5 reasons why LeBron James is the 2017-18 NBA MVP

#3 Carrying team despite the mileage on his body

LeBron James

As of right now, James has played 51,631 minutes (regular season + Playoffs), that's good for 16th all-time and although this is his 15th season in the league, he's only 32 years old (set to turn 33 in a week). Add to that, he's made to seven consecutive Finals and could continue that streak in June of 2018, only four players have more (all from the Boston Celtics of 1960's).

Now to this season. James is leading the league in minutes played with 1232 in 33 games. If that isn't enough, with all that mileage on his body, he's leading the league in Player Efficiency Rating (31.4) as well. Among players who average at least 20 minutes of playing time this season, he ranks 10th in the league in terms of usage.

The Cavaliers' second unit has been the best since James returned to the team in 2014 but the roster is still very shorthanded. Thomas, who was out so far, is close to returning but has yet to play a game, Iman Shumpert will only return in mid-January, Tristan Thompson was out for about a month of the season so far. Derrick Rose hasn't played for about a month, dealing with his ankle sprain and off-court issues.