Because the MVP trophy goes to just one player, although it might be the most important individual award, it's not the most descriptive of the players who dominated a given season. For that, we have to turn to the All-NBA first team -- the best of the best at every position. Three members of this year's All-NBA first team are easy to choose. The last two spots offer more interesting debates. Let's take a look.
James
Forward: LeBron James, Miami Heat
Assuming James sits out tonight's season finale, he'll finish just shy of his third season with at least 25 wins above replacement (WARP). His total of 24.9 is still good enough to put him 10th in NBA history. James now has three seasons in the top 10 -- as many as Michael Jordan.
Durant
Forward: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
Although Carmelo Anthony will surely beat him for the scoring title, Durant has by one measure put together the greatest scoring season in modern NBA history. From an analytical perspective, there are two components to scoring -- efficiency, as measured by true shooting percentage (TS%), and frequency, as measured by usage rate. Durant and James have combined elite performances in both categories this season, posting true shooting percentages of .647 (Durant) and .640 (James) while using more than 30 percent of their teams' plays.
To combine both factors, I add five points to the TS% for every percent of usage more than league average (20 percent). That pushes James' adjusted TS% to .692 and Durant's to .696 -- nearly the .700 mark that has been reached just once since the NBA added the 3-point line, by Artis Gilmore in 1981-82. To compare historically, we need to make one more adjustment for league average. And that pushes Durant (30.2 percent better than league average) ahead of Gilmore (30.1 percent), with James also cracking the top five.
Greatest scoring season ever?
Gasol
Center: Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Gasol and Tim Duncan have emerged as the top two candidates for this spot. Statistically, Duncan has three advantages. He plays a larger role in the San Antonio offense, is superior on the defensive glass and blocks more shots. Despite the latter two edges, I still gave Gasol the nod as my NBA Defensive Player of the Year because of the impact he has in terms of positioning and post defense that isn't tracked on the box score but is reflected in Memphis' elite rating with him on the floor.
On offense, although Duncan is more likely to finish a play, Gasol is equally likely to start one from the high post. After trading Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies successfully made Gasol and Mike Conley the focal points of their offensive attack. Since the All-Star break, Gasol is handing out assists as frequently as Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill. For a 7-footer, that's pretty good.
Duncan still might get the narrow edge on a per-minute basis. However, Gasol has played 700-plus more minutes than Duncan, and value counts when it comes to awards. That's why Gasol earned a spot on not only my All-NBA first team but also -- like with Per Diem colleague Tom Haberstroh -- my MVP ballot.
Paul
Guard: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Like Durant, Paul is getting shortchanged by the traditional statistical leaderboard. Injured Rajon Rondo will lead the NBA with 11.1 assists per game to Paul's 9.7, but the Clippers' point guard has been the league's best playmaker. Playing time makes up part of the gap, given that Paul averaged just 33.1 minutes on a deep L.A. team with budding point guard Eric Bledsoe. Beyond that, Rondo's assists came at a price -- 3.9 turnovers a night. Paul turned the ball over just 2.3 times per game, the best of anyone in the league's top 13 in assists. Paul's turnover-free play is the biggest reason it's Lob City and not Overthrown Pass City.
Per Diem predecessor John Hollinger developed pure point rating (PPR) to combine assists and turnovers in a more logical fashion than assist-turnover ratio. Paul led the league in PPR (12.3) by a wide margin over Jose Calderon (10.2). Rondo, with a PPR of just 9.2, finished third. Besides the playmaking, Paul also continued to score efficiently, continued to rebound and was among the league's leaders in steal rate. In short, Paul was the league's best guard in a season marred only by the 12 games he missed to injury.
Westbrook
Guard: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
This is where things get really difficult. You can make a case for as many as six or seven players for the second guard spot on the All-NBA ballot. After forwards Durant and James, seven of the next nine players in WARP are guards, a group that includes Paul but not Tony Parker (who has never rated as well by WARP as other metrics and lost time to injury late in the season). Even Deron Williams made a late push at an All-NBA spot.
Most of the contenders have flaws. Parker missed enough time that he would have had to play substantially better than the other guards to earn a spot, and I don't think he did. Dwyane Wade is also docked for time missed, although he still belongs on the third team, along with Stephen Curry, because he was as effective offensively and was better defensively than the other candidates when he was on the floor.
That leaves three players, and I view two of them as having nearly identical cases. Kobe Bryant and James Harden put together terrific offensive seasons at the price of their defensive effort. They took plays off on a regular basis, and their teams paid for it -- the Lakers and Rockets were better defensively with their stars on the bench. The trade-off was probably worth it, given how much Bryant and Harden were relied on for efficient, volume scoring, but it still limits their value and leaves them on the second team.
After Paul, the best all-around guard in the league was Westbrook. Yes, his shot selection can be appalling at times, but, when we account for his usage rate (32.9 percent of the Thunder's plays, second in the league after Carmelo Anthony), his adjusted TS% is competitive with that of other elite guards. Westbrook is the best passer of the group, and he hasn't gotten enough credit for maintaining his lower turnover rate while ramping up his distribution in the wake of Harden's departure. And although Westbrook won't be an All-Defensive candidate any time soon, Scott Brooks doesn't necessarily have to hide him on defense.
The best case for Westbrook might be Oklahoma City's overall performance. For all the quibbling about whether Westbrook should defer to Durant, the Thunder have a chance to finish as the league's best offense. And the Oklahoma City starting five, which was once regularly outplayed by the team's bench in terms of plus/minus, outscored opponents by 12.3 points per 100 possessions (per NBA.com/stats) and was terrific on offense with nonscorers Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha. The majority of that credit goes to Durant, but there's plenty left to share with Westbrook.
All-NBA Second Team
G Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
G James Harden, Houston Rockets
F Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
F Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
C Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
All-NBA Third Team
G Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
G Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
F Paul George, Indiana Pacers
F Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
C Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
The rest of my awards ballot:
MVP
1. LeBron James, Miami Heat
2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
3. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
4. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Rookie of the Year
1. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
2. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
3. Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
Coach of the Year
1. George Karl, Denver Nuggets
2. Lionel Hollins, Memphis Grizzlies
3. Mike Woodson, New York Knicks
Defensive Player of the Year
1. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
2. Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers
3. Andre Iguodala, Denver Nuggets
Sixth Man Award
1. J.R. Smith, New York Knicks
2. Ryan Anderson, New Orleans Hornets
3. Matt Barnes, Los Angeles Clippers
Most Improved Player
1. Larry Sanders, Milwaukee Bucks
2. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Lance Stephenson, Indiana Pacers
Executive of the Year
(Tie) Glen Grunwald, New York Knicks/Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets
All-Rookie First Team
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets
Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons
Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
Pablo Prigioni, New York Knicks
All-Rookie Second Team
Harrison Barnes, Golden State Warriors
Maurice Harkless, Orlando Magic
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte Bobcats
Brian Roberts, New Orleans Hornets
Jonas Valanciunas, Toronto Raptors