LeBron for MVP

ESPN.com Reports:

CLEVELAND -- A person familiar with the announcement says LeBron James has won the NBA's MVP Award for the second straight year. The Cleveland Cavaliers star will receive the honor Sunday at the University of Akron.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not yet announced the results of the vote.

James averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.6 awards this season. He led the Cavs to 61 wins and the top seed in the postseason.

Cleveland opens its second-round series against the Boston Celtics on Saturday.

The Plain Dealer of Cleveland first announced that James won the award.

Not that its any surprise, it was pretty clear he was going to win it. But congrats to LeBron on two in a row.

If you go to ESPN.com and look at the Cleveland Cav's 2008-09 Season stats this is what you see (for those who don't know, the player listed in the box stands for the team leader in that category):

That's just ridiculous.

"...Now I think he's staying." ESPN Writer Bill Simmons wrote an article today about the NBA MVP Race but also touched upon LeBron in 2010. He writes:

And if you're a Cavs fan trying to talk yourself into LeBron staying after 2010, your best chance is this: Through 24 years, LeBron has proven to be an inordinately devoted guy. When you're with him, you're with him. The upcoming documentary (supposedly superb) about his high school years bangs this point home. So does the fact that he jettisoned his agents and surrounded himself with high school buddies. So does everything that happened this season. He's as good of a teammate as a player. The more I watch him, the more I wonder if such an intensely loyal guy would ever say, "Thanks for the memories, everybody," dump his teammates, dump his hometown and start a fresh life elsewhere. Although he isn't surrounded by the most talented players right now, collectively, it's a team in the truest sense, with a devoted set of appreciative fans, and maybe that's all LeBron James will need in the end.

I thought he was a goner four months ago. I think he's staying now. Regardless, he's our Most Valuable Player for 2009. It won't be the last time.

Key point is devotion... he most definitely is devoted- to his friends, his family his team, we all know and have seen it. It is tough to say hes leaving when he has led his team to the best record in the NBA. I do like that Bill did point out how LeBron really doesn't have a good team, LeBron is the team which I thoroughly agree. I guess it comes down to can he carry this team to a championship this year, and if he can, does he think he can do that year after year there with a cast like this, because Cleveland is making it pretty clear that they are not going to be able to put much better than this around him.

Was it even in question? - LeBron ran away with it getting 17 of 18 first place votes. The guy is averaging 28, 7 and 7...and ignoring those ridiculous numbers, he's simply the best player on the best team in the NBA.

Here's ESPN MVP Voting Breakdown... LBJ got 17 of the 18 possible first place votes.

LeBron James: 89 points (17 first-place votes, 1 second)
Dwyane Wade: 62 points (1 first-place vote, 8 second, 7 third, 2 fourth)
Kobe Bryant: 53 points (8 second-place votes, 5 third, 1 fourth, 4 fifth)
Dwight Howard: 31 points (1 second-place vote, 2 third,10 fourth, 1 fifth)

Perhaps the DVD the Heat sent out to promote DWades MVP candidacy was more persuasive than we think... that or Jon Barry hasn't been watching LeBron lead his terrible team (without him on the floor) to a 39-1 Home Record. In fact Barry also stated that he "would be fine if [LeBron] were to win the MVP award because [LeBron] has had a sensational season as well [as Dwyane Wade]" You should be little better than 'fine' with it Jon...as Chad Ford stated: "LeBron is the best player in the game, and he's playing on the team with the best record in the league. If he's not the unanimous pick for MVP, it's a crime."

C2L Couldn't agree more.

Here at countdown2Lebron.com, were not big on pimping other sites. But sometimes, commonalities collide.

Thus, a special shout-out to: LeBronisReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyGood.com

It’s a site dedicated to promoting LeBron’s MVP candidacy

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but well-done…

LBJ was named the Eastern Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors for games played during March.

James paced the league in triple-doubles (four) and double-doubles (12), and among Eastern Conference players ranked second in scoring (28.2 ppg) and third in assists (8.4 apg). In a 119-111 win over Phoenix on March 12, James became the 12th player in NBA history to record three consecutive triple-doubles when he scored 34 points and added 13 assists and 10 rebounds. James finished the month with 479 points, 152 rebounds and 143 assists, becoming the second player in league history to reach those totals in one month (Oscar Robertson, 1964-65). At 16-1, Cleveland tied the NBA record for most wins in one month, becoming the fifth team to accomplish the feat and the first team since San Antonio went 16-0 in March 1996. James was named Player of the Week twice in March.

Here is a closer look at the month for James

LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
March 7 vs. Miami: Scored 14 points and added 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a 99-89 win over the Heat.
March 10 @ L.A. Clippers: Tallied 32 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists and two steals in an 87-83 win over the Clippers.
March 12 @ Phoenix: Recorded 34 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, three
blocks and two steals in a 119-111 win over the Suns.
March 13 @ Sacramento: Poured in 51 points and added nine assists, three blocks and two steals in a 126-123 overtime victory over the Kings.
March 19 vs. Portland: Tallied 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 97-92 overtime victory over the Trail Blazers.

We all know by know John Hollinger is a mad scientist when it comes to sports statistics, his numbers are ones that are pretty difficult to understand but when you really get to the meat of them and read their explanations, they're a pretty intense/great way to look at stats.

Hollinger noted the other day how LeBron's "PER," as he calls is, is third all time to Michael Jordan's 1987-88 and 1990-91 seasons.

TOP ALL-TIME PER SEASONS
Player ----------------Year------PER
Michael Jordan----1987-88--31.89
Michael Jordan----1990-91--31.79
LeBron James-----2008-09--31.69

Basically put, LeBron is MVP, and his stats back it up. He is in first place in the East with a miserable team behind him, carrying the entire workload on his back (could you imagine subsituting him for Paul Pierce or Kobe?, its scary what he could do with a supporting cast like that).

Heres what Hollinger has to say about LeBrons season to date:
Back to PER for a moment. You can argue about whether James is having the greatest individual season ever -- to seal the deal, presumably it would have to be capped by a title, for starters, and there are a variety of subjective criteria one can add to the discussion that goes far beyond the limits of PER.

What's very clear, however, is that LeBron's campaign belongs on the short list. Few players in history have had a season approaching this one, and as of today only one player has exceeded it.

And James still has a shot at breaking the mark. I'm estimating James will play 270 more minutes this season, based on the Playoff Odds' current guess that Cleveland won't clinch home court throughout the playoffs until the final day of the season. If so, James would need a PER of roughly 33.0 for the remainder of the season to surpass Jordan during the Cavs' final dozen games -- a feat that is difficult but hardly impossible.

CLEVELAND, OH - March 23rd, 2009 - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was named today as the NBA’s Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, March 16th through Sunday, March 22nd. James wins the award for the second consecutive week and becomes the only player in the history of the award to win it seven times in a season (The Player of the Week award has been awarded since the 1979-80 season and awarded by conference since the 2001-02 season).

In four games during the week, James averaged a double-double with 30.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.0 block per game. James has now won the award 20 times in his career, including a career-best seven times this season, three times in 2007-08, twice in 2006-07, five times in 2005-06 and on three occasions during the 2004-05 campaign.

James finished with 43 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, four steals, and one block to record his 22nd double-double of the season versus the Orlando Magic on March 17th. The only other player to record at least those numbers in a game was Larry Bird in 1992 for the Celtics when he had 49 points, 14 rebounds, 12 assists and four steals. His 43 points and 12 rebounds marked the ninth 40-point, 10-rebound game of his career (Cavs are 7-2) and his second this season.

At Quicken Loans Arena, on March 21st, he tallied 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one block and three steals in a win over the Hawks. In a 97-92 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers, he recorded 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks and one steal for his league-high seventh triple-double on the season. In the only road game for the Cavs this week, he scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his 24th double-double this season while dishing out eight assists in a 96-88 victory over New Jersey on March 22nd.