LeBron James Is ‘Pissed Off’ About Getting On 16 First Place MVP Votes
LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers may very well win an NBA Championship this year, however the superstar isn’t happy about not taking home additional hardware in the form of an MVP trophy.
Giannis Antetokounmpo recently took home his second NBA regular season Most Valuable Player award in a row, and while LeBron agrees that the Milwaukee Bucks forward deserves the award, he is steaming over how little respect he received in the voting.
"It pissed me off," James said when asked about losing the MVP race to Antetokounmpo. LeBron only received 16 first-place votes out of 101. It’s that fact that apparently has him angry, rather than just finishing second.
"That’s my true answer," James said. "That's what's pissing me off more than anything. Not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP, but that pissed me off."
Antetokounmpo was also named Defensive Player of the Year over James and his Lakers teammate Anthony Davis. Giannis now becomes the third player, along with Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, to win both the MVP and DPOY in the same year. Antetokounmpo is also the only player other than Jordan to have multiple MVPs and a DPOY.
Antetokounmpo and his Bucks were stunned in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, losing to the Miami Heat in five games of that series. Milwaukee earned the no. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and had the best record in the NBA (53-12) over the course of the regular season.
