LeBron 'not through evolving,' laments difficulty in wing winning DPOY

The current LeBron James is not the LeBron James of old and won't be the LeBron James of the future.

The four-time MVP, two-time NBA champion and 11-time All-Star spoke about his evolution as a basketball player Monday, explaining that success doesn't breed comfort or complacency.

"I'm not through evolving," James said. "There's so much more that I can add to the game and to my team. And I won't stop until I get there."

James spoke specifically about getting just four free throw attempts in a Game 1 victory over the Boston Celtics, using that as an example of how he can always do more. With 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a fairly easy victory for his Cleveland Cavaliers, it's more than a stretch to suggest he needs to play better. 

But one doesn't become the world's best player by resting on laurels. It's no secret that James wants to add to his robust resume, one that includes just about every individual player honor.

That resume excludes Defensive Player of the Year, an award that's evaded James despite five All-Defensive First Team nods, an All-Defensive Second Team nod and a reputation for being one of the league's best and most versatile defenders. It seems he's a bit salty about missing it from his mantle, too.

"Probably just as difficult as it is for a wing player to win Defensive Player of the Year," James said when asked how tough it was for a big - teammate Tristan Thompson, in particular - to win Sixth Man of the Year.

Defensive Player of the Year has been awarded to a big man consistently since 1989, with Gary Payton and Ron Artest the only guards or wings to win since Michael Jordan in 1988. 

Maybe becoming such a force defensively that he can't possibly be denied the award in a future year is the next step in James' evolution.