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Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis
Antetokounmpo was named the NBA's MVP for the second straight
year on Friday, receiving 85 of the 101 first-place votes, while
James, 35, finished runner-up for the fourth time in his 17-year
career.
"It pissed me off. That's my true answer," said James after the
Lakers' 126-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first
game of the Western Conference Finals. "It pissed me off because
out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes."
"You know, not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the
MVP. But that pissed me off. And I finished second a lot in my
career, either from a championship, and now four times as an
MVP."
The award is voted on by a global panel of sports writers and
broadcasters. James, a three-time NBA champion, questioned the
criteria of selection.
"I don't know how much we are really watching the game," he
said. "I'm not going to sit up here and talk about what the
criteria should be or what it is. It's changed over the years
since I've gotten into the league."
"Sometimes it's the best player on the best team. Sometimes it's
the guy with the best season statistically. I mean, you don't
know. But you know, Giannis had a hell of a season; I can
definitely say that."
(Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by William
Mallard)
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