2. Overnight contenders will convince voters
For the last three years, the Lakers have been nearly nonexistent in the playoff race. They made an ever-so-brief appearance around the three-quarters mark in 2017-18, but injuries down the stretch derailed any hope Los Angeles had of making a run at the No. 8 seed.
In general, though, the Lakers have been bottom-feeders since 2013. It wasn’t until last season that they broke the 30-win mark during that five-year stretch. Well, that’s all about to change.
With James in town and the Lakers’ young core continuing to develop, the going is about to get good. While plenty of people would try to convince you they aren’t contenders (to whom I have counterpoints), I’m confident they’ll surprise plenty of people in 2018-19. As Dwyane Wade recently put it, you can “never count that guy out” (via ESPN‘s Ohm Youngmisuk).
Even if the Lakers don’t actually make the NBA Finals, they’ll absolutely play postseason basketball. That type of turnaround, likely due in large part to LeBron, will more than warrant serious MVP consideration for the man who’s already got four Maurice Podoloff Trophies on his shelf.
We have to remember what “Most Valuable Player” actually stands for — it’s not just a comparison of stats. Instead, it’s a measure of how valuable a particular player is on a number of levels. If LeBron’s arrival in Los Angeles can take the Lakers from a 35-win team to a 53-win team, I’d call that ridiculously valuable.
I’m sure Magic Johnson would agree wholeheartedly.