It was supposed to be a close Most Valuable Player race between last season’s MVP, Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. But when the votes were tallied, it was a landslide victory for the latter.
“The King” received 109 of the possible 121 first-place votes to record the sixth-largest victory margin in history. “The Black Mamba” on the other hand finished second overall but had just two first-place votes. Leading his team (Cleveland Cavaliers) to the best NBA regular season record with 66 wins was the biggest factor considered by the voters. It also helped that he averaged a mind-boggling 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game and led the league in triple-doubles (7). Proving that he is a multidimensional player, Lebron James also finished second to Dwight Howard in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.
In garnering his first Maurice Podoloff Trophy (named after the first NBA commissioner) in his 6th NBA season, Lebron became the third youngest player in NBA history after Wes Unseld and Moses Malone to be given the hardware. It has been that way ever since he first entered the league as a rookie in the 2003-04 NBA season; setting youngest player records left and right.
Below is the complete tally:
| Player, Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Total |
| LeBron James, Cleveland | 109 | 11 | 1 | - | - | 1,172 |
| Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers | 2 | 56 | 52 | 8 | 2 | 698 |
| Dwyane Wade, Miami | 7 | 50 | 41 | 17 | 4 | 680 |
| Dwight Howard, Orlando | 1 | 3 | 17 | 63 | 23 | 328 |
| Chris Paul, New Orleans | 2 | 1 | 9 | 23 | 51 | 192 |
| Chauncey Billups, Denver | - | - | - | 6 | 15 | 33 |
| Paul Pierce, Boston | - | - | 1 | 2 | 10 | 21 |
| Tony Parker, San Antonio | - | - | - | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| Brandon Roy, Portland | - | - | - | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas | - | - | - | - | 3 | 3 |
| Tim Duncan, San Antonio | - | - | - | - | 2 | 2 |
| Yao Ming, Houston | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
In accepting the award at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s gym (where he played as a highschooler) on his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Lebron James has this to say:
“I’m 24 years old and I’m receiving this award, I never thought it would happen this fast, I never dreamed about being MVP, but if I said I didn’t enjoy this award I’d be lying to you. Hard work pays off and dreams do come true.”
“I still I have a lot of things I want to do this season, I want to have another celebration in June.
Surely Lebron wants to win the NBA championship in June. After all, he already carries the MVP trophy in his right hand and the NBA trophy will look nice tucked in his left hand.
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Tags: cleveland cavaliers, kobe bryant, lebron james
July 6th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
I’ll still choose a finals MVP over a regular-season MVP anytime.
[Reply]
ark Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Haha, me too. It’s always satisfying to win 1 championship than getting 2 MVP awards.
[Reply]
July 31st, 2009 at 10:11 pm
[...] with another 23, MVP Lebron James… [...]