Lue: LeBron is like Shaq, could win MVP every year
The three nominees for 2016-17 NBA Most Valuable Player were announced Friday night, with Cleveland Cavaliers stud LeBron James' name nowhere to be found.
Was The King aware of this snub ahead of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals? He finished with a line of 30 points, four rebounds, seven assists, four steals, and three blocks in 32 minutes as the Cavaliers blew out the Boston Celtics by 44 points, 130-86.
While James isn't in the running for this year's Maurice Podoloff trophy, Cavaliers head coach Tyronn Lue feels his star player is on such a different level from everyone else in the Association that he has a legitimate claim to being league MVP every single season.
Ty Lue: "I look at LeBron like Shaq, I think every year he's MVP and you could give him the award every year if you wanted to" pic.twitter.com/yi7Xz5NwCd
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 20, 2017
"You've gotta give the award to some different people every now and then. I look at LeBron like Shaq, I think every year he's the MVP, and you can give him the award every year if you wanted to," Lue said during his postgame press conference.
"When guys have incredible seasons, like James Harden did, and (Russell) Westbrook, and Kawhi (Leonard), you've gotta credit those guys and give those guys the nod. But to me, LeBron is MVP."
James has four MVP trophies on his resume, winning in back-to-back years on two occasions (2009 and 2010, and 2012 and 2013).
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has the record with six MVP nods (three with the Milwaukee Bucks, and three with the Los Angeles Lakers), while Bill Russell and Michael Jordan each have five.