Lakers’ Frank Vogel: ‘No Disrespect to Giannis,’ but LeBron James Was NBA MVP

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward LeBron James finished second in the NBA MVP voting to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is now a back-to-back winner.

Lakers head coach Frank Vogel recognized Antetokounmpo’s great season but believed James should have been the MVP, per comments made to reporters on Friday (h/t Mark Medina of USA Today).

Vogel pointed out James’ ability to put up 40 points any given night while guiding the team as its de-facto floor general, to the point where he led the league with 10.2 assists per game.

James’ versatility and excellence in his 17th NBA season certainly helped the Lakers earn their first Western Conference regular-season crown in 10 years and puts them in position to win the franchise’s 17th all-time title.

Antetokounmpo and James received all of the 101 first-place votes, with the winner earning 85 versus James’ 16. The numbers were nearly reversed in the second-place category, with James losing one vote to Houston Rockets guard James Harden.

The MVP award was solely based off play that occurred between the beginning of the season and March 11, when the campaign was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bucks started the year 52-8, with Antetokounmpo serving as the prime reason why. He finished No. 1 in the NBA in player efficiency rating, wins shares per 48 minutes and box plus-minus, per Basketball-Reference. 

Antetokounmpo was also first in ESPN’s real plus-minus statistic, but it was James who finished No. 1 in RPM wins, defined as “an estimate of the number of wins each player has contributed to his team’s win total on the season which consists of the player’s Real Plus-Minus and his number of possessions played.”

The two players had a chance to meet on the court for the NBA Finals, but the top-seeded Bucks were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs in five games to the Miami Heat.

The Lakers have just started their Western Conference Finals series against the Denver Nuggets, with the winner playing Miami or the Boston Celtics.