Lakers’ LeBron James: ‘It Pissed Me Off’ to Lose NBA MVP to Giannis

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward LeBron James finished second to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo in the NBA MVP voting, and he is not happy about it.

Specifically, James has an issue with the voting margin between he (16 first-place votes) and the back-to-back MVP winner (85 first-place votes).

“Pissed me off,” James said per Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times.

“That’s my true answer. It pissed me off because out of 101 votes I got 16 first-place votes. That’s what pissed me off more than anything.”

He added, per Marc J. Spears of the Undefeated: “Let’s not get it twisted. I’m great. The voting scale is a little weird for me sometimes.”

James gave credit to Antetokoumpo’s “great season,” per Lakers reporter Mike Trudell, but he made his feelings clear on the voting discrepancy after his team beat the Denver Nuggets 126-114 to kick off the Western Conference Finals.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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