NBA News Update: 'It pissed me off' - LeBron James livid at missing out on MVP as LA Lakers star receives just 16 out of 101 first-place votes
LeBron James did a little bit of everything as he helped the LA Lakers to a comfortable win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals. LeBron James scored 15 points and dished out an incredible 12 assists as he let his teammates take on the scoring responsibility. This NBA News Update covers his post-game reaction.
The LA Lakers superstar was in a joyful mood talking to the media after the game, and was delighted with his team's performance. However, one thing continued to bother him...
Hours before the start of Game 1 between the LA Lakers and the Denver Nuggets, the league announced the NBA MVP of the 2019-20 season. Unfortunately for LeBron James, he could only finish runner-up to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won his second straight MVP award.
LA Lakers star LeBron James wasn't too happy about the same.
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NBA News Update: LA Lakers star LeBron James "pissed" by MVP voting
When asked about the outcome of the NBA MVP voting in the post-match conference, LeBron James was extremely straight-forward and didn't hold anything back in his answer.
"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 or anything, but that pissed me off."
“Let’s not get it twisted. I’m great. The voting scale is a little weird for me sometimes.”
He also indicated that while Giannis Antetokounmpo had an excellent season with the Milwaukee Bucks, he only received the MVP award because the statistics sided with him.
"I don't know, I'm not gonna sit up here and talk about what the criteria should be or what it is. It's changed over the years since I got into the league, I know that... Sometimes it's the best player on the best team, sometimes it's the guy with the best season statistically... Giannis had a hell of a season, I can definitely say that."
While he did mention he was 'fine' with the outcome of the MVP voting, he later added that the MVP race has become much more about narrative and less about the voters actually watching the games.
"I don't know how much we are really watching the game of basketball, or we're just in the narration mode. The narrative."
Finally, while leaving his seat to exit the press conference, LeBron James was at his comical best as he whispered, "I'm going to make a lot of headlines tomorrow". Soon after, the LA Lakers superstar took to Twitter to voice his frustrations regarding the same:
LeBron James finished with only 16 out of the 101 first-place votes, while Giannis received the remaining 85.
NBA News Update: Anthony Davis annoyed at LA Lakers teammate LeBron James' MVP snub
The LA Lakers' players have said all year that they believe LeBron James is deserving of the NBA MVP award more than anybody else. Superstar Anthony Davis - LeBron James' partner in crime - reiterated the same, showing frustration at his teammate being snubbed for the MVP award.
“He deserves it. It’s not even a question. Year 17 doing what he’s doing…"
The LA Lakers camp is clearly not happy with the decision, and we can expect them to show their frustration at their players missing out on individual accolades by winning the biggest trophy of all - the NBA Championship.
We look forward to bringing you more NBA news updates.
Also Read: NBA News Update: Draymond Green picks 2015 championship over the two with Kevin Durant, Charles Barkley urges Giannis to stay with Milwaukee Bucks