LeBron: 'I've shown what I'm capable of' in MVP race

LeBron James is confident in his case for a fifth MVP award.

The NBA reportedly informed teams Friday that the 2019-20 end-of-season awards will be based only on games played up until March 11, effectively ending the races for individual accolades early.

Though the Los Angeles Lakers' eight seeding games in the league's Orlando restart could have allowed James to bolster his MVP case, he believes he's done enough to earn strong consideration for the honor.

"I'm not disappointed because things happen. Control what you can control, and I can't control that," James told reporters Monday, according to SB Nation's Harrison Faigen. "As far as the MVP race, I think I've shown what I'm capable of doing, not only individually but from a team perspective - us being No. 1 in the West."

James, 35, leads the league with 10.6 assists per game and has averaged 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.2 steals this season. His strong play earned him an endorsement from Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, who said Saturday that "nobody impacts winning more than" James.

The 16-time All-Star hasn't been named MVP since 2013. He looked to be in the midst of a strong run last season until suffering a groin injury on Christmas Day against the Golden State Warriors. The injury sidelined him for over a month and eventually ended his season early, limiting him to just 55 games in 2018-19.

James said he was aware of critics' suggestions that he wouldn't be able to succeed in the Western Conference after joining the Lakers in 2018.

"There was a lot of conversation about 'LeBron can do those things in the East, but if he ever came to the West, what could he do?' I heard all of that," he said. "To be able to have our team at the top of the Western Conference and playing the way we were playing at the time and the way I was playing, that's definitely a good feeling."