LeBron James recently made headlines for suggesting that the NBA should shorten games for 40 minutes and adapt FIBA’s goaltending rule. While the four-time NBA MVP is closing in on the end of his legendary career, that is not the only change he is hoping to see the league make.
During the latest episode of his “Mind the Game” podcast, James revealed that he hopes to see the NBA take a page out of the NFL’s book and implement an Offensive Player of the Year award.
“I did think about how the NFL does Offensive Player of the Year and MVP,” Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James stated Tuesday. “I thought that could possibly be something in our league where you give an Offensive Player of the Year and an MVP. Not saying we should do it, but it was something that was pretty cool in the NFL how they do that. They do the Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, MVP.”
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“(The criteria for MVP) changes,” James continued. “Is it the best player? Is it the player that had the best season with his team? Maybe that’s Offensive Player of the Year. Or is it simply just the best player in the league?”
The NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year were almost exclusively won by the same player. That has happened much less frequently in recent years, however, as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was the last player to take home both awards — having done so back in 2018.
It is unclear how NBA voters would separate the two awards as defense is almost always overlooked in MVP discussions. Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only three players to win the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year award in the same season.
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