Even in the 2021-22 NBA season, LeBron James is still one of the best players in the league. The All-Star forward is playing at an elite level and making a case for himself to win the regular-season MVP.
Unfortunately, even with James' amazing performances, the Lakers are still struggling to win games with consistency. Whatever be the case, we will find out how well the Lakers can play in the second half of the season soon enough.
While LBJ might still be a great player, he is not close to the level that he was back in 2013. James had a near-perfect season as he bagged the regular-season MVP, won the ring, won the Finals MVP, made the All-NBA first team and All-NBA defensive first team.
The only thing that was missing from his resume that season was the Defensive Player Of The Year award. He finished second in the DPOY race behind Marc Gasol. Many believe that LeBron's almost perfect season was ruined by Gasol that year.
Fast forward to 2022, and it seems like the King is still pissed off about not winning the DPOY honors that season. He recently mentioned it in his Instagram story. The story showed James' highlight of the season and he captioned it, "Still pissed at not getting DPOY that year."
That season, James played with a chip on his shoulder and he made sure that his critics had nothing to question him for. However, finishing second in the DPOY race was something that many can't understand even today.
Marc Gasol won it, but he wasn't even part of the All-NBA Defensive first team. It was truly a surprising decision. Unfortunately, at the time, LeBron was one of the most hated players in the league.
It was the aftermath of his decision to join the Miami Heat back in 2010. If something like that happens right now, it will surely cause huge turmoil around the league.
Considering LeBron is 37-years-old right now and is not the defender he once was, it will be hard to see him win a DPOY in his career now. It will always remain something that will be missing from LeBron's illustrious resume.
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