ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne Admits She Voted LeBron James for MVP for Not-So-Popular Reason

With the 2019-20 NBA regular season finally nearing its end, the debate continues over who should win the league’s MVP award.

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne admitted that she voted for Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, although it had little to do with his statistical production.

“I voted for LeBron James because I tend to be more of a narrative-based voter, and I feel like LeBron James took a Lakers team that had missed the playoffs six years in a row up to the top spot in the West after all of the dysfunction of the summer before,” opined Shelburne. “So I think he gets credit for that as well.”

When James first signed with the Purple and Gold two years ago, it appeared that the team was about to return to the NBA’s elite.

However, injuries to key players, including James, along with internal turmoil led to the Lakers winning just 37 games in the 2018-19 season.

Once the season ended, the Lakers acquired superstar big man Anthony Davis in early July and filled out the rest of the roster with competent role players despite a lack of salary-cap space.

With new head coach Frank Vogel leading the way, the Lakers have clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the first time in 10 years.

Some would argue that the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo has put up more impressive stats and therefore deserves the regular season MVP. Another argument in his favor is that he doesn’t have another superstar next to him, as James does.

However, America loves a redemption story, and so far, the 2019-20 season has been just that for the Akron, Ohio native.