LeBron James is looking for a third straight MVP and NBA championship and if he wins most valuable player again it will be his fifth win in six years apart from when Derrick Rose won two years ago and along with the Bulls star, NY Knicks leading scorer Carmelo Anthony will also be one of the threats to win MVP.

Rose is returning and Anthony is coming off of a scoring title and off course there are names like Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant as well as Dwight Howard to also consider. The NBA season is inching closer and closer to starting as the schedule moves out of the summer and into the fall, things will start heating up with preseason matchups and with predictions starting to come out already, it's time to look at what players may end up having a chance to win the scoring title and the MVP this season, and the top names include Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant.

All of those players will be in the mix and after Carmelo Anthony won it last year over Kevin Durant, he will be the favorite again, but he will have some stiff competition on James and Bryant. The biggest issue for the Lakers star is whether or not he can come back fully healthy and if he does he should be squarely in the mix for the title. The team should have more chances for him without Dwight Howard this season and he will need to be at his best for LA to have any chance at getting back to the playoffs.

Last season Anthony won the scoring title and there is a good chance he could win it again, as he really the only primary option for the Knicks and this season that should come up again. Derrick Rose will be in the conversation for NBA as long as he comes back healthy and he could be the one to take it from LeBron.

James isn't always in the mix for the scoring title, but after the way things went down at the end of the last season, it's clear that he is the strongest member of the Big 3 and he will have to take over again for the team to win like they did last year. James ended up fourth with nearly 27 points per game ahead of James Harden and this season he could be right out front again. Obviously Harden and Kevin Durant are in the mix as well, but Harden may get some less touches now that Dwight Howard is in Houston.