Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James has been named the winner of the Maurice Podoloff Trophy as the 2009-10 NBA Most Valuable Player presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today.
James received a total of 1,205 points, including 116 first-place votes out of a possible 122, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada and the first ever NBA MVP fan vote. Players were awarded 10 points for each first-place vote, seven points for each second-place vote, five points for each third-place vote, three points for each fourth-place vote and one point for each fifth-place vote received.
In receiving the NBA's MVP award this season, James became just the 10th player in NBA history to receive the MVP award in consecutive seasons and only the 12th player to win MVP on more than one occasion. He joins Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash in winning the award in consecutive seasons and additionally, Bob Petitt and Karl Malone in winning the award more than once. At 25 years, 123 days old, James is the second-youngest player to win MVP in consecutive seasons since Abdul-Jabbar (24 years) in 1971-72 and his 596-point margin of victory is the second largest in MVP voting history (Cavaliers teammate Shaquille O'Neal won by 799 points to receive the 99-00 award).
For the second consecutive season, he led the Cavaliers to the best record in the NBA with a 61-21 record (.744) and the league's best home record at 35-6 (.854). He averaged 29.7 points on a career-best .503 shooting, 7.3 rebounds, a career-high 8.6 assists, 1.0 block and 1.6 steals in 39.0 minutes per game. He was the only player to rank in the Top 10 in scoring (2nd), assists (6th) and steals (9th) and was also the only player to post averages of at least 25.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists. With 2,250 points, 554 rebounds and 651 assists on the season, he became just the third player in NBA history joining Oscar Robertson (five times) and Michael Jordan (once) to total at least 2,250 points, 650 assists and 550 rebounds in a season. James was also the only player this season with at least 500 rebounds, 600 assists, 125 steals and 75 blocks.
The 6-foot-8 forward also led the NBA in total plus/minus at +650, plus/minus average (8.6), scoring in road games (31.0 ppg), second half scoring (14.9) and fourth quarter scoring (8.0). His career scoring average of 27.8 points per game now ranks third all-time in NBA history behind only Michael Jordan (30.1) and Wilt Chamberlain (30.1).
James also joins Chamberlain (once) as one of just three players (Magic Johnson -11 times) in NBA history 6-foot-8 or taller to average at least 8.0 assists for an entire season after averaging a career-high 8.6 per game. With his 8.6 assists per game average, he became the first forward in NBA history to average over 8.0 per game and his career average of 7.0 assists per game is the highest of any forward all-time.
During the season, the Akron native was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week six times and with four Eastern Conference Player of the Month wins for the second consecutive season, tied the league record for the most wins in a season (November, December, January and February). Dating back to the 2008-09 season (March 2009, April 2009), James won the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award for six consecutive months. He was named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the sixth consecutive season and finished fourth in NBA Defensive Player of the Year voting.
As part of the MVP Award presentation, Kia Motors donated, in LeBron's name, a brand new 2011 Kia Sorento to the SUMMA Foundation in Akron, which was the charity selected by LeBron. The SUMMA Foundation is located in Akron and supports patient care, medical education and research through philanthropy.
The 2009-10 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 third 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.
2009-10 MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS VOTING RESULTS
Player, Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Total Points
LeBron James, Cleveland 116 5 2 - - 1,205
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City 4 46 31 29 5 609
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers - 43 44 23 9 599
Dwight Howard, Orlando 3 27 30 29 22 478
Dwyane Wade, Miami - 1 6 19 25 119
Carmelo Anthony, Denver - 1 3 8 19 65
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas - - 3 7 19 55
Steve Nash, Phoenix - - 3 6 16 49
Deron Williams, Utah - - 1 - 2 7
Amar'e Stoudemire, Phoenix - - - 1 2 5
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio - - - 1 - 3
Chris Bosh, Toronto - - - - 1 1
Joe Johnson, Atlanta - - - - 1 1
Stephen Jackson, Charlotte - - - - 1 1
Chauncey Billups, Denver - - - - 1 1