If you're going to pick at this moment, the choice is LeBron James. He has gone all out to get the Cleveland Cavaliers basically to even footing with the Lakers in the standings.

Despite dazzling much of the time and especially for the past month, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant has been pacing himself somewhat. James has more rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and field-goal percentage points.

But this voter will be watching just as closely what happens with some of the Radmanovics and the Ilgauskases the rest of the way.

On Wednesday night in San Antonio, Bryant barked at Radmanovic for missing a defensive rotation to Manu Ginobili. When Radmanovic began to protest during a stoppage at the other end, Bryant lectured him again.

Bryant and James have improved in leadership, understanding that you press some buttons for some people and others for others. All the while, you lead foremost by example. Maybe your hard work will rub off, maybe it won't.

But there is no doubt whatsoever that it's more likely that Delonte West and Anderson Varejao and Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum will find something more inside themselves if they see the best of the best finding it on a regular basis.

For James, the summer Olympic experience in China has made a direct impact on his NBA career. James was surrounded by -- and went up against with pride at stake---- the kind of talent in Team USA practice that pushed him to a previously untapped reservoir of defensive energy. He also saw first-hand the example Bryant set in leaving his scorer's mentality on the other side of the Great Wall.

James has lifted the Cavaliers from a good defensive team to a great one. For all the excitement about the Lakers' installation of their new swarming defense, Cleveland has made the NBA's biggest jump in defensive field-goal percentage, going from 45.5 last season to 41.9 this season. (The Lakers actually have gotten worse in field-goal defense -- 44.9 percent now, 44.5 last season -- so they have more work to do.)

Without the brittle Ilgauskas this season, the Cavaliers are 7-3, with victories over Boston and New Orleans. This is impressive because he is a valuable presence in the Cavaliers offense for pop-a-shot jumpers off the penetration of James, West and Mo Williams.

Ilgauskas might be out another two weeks, and now the vastly improved West is out because of a broken wrist. The schedule firms up so much that it would be shocking if Cleveland remains atop the league when the mid-February All-Star break rolls around, but Cavaliers coach Mike Brown believes anything is possible with the community feeling James has helped cultivate.

"Prior to training camp, they went to watch 'Monday Night Football,'" Brown said. "They went to eat. Not just three or four guys, every player went to dinner. Twelve of the 14 went to lunch. It's just grown. They are about as close as you can be off the floor."

This is interesting to say about a team with a singular global icon. Yet James even deflected the sole spotlight of standing alone on the cover of "GQ" magazine by thanking David Stern for the dress code.

The Lakers are no slouches on this front, either, and there is no doubt that part of it is how much more willing Bryant is to tap his chest for all the world to see when he blows a defensive assignment.

One of the most memorable behind-the-scenes moments of the tumultuous 2003-04 Lakers season that ended with an NBA Finals loss to Detroit was Gary Payton's spot-on imitation of Bryant placidly watching as his man ran free to dunk on Payton -- G.P.'s verbiage was a wee bit more profane -- before Bryant nonchalantly turned the other way to go on offense.

From the most recent Lakers game there was Jordan Farmar spotting teammate DJ Mbenga's car on the side of the road early Friday night and swinging back around despite heavy traffic in case help was needed. Luke Walton was there as a sounding board late Friday night after a distraught Lamar Odom slumped on the bench upon arriving too late with his defensive rotation to stop a key Jameer Nelson 3-pointer.

It's a team game that just happens to have an individual league MVP that comes out in the wash. Come April, it might well be Bryant. But right now, it's James.