106-101. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 9, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 9, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) drives to the basket in front of Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

LeBron James vs. Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook, the triple-double man himself. In today’s NBA, to be averaging a triple double is an incredible feat, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a shoe-in to win the MVP award for his efforts. In fact, Oscar Robertson, the only man to ever average a triple double for an entire season, finished third in MVP voting that season.

Through 70 games, Russell Westbrook has posted 34 triple doubles, only seven short of Oscar Robertson’s record for a single season, when he had 41 triple doubles in the 1961-62 season, the very same season he failed to secure more votes for the MVP award than Bill Russell (who won the award) and Wilt Chamberlain (when he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds…I know, right???).

Net rating is where LeBron James and Russell Westbrook stand high above their peers. So far this season, according to Basketball-Reference, the Cavs have a net rating of +9.6 when LeBron is on the court as opposed to -8.9 when he’s off, good for a net plus/minus of +18.5.  In comparison, the Thunder are +4.0 when Westbrook is on the court and -9.8 when he’s off, good for a net plus/minus of +13.8. This stands far above Harden and Kawhi, but we’ll get to them in a bit.

Related Story: LeBron Is The NBA MVP

While Westbrook leads the NBA in PER (Player Efficiency Rating), ironically, LeBron James’ pure efficiency has been far superior to Westbrook this season. According to Basketball-Reference, LeBron is shooting almost 12% higher from the field than Westbrook (54.3% to 41.8%), roughly 5% higher from three (38.5% to 33.6%), and LeBron’s EFG% is nearly 15% higher than Westbrook (59.8% to 45.1%).

Also, according to NBA.com, of the 37 players with at least 15 FGA per game this season, LeBron has the highest FG% of the group. Westbrook has the lowest.

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This season, LeBron has had his lowest usage rate since his rookie season (30.0), while Westbrook (41.9) currently has the highest usage rate in NBA history by a mile.

None of this is meant to diminish what Russell Westbrook has accomplished this season, but what Westbrook has done through sheer force of will and high volume, LeBron has compensated with smart, efficient play on both ends while simultaneously saving his body for a run at his seventh straight NBA Finals appearance.

There’s also one more snippet of history that may foreshadow Westbrook’s potential MVP chances: The last MVP to be on a team that won less than 50 games was Moses Malone in 1981-82 with the Houston Rockets. Currently at 40-30, the Thunder would have to go 10-2 to finish the season with 50 wins.

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