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Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the 2019-20 regular season MVP last week. LA Lakers' LeBron James, who finished second in the MVP race, was visibly frustrated with the decision. In this LA Lakers news update, we'll talk about ESPN's Brian Windhorst revealing the reason behind LeBron feeling he should have won the MVP award.
This is the fourth time LeBron James has finished second in the MVP race. He expressed his dismay to the media during a press conference after LA Lakers' Game 1 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
LA Lakers News: Windhorst says LeBron James also acts as the coach, GM, owner, mentor of his team
LeBron James complained that the reason behind Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the MVP award was the 'narrative' created by the media and not the on-court performances. The four-time MVP last won the prestigious award in 2013 when he was playing for the Miami Heat.
Brian Windhorst pointed out an interesting fact as to why LeBron James believed he should have won the 2020 NBA MVP. Besides numbers and dominant performances, King James does something that the other players don't. Brian said:
"LeBron also believes that he acts as coach, General Manager, in some ways he acts as owner, he acts as motivator."
Brian pointed out how instrumental LeBron James' role was behind Anthony Davis' trade to the LA Lakers. He has always been actively involved in talks with the management about roster development. This is something other top players like Steph Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo are not doing.
Even off the court, LeBron James has been the face of the NBA. He led from the front to try and help the NBA resolve the recent China crisis. The three-time NBA champion has been doing the 'additional work' of being a coach/GM ever since he was with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Brian Windhorst continued:
"When LeBron says he's upset that he finished second, he understands that he cannot get the credit for this, but at the same time he's angry he can't get the credit."
While it's true that LeBron James does more managerial work when compared to his peers, the NBA MVP award is solely based on a player's 'on-court' contribution to the team during the regular season. Whether or not the league should rewrite the criteria for awarding the MVP in the future is a debate for another day.
Guess the Lakers players!
