Devonte’ Graham, Who Stunned LeBron James’ Lakers off the Bench, Once Had His Support in the NBA MIP Race

Published 02/28/2022, 7:30 PM EST

The 2019-20 NBA season was the 74th season of the NBA. It was planned to end on April 15th, 2020 but eventually ended on October 11th following the suspension in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. The season resumed on July 30th. LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to their 17th NBA championship under the newly recruited coach Frank Vogel.

The four teams that qualified for the conference finals were Miami Heat and Boston Celtics from the Eastern, whereas Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets from the Western. LA Lakers emerged victorious against James’ former side, Miami Heat. They won the finals 4-2.

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No MVP for LeBron James, No MIP for Devonte’ Graham

This was the year in which the NBA lost one of its diamonds. Kobe Bryant lost his life in a helicopter accident in January of 2020. It was only fitting that the LA Lakers won the NBA Championships that year in tribute to The Mamba.

Despite winning the Championship and the finals MVP award, James missed out on the season MVP. Instead, Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks grabbed the season MVP. LeBron was very shocked that he did not win the award. Moreover, he was stunned by the lack of votes Devonte’ Graham got in the race for the MIP award.

“I looked at the Most Improved this year and rightfully so, Brandon Ingram was amazing and I thought he should’ve won it, but did you see the votes Devonte’ Graham got? He averaged four points last year compared to 17 1/2,” James said. “If that’s not improving, what is? It’s just a weird thing sometimes that, I don’t know how much we are really watching the game of basketball, or are we just in the narration mode? The narrative.”

Facts 💯@KingJames x @Devonte4Graham pic.twitter.com/8FMuRwkOo0
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) September 19, 2020

Devonte’, on Sunday night, once again impressed James coming off the bench as the Lakers suffered a massive defeat against the Pelicans. He impressively grabbed 12 points contributing in the victory. James himself had 32 points but it was the same story as all season for LA Lakers.

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Back to their successful campaign then!

After an outstanding season, it was shocking that James did not get more votes for the MVP award. Milwaukee Bucks finished top seed in the league. Hence Giannis was awarded the MVP. James Harden, of the Houston Rockets, was the Scoring Champion. Giannis also won the defensive player of the year. Giannis winning the MVP was not unfair at all. He truly deserved it because of the highest impact per game in the league, among other things.

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James was certainly pissed at missing out on the MVP, but needless to say, he was one of the best players that season and had the NBA Championship to show for it.

Watch: LeBron compares himself to the likes of MJ and Tom Brady.

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Chaitanya is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his engineering from SRM University. Having determined an interest in football and basketball, he was inclined towards having a job in the sports industry.

Devonte’ Graham, Who Stunned LeBron James’ Lakers off the Bench, Once Had His Support in the NBA MIP Race

No MVP for LeBron James, No MIP for Devonte’ Graham

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