The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James did not appear to be too happy with MVP voters after Giannis Antetokounmpo won the award in a landslide victory in a vote that was announced on Friday.
James, who received only 16 of 101 first-place votes for the award, finished in second place behind the Milwaukee Bucks’ young star as the league’s top player during the 2019-20 season.
The 35-year-old NBA legend and future Hall of Famer, a four-time recipient of the award who nonetheless hasn’t taken home the trophy since 2013, averaged 25.3 points, 10.2 assists, and 7.8 rebounds per game for the Western Conference’s top seed on the season.
When speaking to the media about his thoughts on the vote following the Lakers’ Game 1 win over the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, James didn’t bite his tongue. “You know, not saying that the winner wasn’t deserving of the MVP. But that pissed me off. And I finished second a lot in my career, either from a championship, and now four times as an MVP,” he stated when asked about the vote.
LeBron will now have the chance to take a little bit of the sting out of his mouth about his MVP second-place finish as he looks to guide the Lakers to another NBA title, which would be the fourth of James’s career.
