LeBron is MVP again – report

MIAMI, United States — LeBron James will, on Sunday, be named the NBA Most Valuable Player for the fourth season in his career, the second year in a row and the fourth time in five seasons, ESPN reported on Friday, May 3.

Citing unnamed league sources, the sports TV network said the Miami Heat star will join legends Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell as MVP award winners at least four times in their careers.

A 120-member media panel votes to determine the MVP award winner.

“King James” won his first NBA crown last year with the Heat and Miami advanced to the second round of this year’s playoffs by sweeping Milwaukee. Miami will play the winner of Saturday’s Brooklyn-Chicago game in round two.

James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocked shots a game in 76 appearances this season, his 10th in the NBA.

He shot career bests of 56.5 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range and finished second in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting to Spanish big man Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies.

He led the Heat to the winningest season in team history at 66-16, including a 27-game win streak that ranks second on the all-time NBA win streak list to the 33-game run by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

At 28, James would be the youngest player in NBA history to win a fourth regular season MVP award. Abdul-Jabbar, a record six-time MVP award winner, won five by age 30.

James would join Russell as the only players to win the NBA MVP award four times in five years and add yet another honor to an incredible past 12 months.

In that span, James has won last season’s MVP award, the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award for leading the Heat over Oklahoma City for the title last June and an Olympic gold medal last August with the US squad of NBA stars at the London Games. – Rappler.com