LeBron James has been playing fantastic basketball as usual this season, and ever since he turned 40 years of age in late December, he has turned things up another notch. During that time, he has averaged 26.1 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists a game while shooting 54.1% from the field and 42.3% from 3-point range.

But despite those numbers, and even though his Los Angeles Lakers have won 18 of their last 22 games and hold second place in the Western Conference with a 38-21 record, he's nowhere to be found among the candidates for this season's NBA MVP award.

It is generally believed that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder will end up winning the award. Robert Horry, the former Laker and seven-time world champion who is now a Spectrum SportsNet analyst, boldly said that if James got the type of foul calls Gilgeous-Alexander receives, he would win the MVP award.

Gilgeous-Alexander is leading the NBA with an average of 32.3 points a game, and despite his thin frame, he makes a living at the foul line by averaging 8.9 free throw attempts per game, which is second in the league behind Giannis Antetokounmpo.

James used to heavily get the benefit of the doubt from referees, but his free throw attempts have declined significantly over the last several seasons. He's at just 4.5 attempts a game from the charity stripe this season, which is a career low for him.

Of course, one would have to guess that he would prefer winning the NBA Finals MVP over the regular season MVP, since it would, in all likelihood, mean that he would've also received his fifth world championship ring.