Though the NBA season has just started, fans and experts alike are relentless in voicing out their bets for the NBA's Most Valuable Player this season. Aside from the reigning MVP, Stephen Curry, LeBron James is also the top choice of NBA general managers according to vicesports.
Choosing LeBron James as the next MVP is logical, especially if one would base it from his previous performances. However, that would still remain a probability, for aside from tough competition, James also has to deal with his age which experts believe to be a big factor affecting an NBA player's performance.
According to vicesports, James, who would be turning 31 this coming December 30, would likely feel a slow decline on his performance. Vicesport postulated that "if a player manages to offer that level of production at 26, there is generally very little change in his performance as he approaches 30. Once the player passes 30, however, the decline becomes steeper and steeper-so much so that by the time that average player is 34, his wins production has entered the negative range."
To support their [vicesport] claim, the article cited the decline of performance as observed on the games of Jordan and Kobe. A 25-year-old Jordan in 1988-89 had a "Wins Produced per 48 minutes" (or WP48) was 0.390, said vicesports. However, by the time Jordan was 29, his WP48 was 0.257, which was reduced to 0.152 during 1997-98. Kobe on the other hand had a WP48 of 0.195 when he was 25, and this year, according to Kobe himself, he "freaking sucks."
Now with the case of LeBron James, vicesport detailed that "in 2008-09, James was 24 years old, and his WP48 was 0.345 for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season, however, James' production slipped: his WP48 was only 0.208. After three games this season his WP48 was 0.205."
The statistics presented somehow validates one factor which is most of the time overlooked by most fans and some experts. The age and the continuous progress of time somehow play a vital factor on a player's performance, and thus affecting his chance of achieving an NBA title, which is usually "awarded to a leading scorer on one of the best teams," said vicesports.
Still it would be early to conclude on what would be the outcome of the performance of James, despite the age factor being emphasized. With his current output, James is still a top contender for the MVP title this season.
