Much has been made about Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo winning the 2019-20 Most Valuable Player award over LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers. Some folks believe that LeBron should have won the MVP title over Giannis, and they have a number of compelling arguments to press this claim.
This is not the first time James has been “robbed” of the MVP award. One could even argue that James could have won this individual accolade in every other season of his career. Then again, that would be a bit of an exaggeration, to say the least.
Below we examine the seasons during which LeBron had a legitimate chance of bagging the MVP award. James currently has four MVP titles to his name: 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Today we will argue how he could have already had seven at this point in his career.
2007-08: Kobe Bryant
There's a bit of a backstory to Kobe Bryant's MVP win in 2008 that needs to be taken into consideration. The late, great Lakers legend was himself contentiously robbed of the title a couple of years earlier courtesy of Steve Nash. That narrative is one for another day, but what we're pointing out here is that at least for most folks, Kobe bagged the MVP title in 2008 as a bit of a consolation for not being awarded the same trophy in 2006.
Unfortunately for LeBron James, he was on the wrong end of the stick. For his part, Bryant averaged 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals that season, leading L.A. to the best record in the Western Conference with 57 wins.
On the other hand, James led the league in scoring that year with 30.0 points per contest — the only time he won the scoring title in his career. LeBron also averaged 7.9 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks. Looking at the numbers alone, he led Bryant in nearly every statistical category.
It is worth noting that aside from LeBron James, then-New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul also had arguably the best season of his career. For his part, Paul averaged 21.1 points per game with 4.0 rebounds. CP3 led the league in assists (11.6) and steals (2.7). Many believe that the MVP race should have come down to LeBron and Paul that year.
2010-11: Derrick Rose
The '08 title may have been a bit of a stretch, but there's no denying that Derrick Rose's 2011 MVP win was as contentious as any other controversial moment in the NBA.
This is not to take away from Rose's historic year, though, who by winning the award at just 22 years of age became the youngest ever MVP in league history. In juts his third season in the league, the 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 25.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Rose led the charge for a Chicago side that ended up securing the best record in the league with 62 wins.
Then again, much like it was the case in 2008, James bettered Rose in nearly all statistical category with 26.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists, and 1.6 steals. However, what needs to be considered here is the events that led up to that season. It was during the summer of 2010 that LeBron took his talents to South Beach following his infamous “The Decision” episode.
The media painted LeBron James as the ultimate villain following his “betrayal” of his beloved Cleveland Cavaliers, and there's no denying that this ultimately influenced the MVP vote that season.
Had James won that MVP title, he would have bagged the award for a record five consecutive seasons.
2019-20: Giannis Antetokounmpo
The narrative may have not worked in LeBron's favor in 2011, but it was arguably his best case during the 2019-20 season.
Antetokounmpo had another tremendous year, leading the Bucks to the best record in the NBA for the second year running. Giannis also bagged the Defensive Player of the Year award, and by doing so, joined Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only other players who've won both award in the same year. Averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks, as well as a career-best 1.4 triples per contest, it cannot be denied that the Milwaukee superstar absolutely deserved the MVP title.
Then again, one could also argue the same for LeBron, who himself led L.A. to the best record in a ruthless Western Conference. LeBron James finished the regular season with averages of 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, a league-leading 10.2 assists (the first time in his career he's led the NBA in this category), and 1.2 steals.
Antetokounmpo may have had the edge in the numbers category, but the fact that James was doing amazing things at Year 17 was what made his season so very impressive. There aren't too many players that are able to remain relevant in the NBA at age 35, and even much less who are able to contend for an MVP title. That in itself is enough to sway some votes in LeBron's direction. In the end, however, they were not enough.
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