LeBron James has been at the center of many debates in the sports world, but one issue that has endured over the years is his quest to discover the lone MVP voter who denied him the chance to be the first unanimously awarded winner.
LeBron James threatens to expose MVP voter who already outed himself https://t.co/1iNG9W0XKc pic.twitter.com/tOtJsMnp7G
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 22, 2024
Nearly a decade later, the mystery has been unraveled – the anonymous voter is a known figure in sports journalism, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
LeBron James was initially under the impression that the vote came from a New York writer.
During the MVP award ceremony, he stated, “It’s probably a writer out of New York who didn’t give me the vote”, alluding to the longstanding rivalry between the Heat and the Knicks.
However, it came to light that the vote did not come from New York, but from Boston. Washburn admitted to voting for Anthony over James in an article published in the Boston Globe.
“I voted for Carmelo Anthony based on his importance to the New York Knicks, who, if you haven’t been paying attention the past decade, have failed to be relevant,” he wrote.
“When the voting was announced Sunday afternoon, I was flabbergasted to learn I was the lone voter among 121 to not give LeBron a first-place vote, truly believing Anthony, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, and perhaps even Kobe Bryant would snag a first-place vote or two.”
Despite the public admission by Washburn, James has maintained his stance, claiming he was robbed of the unanimous accolade.
“I also had an opportunity to be the first unanimous MVP if I’d gotten all 120 votes,” he said. “But I got 119.”
“I know who the one vote was,” James added. “He voted for Carmelo… It was a writer from Boston – of course. I know his name, too, but I ain’t gonna give him that light just yet. I’ll wait for the doc on that one.”
LeBron really said “Imma wait for the doc” everyone finna get the smoke LMAOO pic.twitter.com/GwKSyFswhT
— 𝓛𝓛💫 (@HoodiiBron) April 19, 2024
His persistent assertiveness over the incident has sent ripples throughout the NBA, sparking debates about the MVP voting process and its transparency.
