The Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night, following their 121-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers were forced to play arguably the most important game of the season without its best player. LeBron James missed his second straight game with an ankle injury. He also missed the game before against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday. That was also a loss. As a basketball fan, I was very surprised that James was unable to muster the strength in his ankle to suit up in either of those games. So, it got me thinking.

Is it possible that LeBron James has been prioritizing winning a scoring title over winning games? That sounds somewhat insane, as it appears to call into question his integrity. I have been a fan of James' for a very long time. For years, I have been arguing that he is the greatest player of all-time. My argument typically surrounded itself in James' longevity, ability to win titles with three different franchises, and the fact that he can play all five positions offensively, and guard all five positions if needed.

I am in no way questioning his toughness. Only a fool would do that. But as I began looking into this idea, it began to make more and more sense.

So, here are the three reasons that illustrate LeBron James opted to go after a scoring title instead of winning games.

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3 Reasons That Show LeBron James Prioritized a Scoring Title Over Winning

1. SCORING TITLE IS IMPORTANT TO JAMES

We are going to start with how important the scoring title is to LeBron James, particularly this year. James has always been outspoken about how he was a different type player than most of the greats. He's a playmaker who prefers to make plays for others. Some of that sentiment came from his NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks when he took a ton of heat for failing to take big shots.

That's why it was so surprising when he LeBron acknowledged he was not happy with the perception of him as a scorer all-time.

Prior to the Lakers' March 5th game, James appeared on “The Shop.” He was quoted saying “when they talk about the best scorers of all-time, they never mention my name… It pisses me off.”

 

The very next game, James dropped 56 points in a win over the Golden State Warriors.

James has only won the scoring title once in his career. That was way back in 2008 when he averaged 30 points per game.

LeBron has always made it very clear that he wants to go down as the greatest basketball player in history. No secret there. But we all know that's a tough task as Michael Jordan will forever be six for six in NBA Finals with six NBA Finals MVP's.

Jordan also has 10 scoring titles to his credit. Yeah, you read that right, 10 times MJ won the scoring title. There is obviously no way LeBron will come close to that. However, Jordan is also the oldest player ever to win a scoring title at age 35. LeBron is 37 years old. That would be a big feather in his cap were he to win it this season.

2. Games Missed vs Games Played

The Lakers entered the All-Star break four games under .500. But they were easily still in position for the play-in tournament, and possibly to climb up out of it. Instead, they went in the tank. Los Angeles is 4-17 since the All-Star break. But let's take a deeper look at this.

When James dropped the 56 points, it helped snap a four-game losing streak since the break. He then took the next game off two days later against the San Antonio Spurs. You know, the team that just passed the Lakers, eliminating them from the playoffs. That game might have been important, just maybe. Remember, Los Angeles is still without Anthony Davis at this point. The Lakers lost 117-110, scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter.

LeBron then returned for the next two games against the Houston Rockets and the Washington Wizards. That's two of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. James only scored 23 points against the Rockets, but it wasn't for a lack of trying. James went 9-26 from the field. The next game though, James dropped 50 points against the Wizards.

However, the Lakers continued to lose games. By late March, they were squarely in a race for the final play-in tournament spot. James sat out the game against the Philadelphia 76ers March 23rd. Philadelphia is one of the better defensive teams in the league. They lost again in resounding fashion. That missed game came on the heels of a three-game stretch where LeBron scored 36, 38 and 38 points respectively. He clearly was playing well and feeling good those nights.

Since playing on March 27th, James sat out four of the five games since. Those games were against the Suns, Jazz, Mavericks and Nuggets. Three of those teams are in the top four in points allowed in the west. Even with Davis back in the lineup, Los Angeles needed their best player to beat those teams and make the playoffs.

But that leads to me to the final bit of reasoning.

3. LeBron Can No Longer Win Games Himself

I do not believe James simply said to himself one day, ‘you know what, screw winning I just want a scoring title.' But I do think that it occurred to him this season that he no longer can just carry his team to wins.

How many times early this season did we see LeBron have a huge night offensively, only to see the Lakers still lose by double digits. It happened frequently.

Since we now know the head space he was in, in terms of being pissed about the perception of him as a scorer. And we have established how important being a great scorer historically is to surpass Jordan. If James came to the conclusion that this team is going to lose with or without him, then he might as well get his.

But with this being such a big talking point now in NBA circles, there is pressure on James to not return to the court. In order to qualify for the scoring title, James needs to suit up for two of the three remaining games. It would be a really bad look if he returned. He sat the games the Lakers needed him and plays when the season is over? So, more than likely he will not return this year.

But that does not exclude the possibility of opting for a scoring title over the playoffs. It's simple optics and image. If we know anything about LeBron, it's that he is a master of crafting his image.