LeBron James wishes he had a DPOY award in his trophy cabinet: ‘It kind of stings’

The amount of accolades that LeBron James has attained during his career is nothing short of spectacular, as he’s not only the player who has scored more points in NBA history, but also a 20-time All-Star, a four-time champion and a four-time league MVP. However, there’s still one award he’s never won, and he’s not too happy about it. 

Even though he’s finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting twice already, he’s never earned this honor. The Lakers superstar recently admitted that he wishes he could have this award in his trophy cabinet.

“I mean, that’s the only award that I don’t have in my house. It kind of stings,” LeBron said in a promotional clip from the upcoming show of The Shop: Uninterrupted.

LeBron says it doesn’t make sense that he hasn’t won DPOY, comparing it to Beyoncé never winning AOTY

"The year I finished 2nd… the guy who won Defensive Player of the Year didn't even make 1st Team All-Defense"

(@TheShopUN )

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— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 16, 2024

Even though this HBO episode won’t drop until Thursday, he’s seen talking about the DPOY in a quick sneak peak. “I’ve talked about this before, like, it don’t make sense. It’s almost what [Jay-Z] just said about [Beyoncé]. How could she have the most Grammys, but never won Album of the Year?” James asked.

The 39-year-old, who is the oldest player in the league, earned his first MVP when he played for the Cavaliers in 2009. That season, he finished second to Magic center Dwight Howard in that year’s voting, as the Orlando player earned 105 first-place votes and 542 total points.

LeBron, on the other hand, got only 4 first-place votes and 148 points. “The guy who won defensive player of the year didn’t even make first-team all-defense,” the purple and gold star said on the promotional clip. “How is that even possible?”

Something similar happened with Pau Gasol years ago, when he won DYOP but only managed to get into the second All-NBA team. One of the reasons behind this could be the fact that at the time, the all-defensive teams were determined by coaches’ votes, which is a completely different group of people that cast ballots for defensive player of the year.

The Lakers will now face the reigning champions in the first round of the West’s playoff series

The Lakers advanced to the NBA Playoffs this Tuesday night, but will face none other than their worst nightmare, as the Nuggets have won every game they’ve encountered against them this season (3-0), plus last year’s Western Conference Finals. However, LeBron James and Anthony Davis looked in great shape against New Orleans.

The league’s oldest player inspired his team to a 110-106 victory with his 23 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds, and secured a playoff berth for his team. “Tonight we showcased what we were able to do both offensively and defensively,” LeBron shared. “We’ve got a good group going right now, good rotation, good plan and guys are coming in ready to go.”

L.A. coach Darvin Ham admitted that the Pelicans “threw some heavy blows at us,” but “they kept swinging. We kept fighting back. It revealed a lot about us and what we’re made of,” he said.

AD was also on fire last night as he tallied 20 points and 15 rebounds. Now the Lakers prepare for Saturday’s first game of the series against Denver, as the first contest will be held in California at the Crypto.com Arena.