Los Angeles Lakers: LeBron James disrespected by ESPN survey panel

(Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Chris Elise/NBAE via Getty Images)

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James did not receive a vote for best player in the NBA, which is a shocking development.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James had a tough first season in Hollywood. While he found success off the court with multiple projects, on the court, he was not as successful.

James labored through the most injury-riddled season of his career. Prior to the 2018-19 season, James had never missed more than 13 games in a season, which occurred in his first season back with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014-15. He more than doubled that in his first season with the purple and gold.

James only played in 55 games last season. Some of that came as load management near the end of the season once they were eliminated from the postseason. However, a large chunk of them came when James injured his groin on Christmas Day.

James missed 17 consecutive games, the longest stretch of games he has ever missed in his career. That was too much for the team to make up, as James was joined on the sidelines at different times by Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, JaVale McGee and Tyson Chandler.

With so many injuries, the Lakers’ season was quickly derailed. Despite all of the struggles, James still had an impressive season statistically. He averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game, all of which are above his career averages.

James has reigned as the top player in the NBA for at least a decade. However, with the injury he suffered and his age, people think he has lost his grip on that title. Kevin Durant looked like he was going to take over the mantle, but he has suffered a serious injury of his own.

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Recently, ESPN released an offseason survey from their panel. One of the questions asked was who the best player in the NBA is. Shockingly, James received zero votes.

Kawhi Leonard led the way with 12 votes, followed by 6 for Giannis Antetokounmpo and two for James Harden. A lot of that voting probably has recency bias. James and Durant both received consideration but ultimately weren’t selected.

"Leonard’s dominant playoff run led the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title. And while he got the most votes in our survey, there was plenty of hemming and hawing. Several people said they would’ve at least considered Kevin Durant — if not outright picked him — had he been healthy and not recovering from a torn Achilles tendon. Others also gave strong consideration to LeBron James, although ultimately no one selected him."

The last two regular-season MVPs and the reigning NBA Finals MVP received all of the votes. However, James receiving zero votes is disrespectful. While he had a difficult season, he has shown no signs of slowing down.

You can be sure that James will have plenty of motivation this season. He will use this slight in addition to his incredible playoff and NBA Finals streak coming to an end this past season. James hasn’t had this much time off in 13 years, as he played double-digit playoff games every year from 2006-2018.

With a roster that bet fits his skills and another star in Anthony Davis to help carry the load, James could be in for a big season.

The only thing that may slow him down is load management, but if the Lakers make the postseason and challenge for a title, everyone will remember that James should not be left off of lists such as this.