The Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James has won four regular season Most Valuable Player trophies and has also won three similar pieces of hardware for his performances in the NBA Finals. If the projections of the ESPN Forecast team are of any indication, James will be picking up his fifth MVP trophy next year.
ESPN.com noted that 13 different players received votes. Each first place ballot was worth five points, second place was worth three and third place was worth a single point
James had a comfortable cushion in the top spot, receiving 145 total points and 18 first-place votes, compared to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook’s 112 total points and 15 first-place votes.
The threesome of the Golden State Warriors’ Kevin Durant, San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard and Golden State’s Stephen Curry finished distantly behind in the third through fifth spots. Durant had 50 total points and six first-place votes; Leonard, 41 total points and four first-place votes; and Curry, who has won the league’s last two MVP awards finished with 37 total points and just two first-place votes.
The remaining eight players scored accordingly:
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 15 points
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers: 11 points
Paul George, Indiana Pacers/LaMarcus Aldridge, San Antonio Spurs: 3 points each
Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers/Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans: 2 points each
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves/Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers: 1 point each
