\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n MIAMI \u2014 Heat forward LeBron James<\/a> is the NBA\u2019s MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game\u2019s all-time greats.<\/p>\n A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year\u2019s winner of the league\u2019s top individual honor, and that he\u2019ll be formally presented with the trophy by Commissioner David Stern<\/a> on Sunday afternoon before Miami hosts Indiana in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.<\/p>\n The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results.<\/p>\n James is winning the award for the third time in four seasons. Only seven other players \u2013 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>, Michael Jordan<\/a>, Bill Russell<\/a>, Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>, Larry Bird<\/a>, Magic Johnson<\/a> and Moses Malone<\/a> \u2013 have at least three MVP trophies.<\/p>\n James said last week that while another MVP award \u201cwould be amazing and would be humbling,\u201d it\u2019s not what drives him. In his ninth season, James still has not won an NBA title and it\u2019s clear that, although he wanted to reclaim the MVP trophy, winning a championship is far and away his top basketball priority.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I\u2019m all about is team and ever since I was a kid, I was always taught it\u2019s team first,\u201d James told the AP on Friday. \u201cMy first time playing basketball, we went undefeated and won a championship and Frank Walker Sr.<\/a> gave everyone on the team a MVP trophy. Right then and there, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to see my teammates reap the benefits as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Abdul-Jabbar won the MVP six times, Jordan and Russell five times each, Chamberlain four times. After this weekend, they\u2019ll be the only players with more than James.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s probably as committed as he\u2019s ever been in his career,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra<\/a> said this week, asked to summarize James\u2019 season. \u201cAnd he\u2019s always been committed. \u2026 We all respond to his energy on the court.\u201d<\/p>\n James averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists \u2013 making him only the fourth player with those totals in at least two different seasons, according to STATS LLC, joining Oscar Robertson<\/a> (five times), John Havlicek<\/a> (twice) and Bird (twice).<\/p>\n Add James\u2019 53 percent shooting and 1.9 steals per game into the mix, and the club gets even more exclusive. Only Jordan had a season with numbers exceeding what James did this season in those categories \u2013 1988-89, when he averaged 32.5 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and 2.9 steals on 54 percent shooting.<\/p>\n And Jordan wasn\u2019t even the MVP that year, the trophy going to Johnson instead.<\/p>\n \u201cI think LeBron is an MVP candidate every year,\u201d Celtics coach Doc Rivers<\/a> said last month. \u201cIt\u2019s just who he is. He only does everything. So I don\u2019t know what more you can ask from him.<\/p>\n \u201cLeBron, to me, is the favorite every year,\u201d Rivers added. \u201cThe years he doesn\u2019t win it, it\u2019ll usually be because people are just tired of voting for him. Statistically, if you go all-around game, I don\u2019t know how you don\u2019t vote for him every year.\u201d<\/p>\n The MVP votes will be revealed Saturday. Oklahoma City\u2019s Kevin Durant<\/a> was thought to be James\u2019 top competition for the MVP, after winning the NBA scoring title for a third straight season. Chris Paul<\/a> of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kobe Bryant<\/a> of the Los Angeles Lakers and Tony Parker<\/a> of the San Antonio Spurs also had seasons that generated some MVP buzz.<\/p>\n James\u2019 teammates also lobbied for him to be defensive player of the year this season, noting that probably no one else in the league routinely plays four positions on offense while sometimes being asked to guard anyone from a point guard to a center on defense. James was fourth in that balloting.<\/p>\n \u201cLeBron has been unbelievable,\u201d Heat guard Dwyane Wade<\/a> said before the playoffs. \u201cHe\u2019s done it at both ends, every night, offensively and defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n Last season\u2019s MVP, Derrick Rose<\/a> of the Chicago Bulls, appeared in only 39 of 66 regular-season games this season because of a variety of injuries. His season ended in Game 1 of the Bulls\u2019 first-round playoff series against Philadelphia, when he tore a knee ligament.<\/p>\n Many in the Heat organization thought James should have won the award a year ago as well, when he dealt with constant fallout from \u201cThe Decision\u201d to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent and sign with Miami, where he, Wade and Chris Bosh<\/a> formed a \u201cBig Three\u201d that has been celebrated at home and reviled in just about every other NBA arena.<\/p>\n James has said he played more out of anger and to silence criticism than anything else last season. So this season, his mindset changed, with him trying to revert to old ways, first as a superstar-in-waiting at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, then during his seven seasons with the Cavaliers.<\/p>\n It apparently worked.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to get back to who I was as a person,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time that the Heat will be hosting an MVP celebration.<\/p>\n Shaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a> won his only MVP award before coming to Miami, and James won the 2009 and 2010 trophies with the Cavaliers \u2013 collecting 225 of a possible 244 first-place votes in those seasons.<\/p>\n The NBA MVP trophy is named for Maurice Podoloff<\/a>, the league\u2019s first commissioner. Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo<\/a>won the award once, for the Buffalo Braves in 1975.<\/p>\n this post is originally from:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/sports\/basketball\/miami-heat-lebron-james-named-2011-12-nba-mvp-time-seasons-article-1.1076830<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0 MIAMI \u2014 Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA\u2019s MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game\u2019s all-time greats. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year\u2019s winner of the league\u2019s top individual honor, and that he\u2019ll be formally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2852,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5,6,7,8],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empower-network","tag-heat","tag-james","tag-lebron-james","tag-miami","tag-miami-heat","tag-mvp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2852"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![<\/a><\/p>\nMIAMI \u2014 Heat forward LeBron James<\/a> is the NBA\u2019s MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game\u2019s all-time greats.<\/p>\nA person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year\u2019s winner of the league\u2019s top individual honor, and that he\u2019ll be formally presented with the trophy by Commissioner David Stern<\/a> on Sunday afternoon before Miami hosts Indiana in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.<\/p>\nThe person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results.<\/p>\nJames is winning the award for the third time in four seasons. Only seven other players \u2013 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar<\/a>, Michael Jordan<\/a>, Bill Russell<\/a>, Wilt Chamberlain<\/a>, Larry Bird<\/a>, Magic Johnson<\/a> and Moses Malone<\/a> \u2013 have at least three MVP trophies.<\/p>\nJames said last week that while another MVP award \u201cwould be amazing and would be humbling,\u201d it\u2019s not what drives him. In his ninth season, James still has not won an NBA title and it\u2019s clear that, although he wanted to reclaim the MVP trophy, winning a championship is far and away his top basketball priority.<\/p>\n\u201cWhat I\u2019m all about is team and ever since I was a kid, I was always taught it\u2019s team first,\u201d James told the AP on Friday. \u201cMy first time playing basketball, we went undefeated and won a championship and Frank Walker Sr.<\/a> gave everyone on the team a MVP trophy. Right then and there, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to see my teammates reap the benefits as well.\u201d<\/p>\nAbdul-Jabbar won the MVP six times, Jordan and Russell five times each, Chamberlain four times. After this weekend, they\u2019ll be the only players with more than James.<\/p>\n\u201cI think he\u2019s probably as committed as he\u2019s ever been in his career,\u201d Heat coach Erik Spoelstra<\/a> said this week, asked to summarize James\u2019 season. \u201cAnd he\u2019s always been committed. \u2026 We all respond to his energy on the court.\u201d<\/p>\nJames averaged 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists \u2013 making him only the fourth player with those totals in at least two different seasons, according to STATS LLC, joining Oscar Robertson<\/a> (five times), John Havlicek<\/a> (twice) and Bird (twice).<\/p>\nAdd James\u2019 53 percent shooting and 1.9 steals per game into the mix, and the club gets even more exclusive. Only Jordan had a season with numbers exceeding what James did this season in those categories \u2013 1988-89, when he averaged 32.5 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and 2.9 steals on 54 percent shooting.<\/p>\nAnd Jordan wasn\u2019t even the MVP that year, the trophy going to Johnson instead.<\/p>\n\u201cI think LeBron is an MVP candidate every year,\u201d Celtics coach Doc Rivers<\/a> said last month. \u201cIt\u2019s just who he is. He only does everything. So I don\u2019t know what more you can ask from him.<\/p>\n\u201cLeBron, to me, is the favorite every year,\u201d Rivers added. \u201cThe years he doesn\u2019t win it, it\u2019ll usually be because people are just tired of voting for him. Statistically, if you go all-around game, I don\u2019t know how you don\u2019t vote for him every year.\u201d<\/p>\nThe MVP votes will be revealed Saturday. Oklahoma City\u2019s Kevin Durant<\/a> was thought to be James\u2019 top competition for the MVP, after winning the NBA scoring title for a third straight season. Chris Paul<\/a> of the Los Angeles Clippers, Kobe Bryant<\/a> of the Los Angeles Lakers and Tony Parker<\/a> of the San Antonio Spurs also had seasons that generated some MVP buzz.<\/p>\nJames\u2019 teammates also lobbied for him to be defensive player of the year this season, noting that probably no one else in the league routinely plays four positions on offense while sometimes being asked to guard anyone from a point guard to a center on defense. James was fourth in that balloting.<\/p>\n\u201cLeBron has been unbelievable,\u201d Heat guard Dwyane Wade<\/a> said before the playoffs. \u201cHe\u2019s done it at both ends, every night, offensively and defensively.\u201d<\/p>\nLast season\u2019s MVP, Derrick Rose<\/a> of the Chicago Bulls, appeared in only 39 of 66 regular-season games this season because of a variety of injuries. His season ended in Game 1 of the Bulls\u2019 first-round playoff series against Philadelphia, when he tore a knee ligament.<\/p>\nMany in the Heat organization thought James should have won the award a year ago as well, when he dealt with constant fallout from \u201cThe Decision\u201d to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent and sign with Miami, where he, Wade and Chris Bosh<\/a> formed a \u201cBig Three\u201d that has been celebrated at home and reviled in just about every other NBA arena.<\/p>\nJames has said he played more out of anger and to silence criticism than anything else last season. So this season, his mindset changed, with him trying to revert to old ways, first as a superstar-in-waiting at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, then during his seven seasons with the Cavaliers.<\/p>\nIt apparently worked.<\/p>\n\u201cI wanted to get back to who I was as a person,\u201d James said.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s the first time that the Heat will be hosting an MVP celebration.<\/p>\nShaquille O\u2019Neal<\/a> won his only MVP award before coming to Miami, and James won the 2009 and 2010 trophies with the Cavaliers \u2013 collecting 225 of a possible 244 first-place votes in those seasons.<\/p>\nThe NBA MVP trophy is named for Maurice Podoloff<\/a>, the league\u2019s first commissioner. Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo<\/a>won the award once, for the Buffalo Braves in 1975.<\/p>\nthis post is originally from:<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/www.nydailynews.com\/sports\/basketball\/miami-heat-lebron-james-named-2011-12-nba-mvp-time-seasons-article-1.1076830<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 MIAMI \u2014 Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA\u2019s MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game\u2019s all-time greats. A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year\u2019s winner of the league\u2019s top individual honor, and that he\u2019ll be formally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2852,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5,6,7,8],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-empower-network","tag-heat","tag-james","tag-lebron-james","tag-miami","tag-miami-heat","tag-mvp"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2852"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empowernetwork.com\/cjhen83\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}](\"\/cjhen83\/files\/2012\/05\/james.jpg\"){kind=link}