It seems like we’re holding LeBron James to impossible standards at this point in his career.
We’re getting mad at the league for him not getting any MVP votes as if it was normal to see a guy entering his 19th season and being among the leading candidates to win MVP.
In reality, there’s nothing normal about that.
Bill Simmons — who’s never been LeBron’s biggest fan, said that James isn’t on the same tier as Giannis Antetokounmpo or Kevin Durant entering this season:
“For LeBron, it’s year 19. I think he’s top 10, but it’s crazy to say he’s on the Giannis/Durant level. Could he have carried like Durant did last year? what Giannis did in those last two rounds? I don’t think so,” Simmons said on Zach Lowe’s podcast.
Well, that’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. No player has been this good at this point in this career, so there should be no shame in not being the best on Earth.
That’s what Shannon Sharpe said about LeBron not being an MVP candidate but still being voted a top-5 player in the league:
“Now, he’s heading into year 19. He didn’t get an MVP vote but I feel very comfortable saying no one into Year 19 has more expectations. Kobe was voted the 40th-best player in year 19. Dirk Nowitzki was a shell of himself, Tim Duncan was a shell of himself,” Sharpe said on Undisputed. “These are the expectations. We’re talking about LeBron James not getting an MVP vote but he was still voted a top 5 player. No other historically great player has been voted this high in year 19.”
It’s not realistic to think that a player should be an MVP in his 19th season. There have been a couple of precedents of old players winning the award but they’re the exception to that rule.
