Former Los Angeles Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins didn’t surprise anyone with his pick for the 2019-20 NBA season’s MVP.
During last Friday’s episode of the “Jalen & Jacoby,” Cousins told hosts Jalen Rose and David Jacoby that LeBron James is his choice to win the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.
More than that, the four-time All-Star believes only a hater wouldn’t give James the league’s top individual award.
“If you don’t pick LeBron, you’re just flat out a hater at this point,” Cousins said.
Earlier in the interview, Cousins questioned Jacoby’s opinion that James needs to overtake Giannis Antetokounmpo in the race for this year’s MVP, believing that his former teammate is the actual frontrunner for the award.
Cousins cited James’ ability to perform at a high level for someone who has “gray hair.”
James’ numbers this season are staggering for a 35-year-old player in his 17th year in the league. His 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game this season are undoubtedly MVP-worthy. However, he is contending with the reigning MVP in Antetokounmpo, who is also having an outstanding season.
Antetokounmpo has shown so far this season that his MVP award last year wasn’t a fluke. His 29.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game this season are either similar to or superior to his numbers from last season.
Nevertheless, James has a shot at making the race closer than ever by outperforming Antetokounmpo in the last few games of the regular season.
