LeBron James has already insisted otherwise, but it's safe to say the NBA trade deadline didn't go the way he wanted. Any quiet frustration the four-time champion might be feeling in response to his team's status quo, though didn't keep James from acknowledging the historic achievement of Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett.
Garrett won NFL Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday at the 13th annual NFL Honors, becoming the first Brown in franchise history to be named football's top defender. The Pittsburgh Steelers' TJ Watt, who took home the trophy in 2021, finished second in the voting while Dallas Cowboys game-wrecker Micah Parsons came in third. Las Vegas Raiders pass-rusher Maxx Crosby and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Daron Bland were the only other players to finish with more than seven points in the voting.
Re-posting a photo of Garrett holding the DPOY award on Friday morning, James had a message for his fellow Cleveland sports icon.
“Congrats brother!!!” James wrote in his Instagram story, including seven clapping emojis.
Garrett was the most dominant defender in football this season, previously earning DPOY honors from the Pro Football Writers' Association of America coming into Thursday's event in Las Vegas. Spearheading the NFL's top-ranked defense, he racked up 14 sacks, 30 quarterback hits, 17 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three deflected and 42 tackles in 2023. He had a pass-rush win rate of 30% and drew double-teams on 29% of his snaps, according to ESPN analytics, numbers that both rank second in the league behind Parsons'.
James, obviously, knows greatness when he sees it—and not just because he still considers Northeast Ohio home.
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