Skip Bayless questions conventional Vegas bookmakers’ wisdom in ranking Luka Doncic first and LeBron James fifth in their MVP odds.
Advertisement
Many NBA experts are exceptionally high on Luka Doncic following a near-MVP season from the 21-year-old in 2019-20. In his first real playoff campaign, Doncic exceeded himself with averages of 31 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game.
This was in the wake of a regular season where he averaged 28.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Doncic made an iconic playoff moment for himself with the gamewinner in Game 4 against the Clippers. He became the youngest player to have 43 points, 17 rebounds and 13 assists in a playoff game.
LeBron James, on the other hand, bagged the first assists title of his career. He turned up the heat in the playoffs with averages of 27.6 points per game through 21 games. By the end of the postseason, there was no doubt that he’s still the preeminent force in basketball.
Why Skip Bayless doesn’t like Luka Doncic as MVP over LeBron James
Skip Bayless advocated for LeBron James to be awarded the MVP trophy last season in a departure from his anti-Bron stances. The FS1 Undisputed brought up his MVP odds for the upcoming season in disgust today.
Wait, Luka is the MVP favorite and LeBron is 5th??? Now on @undisputed
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 16, 2020
Bayless has been a vocal critic of the Slovenian youngster over the past season. According to Skip, Luka Doncic is fools’ gold. He doesn’t see much merit in him being ranked #4 among NBA players by ESPN either.
Overall, one can say objectively ahead of the season that Doncic is tipped to become the next media darling of the league. LeBron is past the stage now where he could care too deeply about MVP snubs. He is likely to be given more rest days for load management this season in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs.
