LeBron James suggests NBA add Offensive Player of the Year award and reevaluate MVP criteria

The National Basketball Association (NBA) continues to grow with the times, and the league has expanded its list of individual trophies over the past decade — most recently in 2023, when it introduced the Clutch Player of the Year award.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, LeBron James, is widely known for his openness to new ideas and rules. On a recent episode of his podcast, Mind the Game, co-hosted with NBA great Steve Nash, the 40-year-old stated that the league should follow in the footsteps of the National Football League (NFL) and introduce an Offensive Player of the Year trophy.

“I did think about how the NFL does Offensive Player of the Year and MVP. I thought that could possibly be something in our league, where you give an Offensive Player of the Year and an MVP. Not saying we should do it, but it was something that was pretty cool in the NFL how they do that,” James said.

Should the NBA take a page out of the NFL’s book? pic.twitter.com/FLveAXOZ6G

— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) June 24, 2025

The NBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) honor is usually awarded to the best offensive player of the season — as was the case this past season, where Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the award. He played a key role in his franchise’s maiden NBA championship win and deservedly earned the recognition.

However, three-time MVP Nikola Jokić was widely considered the favorite to win the honor, as evidenced by his averages of 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game. It is widely believed that voter fatigue and the Denver Nuggets’ poor performances hurt the Serbian superstar’s chances, despite him being a strong contender to claim a fourth MVP award.

As James suggested, if there had been an Offensive Player of the Year award, it might have gone to Gilgeous-Alexander, while Jokić could have taken home the MVP title.

“It changes. Is it the best player? Is it the player that had the best season with his team? Maybe that’s Offensive Player of the Year. Or is it just simply the best player in the league? Obviously, you are not going to have a guy in there whose team didn’t come close to making the playoffs. If that’s the case, then he’s not the most valuable then. I don’t know. It just changes too much,” he added.

James makes a valid point, considering that the MVP award is often heavily influenced by a team’s success and progress throughout the season. An Offensive Player of the Year award could allow a player who had an outstanding offensive season — but played for a struggling team — to still receive recognition.

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