LeBron MVP Snubs: 5 Years He Should Have Won But Didn't

LeBron James has won four NBA MVP awards. That sounds like a lot, and it is. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Bill Russell (5), and Michael Jordan (5) have won more. But ask almost any longtime NBA observer how many MVPs LeBron should have won, and the answer is always a bigger number. Sometimes a much bigger number.

The case is straightforward. From around 2005 through 2020, LeBron James was either the best player in the league or in the conversation for it every single season. He was a 15-time All-NBA First Team selection. He posted advanced metrics that, in many seasons, were the best in the league. He carried teams to the NBA Finals in absurd circumstances. And yet, for years at a time, the MVP trophy kept going to someone else.

This is the story of five seasons where LeBron had a legitimate case, sometimes a dominant one, to be named the league's Most Valuable Player and didn't get it. We're going to break down what he averaged, what the actual winner averaged, how the teams finished, and the reasons (good, bad, and political) that the voters went the other way.

Let's start with the simple part.

First, the MVPs LeBron Actually Won

For the record, here are the four MVP awards LeBron James has won in his career, all of which came during a five-year peak from 2008-09 through 2012-13:

Two with Cleveland, two with Miami. The 2012-13 award was nearly unanimous (he got 120 of 121 first-place votes). The other three were all comfortable wins. He was a deserving winner every single time.

But over that same era, and on both sides of it, there were a handful of years where he was right there or arguably ahead of the actual winner and lost out anyway. Here are the five that stand out the most.

This is the season that started the "they're robbing him" conversation in earnest. LeBron James was 21 years old, in his third NBA season, and he was a one-man tornado in Cleveland. He averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. He led the Cavaliers to a 50-32 record and their first playoff appearance since 1998. He finished third in the league in scoring behind Kobe Bryant (35.4) and Allen Iverson (33.0). He was the youngest All-Star Game MVP in NBA history.

And he finished second in MVP voting. By a lot.

Why Nash Won

Two reasons, really. First, the Suns were great. Phoenix went 54-28 and finished as the second seed in a brutally tough Western Conference. They led the league in offensive efficiency at 108.4 points per game, and Nash was unmistakably the engine. He led the league in assists at 10.5 per game, shot 50/40/90 (becoming only the fourth player in NBA history to hit all three statistical minimums), and made everyone around him better. Six of his teammates posted career-high scoring averages.

Second, voter narrative. Nash had won the MVP the year before, and the writing was already on the wall: small, undersized point guard taking a team built around him to back-to-back conference finals was a story the media absolutely loved. The fact that he was doing it without Amar'e Stoudemire (who missed almost the entire 2005-06 season with a knee injury) made the story even better.

LeBron, by contrast, was a 21-year-old in Cleveland leading a team that featured a 33-year-old Larry Hughes (who missed 45 games) and not much else. His numbers were eye-popping, but the Cavs were a four seed. The voters went with the team success narrative.

The Case That He Should Have Won

LeBron tied Dirk Nowitzki for the league lead in Player Efficiency Rating at 28.1, well ahead of Nash at 23.3 (Nash was 14th). He was named to the All-NBA First Team (Nash was too). The Sporting News, voted on by NBA coaches, GMs, and executives rather than media, actually named LeBron and Nash co-MVPs that year. The people closest to the game thought LeBron deserved it.

And the "team success" argument cuts both ways. Nash had Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw (who was MIP that year), Raja Bell, and a healthy Mike D'Antoni system. LeBron had a hobbled Hughes and a roster of role players. Anyone who watched both teams could tell you who was carrying more weight.

This is the most politically loaded MVP race of LeBron's career, and almost everyone who covers the NBA admits it now. The summer before, LeBron had held a one-hour ESPN special called The Decision, announced he was leaving Cleveland to "take his talents to South Beach," and joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on what was widely perceived as a manufactured superteam. The public reaction was, to put it gently, ferocious.

By the time the 2010-11 MVP votes were counted, LeBron didn't just lose. He finished third.

Why Rose Won

Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history at 22 years old. The story was irresistible: Chicago kid drafted first overall by the Bulls, blossoms in his third year, leads his team to the best record in basketball at 62-20, plays with the kind of explosive flair that hadn't been seen at point guard in years. The Bulls under first-year head coach Tom Thibodeau were the league's best defense, but Rose, who scored 25 a night with 7.7 assists, was the offense.

The narrative was perfect, and the voting wasn't close. Rose got 113 of 120 first-place votes. Dwight Howard finished a clear second with three first-place votes. LeBron, despite leading the league in PER and win shares, got only four first-place votes and finished third.

The Case That He Should Have Won

By every advanced metric available, LeBron was the best player in the league in 2010-11. He led the NBA in PER at 27.3 (Rose was 8th). He led in win shares at 15.6 (Rose was 6th). He led in win shares per 48 minutes at 0.244 (Rose was 13th). He led in box plus/minus. He led in value over replacement player.

Even ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who covered LeBron for years and voted Harden in 2018, has been candid about the Decision factor in the 2011 race. The Heat's record (58-24) was nearly as good as Chicago's. LeBron's per-game numbers were better. His efficiency was dramatically better. And he finished third.

This one is the closest the list comes to a legitimate winner, because Kevin Durant in 2013-14 was absolutely extraordinary. He averaged 32.0 points per game (his career best), shot 50.3% from the field, 39.1% from three, and 87.3% from the line. He broke Michael Jordan's record for consecutive 25-point games (41 straight). He led the Thunder to 59 wins while Russell Westbrook missed 36 games to injury.

And here's the thing: LeBron knew it. He effectively conceded the award publicly in early April. The voting reflected that. Durant got 119 of 125 first-place votes. LeBron got six.

Why Durant Won

Voter fatigue is real. LeBron had won four of the previous five MVPs. Durant had finished second to LeBron in 2011-12 and 2012-13. He had paid his dues, his team had been good for years, and his 2013-14 numbers were the best of his career by a wide margin. Durant led the league in scoring, win shares, PER, free throws, and minutes. He played in 81 of 82 games while Westbrook missed nearly half the season.

This wasn't a robbery in the sense of the others on this list. Durant earned it.

The Case For LeBron

LeBron's efficiency was outrageous. He shot 56.7% from the field, the best mark of his career to that point. His true shooting percentage was 64.9%, also a career best. He was the most efficient scorer in the league while also being a top-five passer and rebounder at his position. The Heat went 54-28 with him essentially coasting through stretches of the regular season after winning the title the previous June.

The argument here isn't that Durant didn't deserve it. It's that in any other era, LeBron's 2013-14 stat line (27/7/6 on 57% shooting, second-best player on a defending champion) would have been an easy MVP. He was a victim of his own past dominance and Durant's once-in-a-decade scoring season.

This is the one a lot of LeBron-MVP-truthers point to first, and for good reason. The 2017-18 Cavaliers were a disaster on paper. Kyrie Irving had been traded to Boston in the offseason after publicly requesting out of LeBron's shadow. The team brought in Isaiah Thomas (injured), Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose (who retired briefly mid-season), Dwyane Wade (eventually flipped), and a host of role players. By February, the front office blew it up at the trade deadline and started over with Larry Nance Jr., George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, and Rodney Hood.

And LeBron, at 33 years old, played all 82 games for the first time in his career. He led the league in minutes. He averaged 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 9.1 assists per game on 54.2% shooting. He dragged that mess of a roster to a 50-32 record and the four seed in the East. And then he carried them to the NBA Finals.

Why Harden Won

The Rockets went 65-17, the best record in basketball. Harden led the league in scoring at 30.4 points per game, ran an offense that posted the NBA's number-two offensive rating, and held the team together when Chris Paul was injured. He had been the bridesmaid to Russell Westbrook the year before, and the voters were ready to give him his flowers.

The narrative made sense. Best player on the best team. Spectacular individual numbers. A career-best season for a guy who had been knocking on the door for years.

The Case That He Should Have Won

The receipts here are damning. ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who voted Harden first, has since publicly said he regrets the ballot and should have voted LeBron. The reasoning is simple: LeBron played 82 games at age 33. Kyrie was gone. The Cavs roster was thin. He led the league in minutes. His stat line of 27.5/8.6/9.1 on 54% shooting was historically rare for a player at that age. And when the playoffs came, he immediately took that roster to the Finals.

The "Most Valuable" qualifier in the award name has always cut against LeBron, but in this season the value argument was extraordinarily strong. Take Harden off the Rockets and they're still a 50-win team with Chris Paul, Clint Capela, Eric Gordon, and Trevor Ariza. Take LeBron off the 2017-18 Cavaliers and they win something like 20 games.

The 2019-20 season is the one that visibly bothered LeBron. After the announcement, sitting in the bubble at Disney World during the pandemic playoff run, he told reporters the result "pissed me off" because he had only received 16 of 101 first-place votes. He pointed out, correctly, that the Lakers had finished as the top seed in the Western Conference.

This was also the season LeBron, at 35 years old, transitioned to a full-time point guard role and led the entire NBA in assists at 10.2 per game. It was the first time in his career he averaged double-digit assists. He took the Lakers from the lottery the year before (his injury-shortened first season in LA) to a 52-19 mark and the West's top seed in the bubble-shortened regular season. And he went on to win the championship and Finals MVP that same playoff run.

Why Giannis Won

The Bucks had the best record in the NBA at 56-17. Giannis was simultaneously the best offensive force and the best defender in the league. He won Defensive Player of the Year the same season, joining Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players ever to win both awards in one year. His per-36-minute and per-100-possession numbers were historic. He was 25 years old and getting better.

It was Giannis's second MVP in a row, and at the time, the voters clearly believed they were watching the start of an era.

The Case That He Should Have Won

LeBron led the league in assists, the first time he had done so in his career. He led the Lakers to the top seed in the Western Conference (which is harder than topping the Eastern Conference and is exactly the argument the voters made against him in years past when Western Conference players won). He led the league in win shares contributions over the Bucks' style of play in a Finals environment, which is a different but related question.

And then he went and won the championship and Finals MVP. Giannis's Bucks lost in the second round to a Miami Heat team that the Lakers beat in six games in the Finals. The bubble playoffs were the cleanest test possible of who the best player in the league was, and it was clearly LeBron.

So How Many Should He Have Won?

Here's where it gets interesting. Of the five seasons above, the cases break down differently:

2005-06 (vs. Nash): LeBron led in advanced metrics, but Nash was a great choice. Coin flip.

2010-11 (vs. Rose): Hard to call this anything but a robbery in hindsight. LeBron led the league in PER, win shares, win shares per 48, and box plus/minus. Decision backlash decided this one.

2013-14 (vs. Durant): Durant earned it. LeBron's case is real, but Durant had a once-in-a-decade scoring season.

2017-18 (vs. Harden): Maybe the clearest LeBron robbery of his career. 82 games, 33 years old, a wrecked roster, and a Finals run.

2019-20 (vs. Giannis): Strong cases both ways. Giannis won DPOY and was the regular-season force. LeBron won the championship the same season.

If you spot LeBron the two clearest robberies (2010-11 and 2017-18) and the coin-flip in 2005-06, you can plausibly argue he should have seven MVPs instead of four. That would tie him with Bill Russell and Michael Jordan, and put him one behind Kareem.

If you give him the maximum benefit of the doubt and award him all five of the seasons on this list, plus his actual four, that's nine MVPs. Which would, of course, be more than anyone in NBA history.

For the Record: LeBron's MVP Resume

To wrap this up, here is what LeBron James has officially done in MVP voting over his career:

MVPs won (4): 2008-09, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2012-13

Times finished second (4): 2005-06, 2013-14, 2017-18, 2019-20

Times finished third or higher: 19 consecutive seasons of receiving MVP votes from 2003-04 through 2021-22, including a third-place finish in 2010-11

Tied with: Jerry West and Larry Bird for most second-place MVP finishes in NBA history (4 each)

That last one is worth pausing on. LeBron James shares the record for most MVP runner-up finishes with two of the most decorated guards in NBA history. Larry Bird won three MVPs and finished second to Magic Johnson and Moses Malone four times. Jerry West, despite a Hall of Fame career, never won the MVP at all.

LeBron at least has his four trophies. But he also has more than enough receipts to argue, with a straight face, that the actual number should be a lot higher.