The Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites in the Western Conference to win the 2020 NBA Finals because of their two superstars. Other teams might have deeper rosters, but LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been the league’s best duo, leading L.A. to the No.1 seed.

James is likely to finish second in the NBA MVP race. Had the season not been cut short, he might have caught Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetokounmpo is likely to win the award for a second straight year while leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the East’s No.1 seed.

Davis is a borderline top-5 MVP candidate and the favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. It’s unlikely that any other team will finish the season with two top-10 MVP candidates.

James Harden and Russell Westbrook have scored more points than any other pair of teammates. The Houston Rockets are only the No.6 seed in the West, and Westbrook’s inefficiency was a problem for the first few months of the season.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are arguably as good as any duo when they’re completely healthy. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Clippers, the two stars have only played 32 games together.

Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis might be the best pair of teammates in a few seasons. For now, they are probably only good enough to get the Dallas Mavericks to the second round of the playoffs.

James really started to get some MVP buzz days before Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 and the season was suspended indefinitely. He outplayed Antetokounmpo and Leonard in consecutive victories over the Bucks and Clippers.

The greatest player of his generation is potentially still the best player in basketball. James leads the NBA with 10.6 assists per game. He’s averaging 7.9 assists per contest and his 25.7 points per game rank 11th overall.

Davis’ 26.7 points per game are good for ninth in the league. With 9.4 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals per game, the big man has transformed the Lakers into the West’s top defensive team. The Lakers are third in defensive efficiency—first in the conference—after ranking 13th last year when Davis was still with New Orleans.

Davis is third in PER and James is ninth.

Kyle Kuzma is a distant third on the Lakers with 12.5 points per game. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is fourth on the team with 9.5 points per game.

Four Clippers average more than 18.5 points per game. The No.3 seed Denver Nuggets have six players that are double-digit scorers. Five members of the Utah Jazz’s roster average at least 13.8 points per game.

The Lakers are the only West playoff team that has just three double-digit scorers. They sit 5.5 games ahead of the Clippers for the best record in the conference.

Anthony Davis LeBron James Lakers
LeBron James #23 is congratulated by Anthony Davis #3 of the Los Angeles Lakers after scoring a basket against Memphis Grizzlies during the second half at Staples Center on October 29, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
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