After four long months, the NBA season will formally start on October 16th. During the off-season, we’ve seen a lot of players, including franchise players, traded from one team to another. The landscape has changed, but the player's goal is the same. The biggest buzz created this season was when LeBron James decided to leave his hometown to join the Los Angeles Lakers. That move alone took the Lakers from a mediocre team to a championship calibre team.

The King's court

With that said, a lot of NBA and basketball experts pick LeBron James to win the Most Valuable Player Award for the 5th time in his illustrious career.

If this happens, he will be tied with arguably the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. James is already in his 15th season, but there are no signs of slowing down. He is indeed a one of a kind player and is setting a new standard of what a basketball player should look like.

James’ mission this season is to revive the glory days of the LA Lakers. Basing on his track record, he has all the skills to do it and with the right kind of players added to the team, he might even lead them to a championship gold. However, even The King will have a hard time doing this since the Western Conference is still ruled by the defending Champions Golden State Warriors who just added another monster to their lineup, DeMarcus Cousins.

The Beard looking to repeat

Last year’s Most Valuable Player James Harden, is considered able to win the coveted award twice in a row. Gone are the days when Harden was seen as a liability on the defensive end as he made an improvement in his game. This is probably one of the reasons why he won the award last season, beating LeBron James in the MVP race.

Harden’s Rockets are also poised to dethrone Golden State by adding multiple All Stars and one of the greatest scorers in the history of the game, Carmelo Anthony.

The new face of the league

Another franchise player on the list who is a heavy favourite among players is Anthony Davis. The versatile power forward of the New Orleans Pelicans is again showing signs of why he is considered in the MVP conversation.

The product of Kentucky Wildcats led his team last year in multiple categories such as points, rebounds, steals, blocks and PER. The only thing that is stopping The Brow from reaching a higher plateau is his nagging injuries.

The Klaw's revenge

The biggest mystique in the NBA right now is wearing a new uniform but still has the same fervour towards the game. Kawhi Leonard, who left San Antonio Spurs and its fans weary is about to start a new journey. It might sound peculiar, but he became the most hated player in San Antonio. Regardless of what the rabid fans think about The Klaw, his game is still the same. This is the reason why he was in the MVP conversation for four straight years right. He and LeBron James are regarded as the two best two-way players in the league.