Cavaliers' J.R. Smith tabs LeBron James as 'the real MVP'

Following his second triple-double of the season and the 39th of his career, LeBron James was talked up by teammate J.R. Smith.

Smith was interviewed by Quicken Loans Arena's in-house emcee following the Cleveland Cavaliers' 109-97 victory over the Detroit Pistons, and was asked about James' performance.

"Who? The real MVP?" Smith said. "There's a lot of speculation about who should get the award, but we all know who the real MVP is."

Smith felt that way about the MVP race long before James recorded 21 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds against the Pistons.

"In actuality, if you really wanted to, you could give it to him every year," Smith said. "I mean, the numbers, what he does for teams. You see one year removed from a team like Miami - and they probably won't even make the playoffs - to a team that hasn't made the playoffs since he left and then, all of the sudden, we're a 52-win team. So, I don't think you can do that with anybody else that's in our league right now.

"Not to knock anything from the other two guys (Stephen Curry and James Harden). They're having great years, career years for both of them, but if you want to be realistic about it, you could give it to him every time."

James won the NBA's MVP award four times in his first 11 seasons in the league.