LeBron on Love's MVP pick: 'Kevin has his own opinion'

LeBron James cares not for Kevin Love's selection for most valuable player.

Love appeared on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday and cast his support behind Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook, instead of his own teammate:

I would just say because of time spent on the court, you know (James) took those few games off and those couple of weeks off. 

... 

They're both having MVP-type seasons, but I'm going to go with Russell Westbrook because every single night you're looking at his stat sheet, they're fighting for a playoff spot even with Serge Ibaka going down now, Kevin Durant potentially being out the rest of the year and (Westbrook) still going out there and really fighting for his team and them winning and fighting for that seventh and eighth spot in the playoffs.

To be fair, Love is entitled to his own opinion and if he wants to support his good friend and UCLA roommate in Westbrook, that's his prerogative, which is the stance James took, as he relayed to Dave McMenamin of ESPN:

I don't really think too much of it, really. I don't really get involved in that. I think the voters are going to decide who is the MVP. 

I think what Russ has been doing, his numbers have been pretty crazy keeping those guys afloat in the West in his play. Steph Curry can make a case, for sure, what he's been doing - James Harden and myself, as well. 

So, Kevin has his own opinion of who he believes is the MVP. No one should fault him for that.

However, there's something to be said for the optics of the situation. In publicly backing Westbrook, Love needlessly turned the spotlight on himself and his developing relationship with James and the Cavaliers. Although it wasn't his intention, he created a talking point.

Along that vein, there's an interesting debate to be had between Westbrook and James. Both players are tremendous contributors to their respective teams and they have both missed time due to injury this season.

A comparison of their respective seasons is below. Westbrook leads James in every major counting category, but James has played more games, his Cavaliers have a better record, he scores more efficiently and has a bigger impact on his team, as noted by his net rating.

To that point, James hints at on-off effects as the best valuation of a player's performance:

When I'm on the floor, you judge me by when I'm on the floor and my winning and do I win? And when I'm on the floor, do I play at a high level? And that's all I care about.