The outrage is comical.
Almost as funny as when Millennials/Generation Zers spin their false narrative that LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan.
It just isn’t true.
And neither is the idea that James deserved the NBA MVP trophy over Giannis Antetokounmpo and, somehow, LeBron was robbed.
That wasn’t close.
It’s a regular-season award. It has nothing to do with the postseason that is currently underway. It doesn’t matter that Antetokounmpo’s Bucks are home, out of the playoffs prematurely, and James’ Lakers are still in.
Hello, that’s why they give out a Finals MVP. The awards are different.
Stop with the feelings and get with the facts.
Giannis put together a season suitable for framing. It was that complete and powerful. He averaged 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He also shot a ridiculous 55.3 percent from the field.
It was good enough for Giannis to win back-to-back MVPs, joining only 11 others in league history to accomplish that.
Not only was he an offensive machine, but a defensive warrior as well. Last month, Antetokounmpo won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Giannis joins Michael Jordan (1987-88 season) and Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-1994 season) as the only players to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards in the same season.
It is an amazing accomplishment for Giannis, who is just 25 years old.
By the way, his efforts allowed the Bucks (56-17) to have the best record in the NBA this season.
And while James played well in his second season in L.A. (averaging 25.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists), he just wasn’t the MVP no matter how you look at it.
Yes, it was a nice feather in his cap that he led the league in assists. And yes, the Lakers had the best record in the Western Conference. But that was a lot.
It just wasn’t worthy of an MVP award.
In fact, you could make a better case for James’ teammate Anthony Davis.
A.D. had better stats than LeBron. Davis led the Lakers in just about every category except assists.
Plus, think about it. James couldn’t even make it to the playoffs last season with the Lakers. With the addition of Davis, they are now in the Western Conference finals with a shot at a title.
In most worlds, that would tell you that Davis, not James, is the MVP on the Lakers. Without Davis, there’s no way the Lakers are in the hunt for a title.
The problem, when it comes to LeBron, is that everyone thinks this is some kind of a lifetime achievement award. He should get the award just because.
You hear a lot of LeBron fanboys bring up that this is year 17 for him and he’s still playing great. No one will argue he put up a good season most would die to have at his age of 35.
None of that matters, however. There’s no age curve or extra points because you can get a discount at Denny’s. It’s about 2020, the regular season.
And just face it. Giannis rocked it.
For sure, James’ minions wish winning awards could erase those six losses in the Finals, the most by any regular-season MVP in history. It’s why I call LeBron not the G.O.A.T., but the F.F.O.A.T. — Finals Failure Of All Time.
Sure, he’s gone to the Finals a lot, nine times and counting. But to be considered the greatest, you should do more winning than losing.
And the argument about getting there is lame. No one ever considers Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy as the greatest NFL head coach. He went to four straight Super Bowls. It’s an incredible feat that has yet to be matched. But he lost all four.
Are you trying to stand outside the Playboy Mansion or actually go in? Think about it.
Sports has a short menu: wins and losses.
Giannis not only put up monster numbers and played well on the defensive end, but his team won big time before the pandemic shut down the season.
LeBron fans want this award for him so bad. They know they just lost some ammo for their LeBron over Jordan G.O.A.T. debate.
Just as LeBron rightfully lost the 2020 MVP race to Giannis. It wasn’t close.
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