Forecast: LeBron James for MVP

OK, so this isn't a very difficult forecast: LeBron James should and will win the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

What's interesting in the MVP category is what happens down the ballot, especially for a superstar in an empire state of mind.

Carmelo Anthony's name popped up a lot on our ballots -- in the category of who should get MVP votes, the red-hot New York Knicks forward moved all the way up to fourth in the voting. If the NBA's balloting goes the same way, it would be Melo's first-ever top-five finish in the MVP voting and only his second top-10 appearance in his 10 seasons in the league.

Otherwise the top five consists of the usual suspects: LeBron, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant.

1	LeBron James  Miami Heat | SF | Stats 102 first-place votes		1,060
2	Kevin Durant  Oklahoma City Thunder | SF | Stats One first-place vote		636
3	Chris Paul  Los Angeles Clippers | PG | Stats Zero first-place votes		230
4	Carmelo Anthony  New York Knicks | SF | Stats One first-place vote		171
5	Kobe Bryant  Los Angeles Lakers | SG | Stats One first-place vote		86