LeBron James is not considered to be a realistic candidate to win the 2021-22 NBA MVP (anymore). Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel doesn't understand why.
Speaking after the Lakers wrapped practice on Friday, Vogel was, for the umpteenth time this season, asked about LeBron's remarkably productive and dazzling season at age-37.
“He is as deserving for MVP consideration as anybody in the league,” Vogel stated. “Now, I know how the voting goes. The team with the best record or top couple of records usually gets most of those considerations, so the win-loss record would probably hurt. But you can't tell me that any player has played a better season than LeBron James this year.”
LeBron — who has carried a heavier burden than expected due to Anthony Davis' injuries and Russell Westbrook's struggles, including stepping in at center for much of the season — is averaging 30.0 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.3 assists with a 58.8 eFG%. He's neck-and-neck with arguable MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid for the scoring title.
While LeBron's mind-boggling greatness and longevity aren't going overlooked, the Lakers' woefully underwhelming 31-42 record, LeBron's part-time commitment to defense, and his reported role in last summer's misguided roster renovation has left him out of the MVP debate. Only two players in NBA history have won the MVP from teams with losing records: Bob Pettit (33-39 St. Louis Hawks) in 1955-56 and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (40-42 Lakers) in 1975-76.
James has also missed 19 games for a variety of reasons, including a sore and swollen knee. The Lakers are 6-13 when he's sat out.
LeBron did not participate in Friday's practice as he rests his sore left knee, which kept him out of the Lakers' loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday.
At the moment, LeBron is a 490-1 longshot to win his fifth MVP, per FanDuel. He's not included in the Top 10 of NBA.com's latest MVP rankings.
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