It is too bad that the NBA's most valuable player award can only go to one player, because so many deserving candidates have emerged this season. But with only a third of the season played, the list already can be dwindled down to two: The Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James and the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash. They should both emerge as MVP candidates, but James should win in the end.

James has not only turned around the Cavaliers, he's turned around a franchise, a city and probably a sport that has spent a few years looking for someone to replace Michael Jordan.

He's in the top six in points, assists and minutes per game. James is second in the league in steals while Nash doesn't even crack the top 50.

James is leading a team which has two decent starters and a bunch of role players to what could be a 55- to 60-win season.

And he's doing it all at the ripe old age of 20. It's amazing to think there's more to come from this guy, but there's no reason the NBA should wait to reward him. Forget the argument that the Eastern Conference is soft and forget the argument that this team has been quite unimpressive on the road; James has made this team into a force to be reckoned with this season.

James plays the game with a combination of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. His versatility cannot be matched.

An MVP's true value cannot be more apparent in any player in the NBA right now than James. He's what Jordan was to the Bulls or what Wayne Gretzky was to the Los Angeles Kings: he is the franchise. If James gets injured, his team is a lottery team. If that is not the mark of a true MVP, then no one deserves the award.

People are coming to see James both at home and on the road (the Cavaliers road attendance average makes other teams green with envy). He's amazingly gifted and seemingly gracious in an age of spoiled, loud-mouthed and arrogant athletes.

But while James has been great, his team has not had the turnaround and dominance that Phoenix Suns have had, with no small contribution by Steve Nash.

He has shown what kind of contribution he can bring to a team. Coming over from the Dallas Mavericks, Nash was already an all-star, but very few thought he would turn around the Suns, who finished last season at 29-53.

After adding Nash and a couple of other players (including a great pickup of Quentin Richardson) to the puzzle, the Suns reached their 29-win mark from last year in only 33 games. They are on pace for 70 wins. Nash leads the league in assists and is second in free-throw percentage.

Nash leads an offense that averages a league-leading 110 points per game and beats opponents by an average of 11.5 points. He is the catalyst to the best fast-break offense which rolled over the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat, two of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

But if Nash has one downfall it's his lack of defensive skills, and a basketball game involves both defense and offense. Although he has mastered the offensive game, Nash is a defensive liability. James' position as second in the league in steals shows his dominance on defense.

Michael Jordan, when he was in his prime, was not only the most explosive offensive player on the court, but he was a 9-time member of the All-NBA first defensive team. James is starting to come into that position. A two-way threat provides so much more value to a team.

But while James and Nash are great, it would be a crime to dismiss the other candidates who could be on this list. Nash's own teammate Amare Stoudemire is having an incredible season, but he misses out because of how much Nash has contributed to his recent success.

Kevin Garnett is the defending MVP and has better statistics than he did last year, but his Minnesota Timberwolves are hovering near a .500 record.

Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Ray Allen are playing their hearts out for very good teams, but their outputs are not really all that different from what we are accustomed to seeing from them.

Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal are both very dominant players for the Miami Heat, the best team in the Eastern Conference, and playing together has made each of them look better.

Nash may have a better supporting cast. But no one is carrying his team like James, and he will ultimately emerge as the NBA's most valuable player.