NBA MVP: And the Winner Is _________?

     

     This NBA season has been unique in many ways.  Besides being one of only four shortened seasons due to a lockout, this season has experienced lots of unusual stories, occurrences, records, etc.  From Linsanity, to Kobe becoming the all-time leading scorer in All-Star history, to Kevin Love's historic performances; this NBA season is one that will forever be remembered by loyal NBA fans.  With the regular season coming to a close, the question of who is this season's MVP is one that has become a hot topic.  Many players are deserving of this honor, however no one player has emerged as the clear-cut winner of this award.  For this reason, I wouldn't be surprised if NBA history was made in regards to this award as well.
     According to most people, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder should be this year's MVP.  Although very deserving, I don't think Durant is the obvious pick for this award.  My main argument against Durant winning this award is that his teammate, Russell Westbrook, is arguably the most valuable player on that Thunder team due to his all around play.  Durant, to me, is solely a scorer who happens to pull down many rebounds due to his 6'10 frame.  Despite his effort to be more of a team player this year, he still averages more turnovers than assists.  His impact on the defensive end is also mediocre at best.  Nevertheless, Durant is putting up about 28 points per game with over 50 percent shooting on the best team in the Western Conference.  That alone is good enough to make him very deserving of the MVP award.  His incredible performance against LeBron James in the first match-up between Miami and OKC this season also made a case for that MVP trophy, however as I mentioned before, I don't believe that all these achievements have made him the clear-cut pick for the honor.
     The other player who many consider a deserving candidate is LeBron James of the Miami Heat.  Statistically, LeBron has had the better season, as he averages as many points and rebounds as Durant (28 and 8 respectively) but with twice as many assists (close to 7).  LeBron's versatility on the defense end definitely adds to his campaign, as he is also a candidate to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.  Like Durant however, LeBron has another superstar in Dwayne Wade who many could argue is also deserving of the honor (though not as deserving as Westbrook).  Although Miami is 9-1 without Wade, his fourth quarter heroics in many games this season slightly devalues LeBron's impact.  That unfortunately hurts LeBron's chances of winning the award.  LeBron's tendency to disappear in some big games or even big moments has also hurt his chances of being named MVP.  His performance against OKC in the second meeting of their regular season battle made up for his sub-par performance in the first, along with other mediocre performances in big games; this however isn't enough to make him the clear-cut favorite for the award either.
      In most cases, the best way to break a tie is by flipping a coin; in this scenario however, I propose that this tie should be left knotted up.  I propose that for the first time in NBA History, Kevin Durant and LeBron James should be named co-MVPs for the 2011-2012 season.  I believe that it is the most fair decision to make in this case, because neither player has clearly separated himself from the rest this season.  One could argue that if anything Kevin Love is that one player who has had a remarkable season that separated himself from the other NBA Elites (based on statistics), though the record of his team eliminates him from contention in my opinion.  With that being said, why not make this NBA season even weirder than it already has been?  Instead of giving the MVP award to a player who isn't an obvious pick like Derrick Rose was last year, this award should go to the two players who deserve it the most: Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James of the Miami Heat.

Photo Credit:
marcmellon.com
nba.com