participated in the podcast, James praised Lakers center Mark Gasol. Interestingly, James joked that Gasol took away his award for the best defensive player.
As a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, Marc Gasol won the 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. James also played a high level of defense that season, he was extremely dissatisfied with Gasol winning.
last season, after getting Antetokounmpo won the regular season MVP, James also reiterated that the award of the best defensive player of the year was unfair.
In the 2013 best defensive player vote, Gasol won 30 first-place votes, while James only had 18, and Ibaka and Noah ranked third and fourth respectively.
Obviously, James is still unable to let go after seven years. When participating in the "Travel on the Road" podcast, James admitted that he was very eager to get the best defensive player award, because that was the highest affirmation of his defensive ability.
"I'm glad that Mark (Pau) is here, another champion member...I have always liked him. Mark has my Defensive Player of the Year trophy at home. But anyway, I love you Mark, I can't wait I have to tell you about it."
As early as 2013, James publicly questioned Gasol.
James said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post: "This is too bad, this is awful, really bad... I only got second? Who wants to get second? I mean, I can defend. Everyone on the court. I don’t know if there is a player in NBA history who can defend 1 to 5 positions. Now it’s all over, but it’s cool."
