LeBron James has just about every kind of trophy achievable to his name. From the Rookie of The Year award to his four NBA championships, the King’s collection is fabulous. But the one thing that James doesn’t have that he wished for was a Defensive Player of The Year award. Technically, using past tense in this case isn’t correct since he’s still playing. But let’s face the reality: LeBron is not going to win a DPOY in his 40s.
Immediately after losing the award to Marc Gasol in 2013, James was expressive about the snub. At 28 years old, James was in the prime of his career. If there was anything he set out to do, he was physically capable of doing it, and doing it fast.
"It sucks," James said during the 2013 NBA playoffs, per ESPN.com . "It definitely sucks, though, finishing second. Who wants to finish second?"
Gasol, the spearhead of the 56-win Memphis Grizzlies, received 212 points and 30 first-place votes for the DPOY award. James, the runner-up, tallied 149 points and 14 first-place votes. Interestingly, Gasol wasn’t even voted to the All-Defensive First Team, Bron was.
"I guard everybody on the floor," the forward added. "I don't know if it's one player in NBA history that's guarded 1 [point guards] through 5 [centers]. It's over with now, but it's cool."
The Heat superstar made a strong case for the award from a versatility standpoint. Later that postseason, James took it upon himself to guard star point guard Tony Parker and the aging but still elite Tim Duncan in the 2013 NBA Finals. Arguably, no stretch of games in LeBron’s career better depicted his prowess as an all-around defender.
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The King had a strong case. He averaged career highs in total rebounds (8.0) and defensive boards (6.8). He was 12th in steals, 10th in individual defensive win shares, and 5th in defensive box plus-minus. He also spearheaded Miami’s defense, which allowed just 95.0 points per game — good for 5th in the association.
What a DPOY would’ve meant for his legacy
For James, he began the pursuit of Michael Jordan’s legacy from the moment he graced the hardwood in 2003. Those were the kind of expectations heaped onto an 18-year-old’s shoulders.
While The King falls one MVP shy of Jordan (4:5), earning a DPOY award would’ve put him neck-and-neck with MJ as the only players in NBA history to win the award while averaging at least 27 points per game over a career. Not only that, but had he won the DPOY award in 2013, James would’ve joined Hakeem Olajuwon as the only player in league history to win the award, along with the league MVP and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. Even for the staunchest naysayers, an achievement of that caliber would’ve been too great to tear down.
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