Kyrie Irving thinks LeBron James was ‘definitely’ NBA MVP this year

Following weeks of anticipation, Houston Rockets All-Star guard James Harden earned the NBA MVP award. He wins the award for the 2018-19 season after an impressive campaign. However, there have been a few detractors. Some believe All-Star forward LeBron James made a just as strong or more compelling case to win that prestigious honor.

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Former teammate and current Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving has voiced that he believes James should have been named as this past season’s MVP. (h/t ESPN)

“MVP, it’s hard to gauge nowadays. Because now you have the people’s MVP and you have, like, the NBA’s MVP,” Irving told radio station Hot 97 in New York on Wednesday. “I think the people’s MVP was definitely James [Harden], but the NBA MVP is definitely LeBron [James].”

When asked by an interviewer if he thinks James — and not Harden — should have received the MVP award, Irving said: “If we’re talking strictly based off stats, like, he checks every mark. … He’s incredible, he’s incredible.”

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There is a clear strong respect that Irving has for LeBron James. He recognizes that the 33-year-old had put together a stellar 15th year. Arguably, he put together his best season. James was highly effective across the board averaging 27.5 points on 54.2 percent shooting from the field. As well as that, he had a career-best 9.1 assists, and 8.6 rebounds. In addition, he played all 82 regular season games for the first time in his career.

That said, Harden put up a deserving season as well. He was among the league leaders with 30.4 points along with 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per contest. What may have hurt James’ case is that Harden is that he led the Rockets to the best record in the NBA while playing at an elite level.

He may not have been able to secure his fifth MVP award, it shouldn’t diminish how remarkable his overall play was this past season.