Brad Stevens knows that Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has won four regular-season MVPs in his storied career.
Only fellow NBA icons Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Bill Russell (five), and Michael Jordan (five) have won more. Wilt Chamberlain is the only other player with four MVPs to his name.
Yet, many folks in the basketball community — including, evidently, Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens — believe LeBron James should own even more hardware.
Stevens praised LeBron's sustained greatness when speaking to the media on Friday, one day before the Celtics are slated to host the Lakers at TD Garden. The coach opined that LeBron James would have more MVPs to his name, if not for the simple reason of voter fatigue.
“He's as special as special gets,” Steven said, via Yahoo's Keith Smith. “He'd be a multiple-time more MVP winner if people didn't get bored and look for other things to discuss.”
LeBron James and Bill Russell are the only players in hoops history to win four MVP awards over the course of five seasons.
LeBron James won his trophies in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013, while then-Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose took home the honors during the lockout-shortened 2010-11 campaign.
Despite the fact that the King has remained atop his throne as the consensus best player in the world and won two more titles since his last MVP, at age 29, he's been overlooked for the award for seven years running, as voters tend to look for more original narratives.
He finished second in the voting to Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2019-20, and admitted to being “pissed” about his lack of first-place votes. Of course, LeBron James went on to win the Finals MVP and his fourth NBA championship.
Through 20 games in 2020-21 — LeBron James' 18th season — he is the arguable front-runner for the award, averaging 25.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.5 assists while leading the Lakers to a 14-5 record.
Voter fatigue is largely cited as the reason why Charles Barkley and Karl Malone were able to sneak in MVP awards while Jordan reigned supreme over the league. LeBron James is part of a larger story in the NBA.
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