LeBron James had a lot to say after the Lakers' 126-114 win over the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Oh, not about Friday night's contest. That was a snoozer. No, James wanted to address the voting results for the 2019-20 NBA MVP award, which was presented to Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the day.
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Antetokounmpo earned 85 first-place votes, and James received 16. No other player registered a first-place vote, creating a dividing line between the top two MVP candidates and the rest of the field. But James wasn't satisfied with that vote total.
"It pissed me off. That's my true answer," James said. "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 that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP, but that pissed me off."
"It pissed me off."
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) September 19, 2020
LeBron reacts to finishing 2nd in this year's MVP voting. pic.twitter.com/mQOMyFxtRO
"I don't know how much we are really watching the game of basketball, or are we just in the narration mode? The narrative," James added.
"I don't know how much we are really watching the game of basketball or are we just in ... the narrative."
— ESPN (@espn) September 19, 2020
LeBron explained why he thinks the NBA awards voting scale is "a little weird." pic.twitter.com/gSbGe9oplC
Following his availability with reporters, James fired off a tweet about the voting results for good measure.
🤣🤣16 out of 101 🗳! Ok cool! I got y’all.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 19, 2020
James wanted to make it clear he has left his anger behind and is "absolutely great now" with Los Angeles up 1-0 on Denver. Still, it's difficult to nail down what made him so upset originally. Let's try to take this step by step . . .
— James was "pissed off" about the first-place votes, but he didn't want to say the winner — his name is Giannis, by the way — was undeserving. So if he felt more votes should have come his way, doesn't that mean he believes he deserved them more than Antetokounmpo? And was there a certain number that would have been acceptable without the award changing hands?
— Back in March, James said winning the MVP has "never motivated me." He reiterated that point Friday, noting he just tries to get better each day. But then he punctuated those comments by saying it was "out of my control" and, yes, pissed him off. Let's assume James does care about awards at least a little bit, or we'll be running around in circles.
— OK, about that "narrative." If anyone could lean on the narrative element this season, it was James. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne admitted she voted for James to win MVP mostly based on narrative and how he brought back the "Showtime" Lakers after a playoff drought. Year 17, 35 years old, hypotheticals taking him off the roster — these all emerged as pro-LeBron arguments, and they are all narrative-based. Most statistical measures, whether traditional or advanced, favored Antetokounmpo.
— The voting system is not perfect. That's a fair critique by James, though it should be noted the example he gave regarding Marc Gasol winning Defensive Player of the Year but not making All-Defensive First Team seven years ago shouldn't be viewed as one voting body being inconsistent. From The Athletic's Fred Katz:
There are voters who don’t put as much thought or work into their votes as I wish they would. No question about that. But I don’t agree Gasol shows inconsistency. In 2013, media voted for DPOY. They voted Gasol. Coaches, meanwhile, voted for All-Defense. They put him second team. https://t.co/5O4TY1Tdia
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) September 19, 2020
— Breaking down how to adjust the voting system and criteria for each award is a worthwhile discussion, as is evaluating when awards should be handed out and if there should be separate titles for more clarity. (MVP, Playoff MVP and Best Player could all be viewed differently.) However, if players want to be part of a new system, then they have to take it seriously and not throw in joke votes or shoutouts to friends.
And to AD's point that players should have a vote ... they get a vote for All-Star and 38% of players who cast ballots ... wait for it ... DID NOT VOTE FOR LEBRON TO EVEN BE AN ALL-STAR STARTER THIS SEASON.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) September 19, 2020
Player All-Star voting is an embarrassment.
Here's how much of a joke All-Star player voting is. Antetokounmpo got 269 votes from 380 players who cast ballots for the All-Star starters.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) September 19, 2020
That is, the Antetokounmpos.
Giannis got 258.
Thanasis got 6.
Kostas got 5..
Maybe James had a few things he had been holding inside and needed to fire off before he returned to his hotel room for some fine wine. Maybe he really did just want a few more votes. Maybe this is something that will drive him as he chases another championship. And maybe if Antetokounmpo had received the MVP award a few months ago no one would be talking about this.
Anyway, Game 2 is on Sunday.
