LeBron: I haven't been 4th in MVP voting in a long time

LeBron James said there was no connection between his 12-for-18 performance in the Cavs' win over the Celtics on Friday and the earlier announcement that he wasn't among the top three NBA MVP finalists. But he did note that it's been a while since he wasn't in that elite trio.

"Fourth?" James said, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I haven't been fourth in a long time."

Related: LeBron unfazed by MVP snub: 'This league knows what I bring to the table'

It isn't known if James actually was "fourth." Like its other awards this season, the NBA only announced three finalists for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy - Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kawhi Leonard - which will be handed out at an inaugural gala June 26.

The last time James didn't finish in the top three in MVP voting was 2007-08, when he finished behind Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Kevin Garnett. That's a testament to his dominance over the NBA the last decade, something teammate Channing Frye said creates a fatigue of sorts among observers.

"Consistency is boring, it's not a good story," Frye said, according to McMenamin. "I don't know what the weatherman gets paid in Hawaii, but it's going to be sunny today."

Creative analogies aside, while James denied the snub motivated him Friday, he admitted in 2015 that he wasn't happy about finishing third in MVP voting that year. At the time, he and Dwyane Wade framed it like Michael Jordan's performance in defeating Karl Malone's Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals, soon after Malone won league MVP.