What is LeBron James really ‘pissed off’ about when it comes to NBA MVP, awards voting?

LeBron James had a lot to say after the Lakers’ 126-114 win over the Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Oh, not about Friday night’s contest. That was a snoozer. No, James wanted to address the voting results for the 2019-20 NBA MVP award, which was presented to Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier in the day. 

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Antetokounmpo earned 85 first-place votes, and James received 16. No other player registered a first-place vote, creating a dividing line between the top two MVP candidates and the rest of the field. But James wasn’t satisfied with that vote total.

“It pissed me off. That’s my true answer,” James said. “It pissed me off because out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes. That’s what pissed me off more than anything. Not saying that the winner wasn’t deserving of the MVP, but that pissed me off.”

“I don’t know how much we are really watching the game of basketball, or are we just in the narration mode? The narrative,” James added.

Following his availability with reporters, James fired off a tweet about the voting results for good measure.

James wanted to make it clear he has left his anger behind and is “absolutely great now” with Los Angeles up 1-0 on Denver. Still, it’s difficult to nail down what made him so upset originally. Let’s try to take this step by step . . .

— James was “pissed off” about the first-place votes, but he didn’t want to say the winner — his name is Giannis, by the way — was undeserving. So if he felt more votes should have come his way, doesn’t that mean he believes he deserved them more than Antetokounmpo? And was there a certain number that would have been acceptable without the award changing hands?

— Back in March, James said winning the MVP has “never motivated me.” He reiterated that point Friday, noting he just tries to get better each day. But then he punctuated those comments by saying it was “out of my control” and, yes, pissed him off. Let’s assume James does care about awards at least a little bit, or we’ll be running around in circles.

— OK, about that “narrative.” If anyone could lean on the narrative element this season, it was James. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne admitted she voted for James to win MVP mostly based on narrative and how he brought back the “Showtime” Lakers after a playoff drought. Year 17, 35 years old, hypotheticals taking him off the roster — these all emerged as pro-LeBron arguments, and they are all narrative-based. Most statistical measures, whether traditional or advanced, favored Antetokounmpo.

— The voting system is not perfect. That’s a fair critique by James, though it should be noted the example he gave regarding Marc Gasol winning Defensive Player of the Year but not making All-Defensive First Team seven years ago shouldn’t be viewed as one voting body being inconsistent. From The Athletic’s Fred Katz:

— Breaking down how to adjust the voting system and criteria for each award is a worthwhile discussion, as is evaluating when awards should be handed out and if there should be separate titles for more clarity. (MVP, Playoff MVP and Best Player could all be viewed differently.) However, if players want to be part of a new system, then they have to take it seriously and not throw in joke votes or shoutouts to friends.

Maybe James had a few things he had been holding inside and needed to fire off before he returned to his hotel room for some fine wine. Maybe he really did just want a few more votes. Maybe this is something that will drive him as he chases another championship. And maybe if Antetokounmpo had received the MVP award a few months ago no one would be talking about this.

Anyway, Game 2 is on Sunday.