LeBron James miffed by NBA MVP voting totals, Giannis delighted

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS PROFANE LANGUAGE IN THE FIRST SOUNDBITE EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART QUALITY AS INCOMING VIDEO SHOWS: LEBRON JAMES SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE, NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER ANNOUNCEMENT, GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO SOUNDBITES, FILE FOOTAGE OF GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO SHOWS: ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 18, 2020) (NBA ENTERTAINMENT - Broadcasters: MUST COURTESY NBA ENTERTAINMENT. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE. Digital: NO DIGITAL USE OUTSIDE USA AND CANADA. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE) 1. LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD, LEBRON JAMES SITTING DOWN FOR NEWS CONFERENCE 2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD, LEBRON JAMES, TALKING ABOUT THE RESULTS FOR THE NBA MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD, SAYING: REPORTER (OFF CAMERA), ASKING: "When you see the results come out tonight and... or today knowing you've won it four times but now you've come in second four times, what's that feeling like for you and what do you think of the results? "Um... pissed me off. That's my true answer. It pissed me off because out of 101 votes I got 16 first-place votes. That's what pissed me off more than anything. You know, not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP but that pissed me off and I've finished second a lot in my career; either from a championship and now four times as the MVP. Like I said, I never came into this league saying let me be MVP or be a champion. I've always said I just want to get better and better every single day and those things will take care of itself. But some things are just out of my hands, some things you can't control, but it pissed me off." 3. WHITE FLASH 4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD, LEBRON JAMES, SAYING: "I don't know. I'm not going to get… I'm not going to sit up here and talk about what the criteria should be or what it is. It's changed over the years since I've got into the league, I know that. It's just changed, it's changed a lot. Sometimes it's the best player on the best team, sometimes it's the guy with the best season statistically. Sometimes… it's changed over the course of my career. I mean, you don't know, you don't know but Giannis had a hell of a season, I can definitely say that." 5. WHITE FLASH UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 18, 2020) (NBA ENTERTAINMENT - Broadcasters: MUST COURTESY NBA ENTERTAINMENT. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE. Digital: NO DIGITAL USE OUTSIDE USA AND CANADA. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE) 6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KIA MOTORS AMERICA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF REGIONAL OPERATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN REGION, PERCY VAUGHN, SAYING: "It's my honour to present Giannis of the Milwaukee Bucks with the 2019-20 KIA NBA Most Valuable Player award. Congratulations Giannis." GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO (OFF CAMERA), SAYING: "Thank you. Thank you." ATHENS, GREECE (SEPTEMBER 18, 2020) (NBA ENTERTAINMENT - Broadcasters: MUST COURTESY NBA ENTERTAINMENT. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE. Digital: NO DIGITAL USE OUTSIDE USA AND CANADA. NO RESALE. NO ARCHIVE) 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MILWAUKEE BUCKS POWER FORWARD, GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, SAYING: "First of all, if you told that young man, that kid that he was 17 and he'd be the MVP player that I would be in this position right now seven years later being the back-to-back MVP, defensive player of the year in the same year… you know, who ever would have to be that crazy. I'm extremely proud. I'm extremely proud for what I've accomplished, from where I was to where I am, where I came from. It's been an unbelievable journey. Nobody would ever have imagined this. Not me, not even myself when I got to the league but at the end of the day there's no emotion. You can't put emotion into this. You've got to keep getting better. My younger self would probably tell myself right now I'm extremely proud of what you've accomplished, but you're not done yet. You're not done yet. The goal is always to be the best. The goal is always to win the championship. The goal is always to make your team successful. I think my younger self would tell myself right now that." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MILWAUKEE BUCKS POWER FORWARD, GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO, SAYING: "Obviously, I'm happy for tonight, I'm happy with this award, but I always look forward. I always try to figure out how can I get better? How can I do it again? How can I do it for multiple years to come? How can I be a champion? I'm happy, I'm grateful, but how can I do it again?" CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 15, 2020) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 10. GIANNIS ANTETOKUONMPO TAKING COURT AND GREETING TEAM MATES AND KIDS AHEAD OF PRACTICE FOR 2020 NBA ALL-STAR GAME 11. GIANNIS ON COURT FOR PRACTICE SESSION 12. GIANNIS AT NEWS CONFERENCE 13. GIANNIS SPEAKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE 14. VARIOUS GIANNIS ON COURT STORY: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said he was "pissed off" after receiving only 16 first-place votes for the NBA's most valuable player (MVP) award. Milwaukee Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the NBA's MVP for the second straight year on Friday (September 18), receiving 85 of the 101 first-place votes, while James, 35, finished runner-up for the fourth time in his 17-year career. "It pissed me off. That's my true answer," said James after the Lakers' 126-114 victory over the Denver Nuggets in the first game of the Western Conference Finals. "It pissed me off because out of 101 votes, I got 16 first-place votes. "You know, not saying that the winner wasn't deserving of the MVP. But that pissed me off. And I finished second a lot in my career, either from a championship, and now four times as an MVP." The award is voted on by a global panel of sports writers and broadcasters. James, a three-time NBA champion, questioned the criteria of selection. "I'm not going to sit up here and talk about what the criteria should be or what it is. It's changed over the years since I've got into the league. "Sometimes it's the best player on the best team. Sometimes it's the guy with the best season statistically. I mean, you don't know. But you know, Giannis had a hell of a season; I can definitely say that." Giannis, the 25-year-old Greek powerhouse, was also named the Defensive Player of the Year this month, joining Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan and Houston Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players to win both awards in the same season. Antetokounmpo dominated this season averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in just 30.4 minute per game as the Bucks finished with a 56-17 record to top the Eastern Conference. The Bucks were, however, eliminated in the Conference semi-finals by the Miami Heat who won the series 4-1. (Production: Tim Hart)