Well, the oddsmakers are taking notice as some sports books have made.

King James the M V P.

Favorite.

Mr.

Smith, I'm starting with you.

Um, how should we feel about LeBron being an M v P.

Favorite?

At this point?

I'm sorry.

Molly's somebody was in my I didn't hear your complete question.

I apologize.

What did you say?

All good.

How should we feel about LeBron being an MVP favorite?

I don't think we should have a problem with it.

Obviously, I've been talking about Kevin Durant because Max has been talking about Jo Ellen being and Joel Embiid obviously deserves consideration.

And Kevin Durant is averaging 30.

Okay, after coming off in the Achilles tear.

But we have to pay attention to LeBron James.

And I don't mind him putting all 46 points against his old team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, basically saying you all must have forgot who the hell I am.

Certainly he was aiming at somebody courtside, sitting next to calves ownership that was applauding a miss.

And then he put on the show in the fourth quarter.

We all get that, but I would remind everybody he didn't really need to drop 46 that game to put his statement.

Season on display.

LeBron James is 36 years of age, all 36 years of age.

In his 18th season, he is averaging 25 8 and seven okay on on on 41% shooting from three point range, which, if he continued that this clip would be the best off his career.

Max alluded to his game evolving and basically, you know, just just just transforming before our very eyes, and that's all fine, good and dandy.

But he's leading the team in scoring.

We know that he's your point forward.

Everything runs through him.

They've got the best record in basketball there.

They've got the best record in basketball, that the number one seed in the West, that our reigning defending MBA champions and, oh, by the way, they're undefeated on the road this season going into Philly tonight and so when you take all of those things into consideration and we talk about an M V P, we do have to take into consideration numbers we obviously take into strong consideration impact.

But when you combine that with the result meaning Number one in the NBA, as in the best records.

Unblemished, undefeated on the road.

Okay, averaging more points, then Anthony Davis at this particular juncture doing what he has done and the fact that he's a four time champion, the reigning, eh?

NBA champion.

An MBA Finals, M v p.

At the age of 36 still doing what he's doing.

I don't think it could be ignored, and I don't think we could summarily dismissed the man's greatness, even at this particular moment in time.

I ain't talking resume.

I'm not talking longevity.

I'm talking right now the way that he has been balling for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The fact that he's in the conversation for league M v P is not only a proposed but very, very predictable.

Yeah, he's in the he's in the running.

LeBron's a solid candidate.

He's not the choice right now.

If you're talking about the best player in basketball, who we all know based on what we keep seeing in the playoffs when it matters most, it's LeBron were not up to that yet.

I'm the one saying, What are you talking about?

Regular season M v P and then just the finals, Have you?

What about the whole playoffs?

We should wait till the end of the finals, then give the M V P for the whole thing.

Okay, but But you argue.

Actually, no, we're talking regular season M v P.

We need to incentivize teams.

We need to give the paying customer the fans something to watch in the regular season.

Well, okay, Regular season M V P so far has been Joel and Be and beads the regular season MVP.

Stephen A.

Over his last five games, he's averaging 33 11 and two blocks.

Joel Embiid shooting over that time 35% from three.

If you wanna look at his season numbers, you could talk about points, rebounds, assists, blocked, steals, all those things, percentages, true shooting, all that kind of stuff.

But PR is a good kind of shorthand for that, and Beat is leading the league well above LeBron.

There it is 31.2.

Where's LeBron on the list?

So so statistically per game and beat has been better statistically per game, but Stephen A.

If you just eyeball it and beat has been a monster not only on the offensive end but on the defensive end.

A monster, maybe the best player in the game defensively by by the numbers per game.

He's the best player in the game.

Offensively, What else is there?

There's defense and there's a fence, but there's more.

LeBron's played in all 18 games.

His team is in first place.

He is playing with a D.

Another M V P caliber player is good as Simmons is.

He's not that LeBron's got a D.

They're probably going to split the vote.

They're in first place.

So where the Sixers, well and Beans only played in 14 games hasn't affected where his team is there in first place.

Now he has missed four games, tightness in his back.

Everything okay?

What happened in those four games?

It hasn't hurt their position in the standings in first place in the conference.

And what you see, what M B doesn't play, they don't just kind of barely lose.

They get blown out by teams that they beat with them be Stephen A.

They have Dwight Howard.

It's not like they don't have anything there, you just hold on.

So in other words, party argument.

Dwight Howard, Did you really just say that?

Did you just Thanks for watching ESPN on YouTube for live streaming sports and premium content.

Subscribe Thio, ESPN plus.