LeBron James explained his displeasure with the NBA MVP voting totals after Friday night's win over the Denver Nuggets.

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar credited winner Giannis Antetokounmpo, but also stated he felt he deserved a little more respect:

“Pissed me off. That's my true answer,” James said, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. “It pissed me off, because out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes. That's what pissed me off more than anything.

“You know, not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP. But that pissed me off. And I finished second a lot in my career, either from a championship, and now four times as an MVP.”

James added to his postgame by tweeting about the purported disrespect.

LeBron seems to be taking a page out of Michael Jordan's book: using an MVP slight as motivation as he looks to get back to the NBA Finals.

James hardly needed to score on Friday against the Nuggets, but he stuffed the stat sheet all the same. LeBron finished with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting, also adding 12 assists and six rebounds.

The argument can certainly be made James deserved the MVP. He led the NBA in assists per game (10.2) while also scoring 25.3 points and chipping in 7.8 rebounds. Not to mention, the Lakers finished with the best record in the Western Conference.

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Giannis led LeBron in most advanced metrics–including PER, VORP and box plus-minus–while leading the Milwaukee Bucks to the best record in the NBA. Still, James would like some more recognition for what he brings to the game.

Regardless of the MVP slight, LeBron is attempting to further his legacy, something he can do by winning a fourth NBA title.

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