Summer Forecast: Most Valuable Player

[Sdayi135]

Summer Forecast: Most Valuable Player (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=OffseasonPredictions09-MVP&campaign=rss&source=NBAHeadlines)

LeBron James took home his first MVP trophy last season. What will he do for an encore performance?

We've already predicted next season's Rookie of the Year, best newcomer and worst newcomer. Now it's time to move on to the big boys: Who will be the 2009-10 MVP?

Here's the voting breakdown:

2009-10 Predictions: Most Valuable Player

RANK PLAYER VOTES

1

LeBron James
Small forward
Cleveland Cavaliers
Last season
1st in MVP voting
28.4 ppg; 7.6 rpg; 7.2 apg
35

2

Kobe Bryant
Shooting guard
Los Angeles Lakers
Last season
2nd in MVP voting
26.8 ppg; 5.2 rpg; 4.9 apg
9

3

Dwyane Wade
Shooting guard
Miami Heat
Last season
3rd in MVP voting
30.2 ppg; 5.0 rpg; 7.5 apg
6
Also receiving votes: Kevin Durant (1), Dwight Howard (1), Derrick Rose (1)

The skinny

LeBron James
LBJ was finally crowned king of the regular season, winning the MVP vote after finishing ninth, sixth, second, fifth and fourth in his first five years. Cleveland broke through with 66 wins, and might need an encore to get LBJ his second Podoloff Trophy. And overall the stakes are higher than ever, given last May's disappointment, the Cavs' Shaquisition and LeBron's looming free agency. Still, more than half of our experts consider King James likely to continue his MVP reign.

NBA OFFSEASON BUZZ

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Kobe Bryant
The 2008 MVP finished second in last season's race, leading the Lakers to 65 wins despite his numbers being down slightly. In June, however, he proved he is still the top dog in the league by winning his fourth NBA ring and the Finals MVP award. Although Kobe faces a new set of challenges with teams now gunning for the Lakers and Ron Artest now in the mix, nine of our voters think the Dobermamba will seize his second regular-season MVP trophy.

Dwyane Wade
Despite the Heat winning only 43 games last season, Wade finished third in the MVP vote. That's how impressive he was in leading a young squad to the playoffs. Can he take the Heat to higher heights this season? It'll be tough with Miami's roster basically the same, and with its second-best player, Michael Beasley, struggling with off-the-court issues. But with Wade able to do more with less, six voters say he'll be deserving.

[BeeGee]

It'll be tough to keep Bron from winning it again, but if the Heat can manage to win 50 games or close to it (which I seriously doubt them as being capable), I could see Wade supplanting Bron.

Can't leave KG out of the discussion, and real talk, you can't leave Tim Duncan out of it either. If the Spurs return to prominence as a serious title contender and Timmy has a 20-10 season, he'd be a "feel-good" story for sure and would garner serious consideration.

I think Kobe and KG will be there too, but right now, I'm looking at Wade, Bron, and Blackjack 21 as a feel-good possibility.

[Hornets1]

Top 5 vote getters for next year's MVP will be the same as last year(Unless the Thunder make the postseason).

[picc84]

Its gonna be hard to win MVP with Shaq on the team. Ditto for Kobe and his squad. I say Dwyane Wade explodes the Heat into the playoffs and gets MVP.

[Hornets1]

Its gonna be hard to win MVP with Shaq on the team. Ditto for Kobe and his squad. I say Dwyane Wade explodes the Heat into the playoffs and gets MVP.

Wade, like Paul and James, really don't have great supporting casts and do the most w/ the least. Kobe and Howard play in stacked lineups. Wade deserves the MVP if he continues his play, and James and Paul should be #2 and #3 IMO.

Rose is an amazing player and will join the top tier of PG's(Williams,Paul,Parker)this year, however giving him a vote over Paul THIS year is just wrong.