The NBA bubble is ready to turn into champagne bubbles Friday night with bottles probably already on ice in the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room.

The only NBA Finals outcome that seems unclear to some is who will win the series MVP, but it really should be as certain as a Lakers playoff win in the Black Mamba jerseys.

Barring something inconsistent from a player whose fire is a flamethrower, LeBron James is about to become the first player in NBA history to win NBA Finals MVP with three franchises (2012 and 2013 with Miami and 2016 with Cleveland).

An argument is being made for Anthony Davis, a brilliant sidekick, but James is the team leader in NBA Finals points (27.8 per game), rebounds (11.0) and assists (8.5), just as he was when he won his other three Finals MVP trophies.

Davis has been phenomenal, with a defensive impact that is not numerated well. He and James could become the first Finals duo to each average 25 points and shoot over 50% since Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2002, according to ESPN.

“If LeBron wins Finals MVP, I don’t think it means much for his legacy,” former NBA player Antoine Walker said on FS1, where James hater Skip Bayless must be getting to him. “ … LeBron hasn’t played great this series.”

Walker said this AFTER James posted a 20-point, nine-rebound, four-assist second half in the Lakers’ Game 4 win.

As for James’ legacy, winning the Finals MVP would make Michael Jordan the only player with more Finals MVPs (six). And after his first two-day rest since the series began and a chance to check out of his 94-day hotel stay, who is betting against James now?

 

Add comment