LeBron is crowned

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today.

James received a total of 1,172 points, including 109 first-place votes out of a possible 121, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place, three points for each fourth-place vote, and one point for each fifth-place vote received.

James becomes the first player in Cavaliers franchise history to receive the award after leading the Cavaliers to an NBA and franchise-best 66-16 (.805) record. He averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.69 steals and a career-best 1.15 blocks in 37.7 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 forward also posted career highs in games played (81), field goal percentage (.489) and free throw percentage (.780). He was the only player in the NBA to average at least 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game this season. Leading the Cavs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, James became just the fourth player since the 1973-74 season (when steals and blocks became official stats) to lead his team in each category.

James led the NBA in triple-doubles (7), points per game in road games (31.5) and combined points, rebounds and assists average (43.3). He ranked second in points per game (28.4) and total fourth quarter points (515), eighth in steals (1.69), ninth in assists (7.2), tied for 14^th in double-doubles (29), 23^rd in blocks (1.15) and 27^th in rebounds (7.6).

At 24 years, 106 days old, James is the youngest player to win the award since Moses Malone (24 years, 16 days) in 1978-79 and his 474-point margin of victory is the sixth-largest in MVP voting history (media began voting 1980-81 season).

During the season, the Akron native was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week an NBA all-time best seven times and tied the league record for most Player of the Month wins with four (November, January, March and April). He was named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the fifth consecutive season and finished runner-up to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

As part of its support of the Most Valuable Player Award, Kia Motors America will donate a new Borrego SUV on behalf of James to The Urban League of Akron. Kia Motors is presenting a brand new vehicle to the charity of choice of each of four 2008-09 season-end award winners as part of the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.”

The 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its second season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Sixth Man and Defensive Player of the Year Awards. It also includes the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards.

LEBRON JAMES’ SEASON HIGHLIGHTS

• Led the Cavaliers to an NBA and franchise-best 66-16 (.805) record and became just the 12^th team in NBA history to win 66 or more games in a season. Also, helped Cleveland post a 39-2 (.951) record at The Q, which tied for the second-best home record in league history, and a 27-14 (.659) road record, which tied for the second-best road record in the league this season.
• Helped Cleveland improve its win total by 21 games from 2007-08 (45-37), tying the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers in NBA history for the second-largest improvement in wins of all teams that won at least 45 games in the previous season.
• Led Cleveland to 16 victories during March, tying the NBA all-time record for most victories in any month. Finished March with 479 points, 152 rebounds and 143 assists. The only other player in NBA history to reach each of those totals in one month is Oscar Robertson, who did it in eight separate months, most recently in January 1965.
• Became just the second player in NBA history to post five consecutive seasons of at least 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists (Oscar Robertson)
• Is the only player to average at least 27.0 points in each of the past five seasons
• Became the youngest player in NBA history to score 11,000 points (23 years, 324 days) and 12,000 points (24 years, 35 days) during the season
• Became the youngest (23 years, 308 days) and fastest (395 games) player to reach the following totals: 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 700 steals and 300 blocks
• Scored 41 points in three of the Cavs first eight games (41 vs. Chi on Nov. 5th and 8th and 41 vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 11th), becoming the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to score 40-or-more in at least three of a team's first eight games of a season
• With 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three blocks and four steals versus Boston on Jan. 9, James became the first person to reach those numbers in a game since David Robinson on March 19, 1994
• Totaled 23 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists and three blocks versus Sacramento on Jan. 27th, posting at least those numbers in a game since Larry Bird in 1987
• Tallied 33 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on Jan. 24th at Utah, becoming the first player to record at least those numbers in a non-overtime game since Kevin Garnett in 2004
• Made a career-high eight three-pointers on 11 attempts on his way to a season-best 55 points at Milwaukee on Feb. 20
• Became only the 12th player in NBA history to have three consecutive triple-doubles (March 7th, 10th and 12th).
• Posted 43 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and a block versus Orlando on March 17th, joining Larry Bird in 1992 as the only players to record at least those numbers in a game.
• Is the only active player in the NBA to have five consecutive seasons with at least 2,000 points and became just the ninth in NBA history, joining legends Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, George Gervin, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlin, Dominique Wilkins, Oscar Robertson, Alex English and Karl Malone all-time.
• With his fourth season of at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists, James became the 2nd player in NBA history (Oscar Robertson) to post at least those numbers in four seasons or more.

2008-09 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS VOTING RESULTS

Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total Points
LeBron James, Cleveland 109 11 1 - - 1172
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

ALL-TIME MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS WINNERS

Season - Player, Team
1955-56 - Bob Pettit, St. Louis
1956-57 - Bob Cousy, Boston
1957-58 - Bill Russell, Boston
1958-59 - Bob Pettit, St. Louis
1959-60 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1960-61 - Bill Russell, Boston
1961-62 - Bill Russell, Boston
1962-63 - Bill Russell, Boston
1963-64 - Oscar Robertson, Cincinnati
1964-65 - Bill Russell, Boston
1965-66 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1966-67 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1967-68 - Wilt Chamberlain, Philadelphia
1968-69 - Wes Unseld, Baltimore
1969-70 - Willis Reed, New York
1970-71 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1971-72 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1972-73 - Dave Cowens, Boston
1973-74 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Milwaukee
1974-75 - Bob McAdoo, Buffalo
1975-76 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1976-77 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1977-78 - Bill Walton, Portland
1978-79 - Moses Malone, Houston
1979-80 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles
1980-81 - Julius Erving, Philadelphia
1981-82 - Moses Malone, Houston
1982-83 - Moses Malone, Philadelphia
1983-84 - Larry Bird, Boston
1984-85 - Larry Bird, Boston
1985-86 - Larry Bird, Boston
1986-87 - Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers
1987-88 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1988-89 - Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers
1989-90 - Magic Johnson, L.A. Lakers
1990-91 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1991-92 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1992-93 - Charles Barkley, Phoenix
1993-94 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston
1994-95 - David Robinson, San Antonio
1995-96 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1996-97 - Karl Malone, Utah
1997-98 - Michael Jordan, Chicago
1998-99 - Karl Malone, Utah
1999-00 - Shaquille O'Neal, L.A. Lakers
2000-01 - Allen Iverson, Philadelphia
2001-02 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2002-03 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio
2003-04 - Kevin Garnett, Minnesota
2004-05 - Steve Nash, Phoenix
2005-06 - Steve Nash, Phoenix
2006-07 - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
2007-08 - Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
2008-09 – LeBron James, Cleveland

James to be named MVP today

According to a league source, LeBron James will be named the NBA Most Valuable Player this afternoon.

James has chosen to have the announcement at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron.

He will be the first Cav to win the honor in history and the second youngest ever to win the award behind Wes Unseld in 1969.

James averaged 28.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season, his sixth in the NBA

LeBron is ridiculous

LeBron James is being profiled on “60 Minutes” this week, and in the middle of the interview he casually drains a shot from well past half court.

Pavlovic out six weeks

Cavaliers guard Sasha Pavlovic left yesterday’s game versus the Los Angeles Lakers at the end of the first quarter with a right ankle sprain and did not return to play. He received an MRI today at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, the results of which showed a high right ankle sprain. He is expected to be out for the next four to six weeks and his status will be updated as appropriate.

LeBron is Eastern Conference Player of the Month

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Month presented by KIA for games played in the month of November.

In 15 games during the month, James averaged 28.6 points on .497 shooting, 7.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game. James has now won the award eight times in his career: for the first time this season; two times during 2007-08, once in 2006-07, twice in 2005-06 and twice during the 2004-05 campaign.

During November, James ranked second in the NBA in points per game (28.6) and ranked sixth in assists (6.2) and steals (2.1) among Eastern Conference players. James led his team to a 13-2 record during the month, which tied for the most wins in a month in franchise history and was their best November record ever. James also won Eastern Conference Player of the Week twice during the month (for weeks ending November 9th and 16th).

With his second steal at Dallas on November 3rd, he became the youngest player (23 years, 308 days) and fastest (395 games) to reach the following milestones in five statistical categories: 10,000 points, 2,500 rebounds, 2,500 assists, 700 steals and 300 blocks.

During the month of November, James scored 41 points three times and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1991 to reach the 40-point mark at least three times in his team’s first eight games of a season. James scored 41 points twice against Chicago (November 5th and November 8th), becoming the first player to have consecutive games with 40 or more points versus Chicago since Rick Barry (1974-9175) and he has now scored 30 or more points against the Bulls in seven straight games. He joins Nate Archibald (9 games from 3/10/72-10/10/73), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8 games from 2/13/71-2/20/72) and Oscar Robertson (7 games from 12/2/67-11/9/68) as the only players to accomplish that feat. In the Cavs’ next game on Nov. 11th, he scored 41 points versus Milwaukee on 16-24 shooting (.667) and added six assists and three steals. With James’ 13th point in the first quarter at New Jersey on November 18th, he became the youngest player in NBA history (23 years, 324 days) to score 11,000 points, surpassing Kobe Bryant who reached the plateau at 25 years, 99 days.

The New Orleans Hornets’ Chris Paul was named the Western Conference Player of the Month. Other nominees for Eastern Conference Player of the Month were New Jersey’s Devin Harris, Orlando’s Dwight Howard and Toronto’s Chris Bosh.

Making a run at LeBron

Every time LeBron James wears a New York Yankees cap, the basketball fans in Gotham smile.

I guess the reasoning is simple and goes something like this...Since the Cleveland Cavaliers' superstar loves baseball's most storied franchise, he must relish the thought of playing in the nation's No. 1 media market.

Knicks fans ask: "Who wouldn't want to play in the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden?"

And Nets fans counter with, "Who wouldn't want to play on a team partially owned by their close friend, hip-hop mogul Jay Z?"

Both teams are fueling their fans' fantasies by opening up significant cap space. In fact, the Nets and Knicks have been doing everything possible to clear enough salary cap space by 2010 to lure James.

The Nets jettisoned Jason Kidd last season and followed that by waving goodbye to Richard Jefferson in the offseason. Meanwhile, Knicks president Donnie Walsh made his first big move Friday, agreeing to send guard Jamal Crawford to the Golden State Warriors for the disgruntled Al Harrington.

LeBron James will certainly opt out of the final year of his contract in Cleveland to test the market.

That is just the first of what could be a number of moves for the Knicks, who are also working feverishly on sending high-priced forward Zach Randolph to either Dallas or the Los Angles Clippers.

Of course, there are problems with either scenario.

The Nets' move to Brooklyn has been slowed by delays, the faltering economy and legal challenges to Atlantic Yards, the proposed development that would include the team's new arena.

In fact, the latest piece of litigation has pushed a possible groundbreaking back to next spring at the earliest, with a projected opening in 2011, a year after James would be scheduled to arrive with the Nets. North Jersey is close to New York in proximity, but not in stature.

On the other hand, the Knicks, while improved under Mike D'Antoni, still sport a pair of expensive anchors to the franchise, enigmatic guard Stephon Marbury and out-of-shape center Eddy Curry.

Does LeBron, who has been knocked for not leading the Cavaliers to a championship, really want to go to a far less talented team that spent two years gutting its roster to acquire him?

James will certainly opt out of the final year of his contract in Cleveland to test the market but, barring a sign-and-trade agreement, the Cavaliers will be able to offer James a longer and more lucrative contract than any other team.

Meanwhile, for what it's worth, James claims he loves playing for the Cavs.

"I love being here, I love playing in front of these fans," James, an Akron native, told The Cleveland Plain Dealer before the season. "My family's here. I grew up 30 miles away from here. I never gave any indication I did not like playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers."

By their actions, the Nets and Knicks feel James is just posturing and winking at both of them.

Of course, it's always nice to have a backup plan, and James will likely be joined in the 2010 free agent class by Toronto's Chris Bosh, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire.

With that kind of security blanket, the Knicks and Nets have gone all in. A gamble that entails making a two-year run at LeBron.

Cavs cut Dupree

The Cleveland Cavaliers waived forward Ronald Dupree.

Dupree played in four games during the Cavaliers current preseason, averaging 6.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game.

Ramblings from the Wachovia Center

Philadelphia, PA (The Sports Network) - The Sixers and Cavs got together in a preseason contest from the Wachovia Center on Tuesday.

Here's some observations from press row. Samuel Dalembert gets the night off and a blast from the past, Theo Ratliff got the start at center for the Sixers.

No surprise that LeBron had his way with Andre Iguodala and the Sixers early.

Meanwhile, ex-St. Joe's star Delonte West returned to Philly with the Cavs. West sat out 12 days earlier in the preseason with some personal problems that included depression and anger issues.

Elton Brand, who has been exceptional for most of the preseason, really struggled with Ben Wallace and was just 1-of-8 in the first half from the floor. He did pull down nine rebounds, however. Brand is not the kind of player who goes into a funk in other areas when his shot is not falling.

Most of the Sixers offense is coming from the bench in the first half. Willie Green and Lou Williams both had nine points to lead Philly, while rookie Marreese Speights continues to impress with seven points and four rebounds in about eight minutes of action in the first half.

LeBron's new playmate, former Bucks point guard Mo Williams, was spectacular in the opening half, compiling 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and two assists.

In the battle for the Cavs shooting guard spot, Sasha Pavlovic got the start but Wally Szczerbiak played almost twice as many minutes after Sasha got in foul trouble.

Sixers were the worst three-point shooting team in basketball last season and brought in Kareem Rush and Donyell Marshall to rectify that. Rush was 0-fo-1 from long range in the first half and Marshall didn't get off the bench. Meanwhile, the Cavs hit six of their first seven from long range.

Philly dominated the third quarter as Iguodala rebounded and started to get a hot hand as did Andre Miller and Brand. E.B. had 12 points and 11 boards through three. Can you say Comeback Player of the Year?

As for LeBron -- How about 20, 8 and 4 through three.

Sixers couldn't buy a bucket down the stretch and the Cavs pulled away with James sitting safely on the bench. Daniel Gibson was the star of the game, netting 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long range. The Cavs were plus-17 in Gibson's 28 minutes on the floor.

The 76ers still can't shot, 0-for-9 from long range and outscored 24-0 from beyond the arc.

Former Sixers great Bobby Jones, one of the greatest defensive players on all-time, was on hand.

Cavs waive Vernon Hamilton

The Cleveland Cavaliers waived guard Vernon Hamilton Monday.

Hamilton played in four games during the Cavaliers current preseason, averaging 0.8 points, 0.8 assists and 1.0 rebound in 6.8 minutes per game.

Cavs' Jackson injures wrist

Cavaliers forward Darnell Jackson has experienced a non-displaced fracture of his left wrist and is expected to be out the next five to six weeks.

Cavs' Wallace doesn't travel with team

Cavs big man Ben Wallace will not be be in Pittsburgh tonight when Cleveland faces Boston. The defensive specialist is remaining in Ohio to receive treatment for lower back tightness.

Meanwhile, Cavaliers guard/forward Sasha Pavlovic (right ankle sprain) is DOUBTFUL for the game.

Cavs Pavlovic day-to-day

Cavaliers guard Sasha Pavlovic did not travel with the team to Providence for the Cavaliers matchup versus the Celtics Friday in order to continue treatment on his right ankle.

He experienced a mild sprain during practice Wednesday, October 8. and is currently day-to-day.