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LA Lakers superstar LeBron James was one of 20 players nominated by coaches for the 2025 NBA Clutch Player of the Year award. Some fans online were not impressed with "The King" making the cut, while others were touting Austin Reaves as the Lakers' better clutch player this season.
According to Yahoo! Sports' Kevin O'Connor, the NBA released the nominees for Clutch Player of the Year on Monday. The previous winners of the awards were De'Aaron Fox and Steph Curry. Both players were nominated again this season and could win the award for the second time.
Here is the full list of nominees:
- Anfernee Simons | Guard | Blazers
- Anthony Edwards | Guard | Timberwolves
- Darius Garland | Guard | Cavaliers
- De'Aaron Fox | Guard | Spurs
- DeMar DeRozan | Forward | Kings
- Derrick White | Guard | Celtics
- Donovan Mitchell | Guard | Cavaliers
- Jaylen Brown | Forward | Celtics
- Jalen Brunson | Guard | Knicks
- Jayson Tatum | Forward | Celtics
- Kevin Durant | Forward | Suns
- Kyrie Irving | Guard | Mavericks
- LeBron James | Forward | Lakers
- Luka Doncic | Guard | Lakers
- Nikola Jokic | Center | Nuggets
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Guard | Thunder
- Steph Curry | Guard | Warriors
- Trae Young | Guard | Hawks
- Tyler Herro | Guard | Heat
- Tyrese Maxey | Guard | 76ers
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Some NBA fans were baffled by the nominees, while others went straight for the jugular and questioned why LeBron James made the cut. They thought Austin Reaves deserved the nomination for what he has done for the Lakers in clutch situations this season, calling it Klutch Sports propaganda.
"Reaves was more clutch than him this year," a fan tweeted.
"Clutch at what?" one fan asked.
"Klutch Player of the Year sure," another fan commented.
"Skip will have an aneurysm," a fan wrote.
"Klutch working overtime for this FRAUD," one fan remarked.
"More like klutch propaganda," another fan quipped.
"Clutch" is a vague term for some fans, but there are advanced analytical stats calculating how players perform in the most important parts of close games.
LeBron James has long been criticized for not being clutch, but this perception is based on the early part of his career. He has been fantastic in end-game situations, both in the regular season and playoffs, for more than half a decade.
LeBron James' clutch ranking this season
Inpredictable's Clutch Player of the Year tracker puts Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Tyrese Haliburton as the top three clutch players in the NBA this season. Haliburton was not nominated, with Jalen Brunson coming in at No. 4.
Based on clutch shooting by win probability added, James, Jokic and Brunson are the top three players. One Reddit user made adjustments to account for perceived bias toward game-winning buzzer-beaters, stating that Brunson should win the Clutch Player of the Year award. James came in second, with The Joker in third.
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