The L.A. Lakers are cruising through the NBA postseason and now stand just 3 wins away from an NBA Finals appearance.
Miraculously, it has been 35-year-old LeBron James who has led the charge for the Purple and Gold, averaging 25 points, 10.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game on 49.3% shooting.
But for all his heroics, James lost the MVP race to young Buck Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was eliminated from postseason contention in Round 2 by Miami.
It’s an interesting dynamic, given the current situation, and it has certainly been a hot debate topic since the news dropped on Friday.
As for what LeBron himself had to say about, he made his feelings clear after his team’s Game 1 victory…
“It pissed me off, that’s my true answer. It pissed me off because out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes. That’s what pissed me off more than anything. Not saying the winner wasn’t deserving of the MVP, but that pissed me off.”
"It pissed me off."
LeBron James was not happy losing the MVP award to Giannis Antetokounmpo 😤
(via @TomerAzarly)pic.twitter.com/iwyh7oqy87
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 19, 2020
Considering the success LeBron and the Lakers had this season, him only getting 16 first-place votes is pretty disrespectful. But, for James, the rant did not stop there.
He went on later to criticize the voting process by using the 2012-13 season as an example.
"I had a chance to be defensive player of the year and also MVP in the same season. In that year Marc Gasol was rewarded defensive player of the year, but he made 2nd team all-defense."
-LeBron James
(Via @BenGolliver )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 19, 2020
So, James has a lot of grievances with the current voting system, and he’s not wrong in the things that he’s saying.
Some aspects of the process are certainly questionable and don’t make a whole lot of sense. James may very well have been robbed of a few accolades.
But incorporating something better is much easier said than done, and one has to consider that the award system will never be perfect. There will always be someone, somewhere who has their own idea about it.
As for James, his focus needs to be on the mission at hand, which is to get his team a Championship. If he’s able to accomplish that, it should more than make up for an MVP award.
