LeBron James is upset with NBA awards voters. The Los Angeles Lakers dismantled the Nuggets 126-114 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals on Friday, building a 27-point lead and needing just 31 minutes from James to claim the series opener. Afterward, James expressed frustration that he had finished a distant second in MVP voting to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and lamented various aspects of the voting process.
"Pissed me off," James said when asked to describe his first reaction to the MVP voting results. "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. You know, not saying that the winner [Antetokounmpo] wasn't deserving of the MVP. But that pissed me off. I finished second a lot in my career, either [for] a championship, and now four times as an MVP . Some things [are] just out of my hands and some things you can't control."
Antetokounmpo, who was named MVP for the second straight year, won with 85 first-place votes and 962 total voting points. James finished second with 16 first-place votes and 753 points, while none of the other candidates received a first-place vote.