Lebron James of the Miami Heat has won his 4th NBA MVP award after taking 120/121 1st place votes, falling just one vote short of being a unanimous selection. Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks received the final first place vote. It would have been the first and only Unanimous MVP in NBA history.
It was the second time a player fell one vote short of an unanimous MVP selection, with Shaquille O’Neal also receiving 120 of 121 first-place votes following the 1999-2000 season.
James’ 4th MVP award makes him the youngest player ever to win 4 MVPs, and he joins a group including Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael as the only players in NBA history to win at least four MVP awards.
Despite Anthony’s first place vote, he actually finished third on the ballot. Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant finished second to James in MVP voting for the second straight year. Clippers guard Chris Paul was 4th in voting and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers finished 5th. James was the only player who was listed on all 121 ballots. Durant was omitted on 2 ballots, and Anthony on 9.
James may have had his best season ever this year. He shot a career-high 56.5 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 26.8 points per game, a career-high 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. James led the Heat ton an NBA Best 66-16 record, and led the team to a 27 game winning streak, the 2nd best in NBA History.
James got the award on Sunday, and on Monday he will lead the Heat into the 2nd round, playing game 1 vs the Chicago Bulls. The Heat are coming off a first round sweep of the Milwaukee Bucks, while Chicago prevailed over the Brooklyn Nets in 7 hard fought games. The Heat have been resting since April 28th.
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