Should LeBron James Have Won MVP Instead Of Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo won his second-straight Most Valuable Player award, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
But should that award have gone to LeBron James?
The award only included games played through March 11, when the season was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Through that time, Antetokounmpo and James both led their teams to the top of their respective conferences.
James, 35, averaged 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and a league-leading 10.6 assists. He helped the Lakers reach the postseason for the first time since 2013.
Antetokounmpo, 25, averaged 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists. He had the highest player efficiency rating in league history at 31.86.
James showed just how dominant he could be right before the hiatus.
In a 113-103 win over the Bucks on March 6, he had 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Two days later, he led the Lakers to a 112-103 win over the Clippers, finishing with 28 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
"In that weekend, LeBron took the toughest assignment in both games," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said in July. "He guarded Kawhi [Leonard] in the Clippers game and did a great job with him there. And then he guarded Giannis in the Bucks game when AD [Anthony Davis] was in foul trouble and did a great job in those two situations. I feel like after what he’s able to do on the defensive end, combined with the dominance that he exhibits with not just scoring the ball, assisting the ball, but orchestrating our offense, leading us on the break, I think that weekend was probably a great indicator or a great measuring stick to those two awards."
When James was asked in July about the MVP race, he said he finally showed what he can do in the Western Conference after years of his greatness coming with an asterisk because he played in the East.
"As far as the MVP race, I think that I’ve shown what I’m capable of doing," James said in July. "Not only individually, but from a team’s perspective, us being No. 1 in the West. There was a lot of conversation about -- LeBron can do those things in the East, but if he ever came to the West, what could he do? You know? So, I heard all of that. To be able to have our team at the top of the Western Conference and playing the way that we were playing at that time, and the way I was playing, it’s definitely a good feeling."
James has led the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010. They open their series against the Denver Nuggets tonight at 6 p.m. PST.
The Bucks were eliminated by the Miami Heat in five games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
