Orlando (United States) (AFP)
LeBron James, Lakers superstar contenders for the NBA championship title, pleaded for his cause in the race for the best player of the season on Monday, saying he had shown at 35 what he was "capable of" this season.
"I think I showed what I was capable of doing. Not just individually, but also collectively since we are leading the Western Conference," James told a handful of reporters in the Disney World bubble in Florida where the championship, interrupted since March 11 because of the coronavirus, must restart behind closed doors in ten days.
Individual trophies awarded each year by the NBA, including the Best Player (MVP), will only be based on regular season games that have run through March 11. Voters will therefore not have to take into account the eight matches that will be played in Orlando by each of the 22 competing teams, before the 16 qualified go on to the play-offs.
James, who instilled doubt as much among journalists as among the fans composing the college of voters, by raising himself to the level of the favorite to his own succession Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), assured not to feel penalized by the fact that the resumption of the season will not influence in the attribution of the trophy of MVP which he has won already four times.
"I'm not disappointed, that's the way it is. These are things I can't control," he replied, adding as an argument: "There has been a lot of debate on the subject + LeBron was able to do things in the East, but would it be in the West? I heard it all ".
As of March 11, King James was averaging 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game, while Antetokounmpo was compiling 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
The two stars were instrumental in the respective dominance of their team in the two West and East conferences, and, in their two confrontations, each won a match as much as the direct one-on-one between them.
© 2020 AFP