NBA Finals 2020: Does LeBron James Or Anthony Davis Deserve Finals MVP?

Let’s be real here — it’s only a matter of time before the Los Angeles Lakers win the 2020 NBA Finals.

With a 3-1 series lead over the Miami Heat, the Lakers are on the cusp of hoisting the 17th title in franchise history. With an opportunity to close out the series in Game 5 on Friday night, the question isn’t whether the Lakers will win this series — it’s more of a question of who deserves to win Finals MVP.

There are two legitimate candidates to win Finals MVP and that’s none other than LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Both players have put their imprints on this series, whether statistically or through game-changing plays late in games.

Entering Game 5, betting odds favor James to win his fourth Finals MVP award at -450 odds, according to FanDuel’s odds. Meanwhile, Davis’ odds have faded to just +350 after entering Game 4 at +190 odds.

While both players’ performances have been strong overall in this four-game series, Davis’ weak performance in the Lakers’ lone loss in Game 3 — 15 points and just five boards on a game-worst minus-26 plus-minus rating — has hurt his cause for his first Finals MVP award.

The betting odds clearly favor James over Davis. But let’s make the case for why both players deserve the Finals MVP award before making a final prediction on who really deserves to be the 2020 Finals MVP.

Why LeBron Deserves The Finals MVP

There’s a reason why James is clearly favored over his running mate for the Finals MVP award.

When looking at per-game averages for the series, James has Davis clearly beat. The 35-year-old veteran leads all Lakers in points, rebounds and assists. During the course of NBA Finals history, there’s been only five occurrences of an individual player leading a series for a team in all three categories. In those previous occurrences, the aforementioned player has won the Finals MVP award on every occasion.

In fact, James has done it on three previous occasions with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013 and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.

Outside of per-game averages, James has been the most consistent player all throughout this series. Unlike Davis due to his Game 3 dud, the three-time Finals MVP has come out to play in each game of this series. In fact, James’ worst performance was arguably in Game 3 when he still posted 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and eight assists. However, he did post a game-leading eight turnovers and a minus-4 plus-minus rating.

Furthermore, James does lead the team in some advanced analytics categories, including game score (24.1 to 22.9). He also doesn’t lag too far behind Davis in defensive rating (112 to Davis’ 110).

The consistency in each game is key here for James’ argument.

Why Davis Deserves The Finals MVP

While James’ consistency is his major selling point for the Finals MVP award, Davis’ overall efficiency gives credence to his argument.

Not only does the 27-year-old lead all players — with the exception of Dwight Howard and his .833 effective field goal percentage on six attempts — with a .652 effective field goal percentage, he’s also posting a ridiculous 70.1 true shooting percentage — by far the best in this series.

According to ESPN, that would mark the third-best true shooting percentage for a player with at least 50 field goal attempts in an NBA Finals series over the past 20 years.

That’s in addition to the fact that Davis leads the Lakers in offensive rating and defensive rating. He also blanketed the Heat’s Jimmy Butler in Game 4, holding him to 1-of-7 shooting in the final three quarters while blocking four shots. Davis held Butler to a series-low 22 points. This was right after Butler’s 40-point triple-double performance in Miami’s Game 3 victory.

Davis’ efficiency and defensive performance when the Lakers needed it most are his selling points.

Who Deserves To Win The Finals MVP

Arguments can be made for both players, but James is the logical choice here. While there obviously is still a Game 5 to be played — and perhaps even more if the Heat continue to stingy — assuming both players maintain their per-game averages moving forward, it’s hard to pick against LeBron.

James’ consistency and overall dominance in all categories of each game means he should lock up his fourth Finals MVP award when this series is all said and done.