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What: 2010 NBA All-Star Game
When: Feb. 14, 2010, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Cowboys Stadium, Artlington, Texas
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
When: Feb. 14, 2010, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Cowboys Stadium, Artlington, Texas
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
James looks to bring home MVP hardware all by himself… for a third time.
First established in 1951, the 59th edition of the NBA All-Star game will be played tonight in Dallas. In these 59 games, there have been a grand total of 63 All-Star MVPs (1959, 1993, 2000, and 2009 had co-MVPs). However, there have only been 16 instances of a player winning MVP without a player from his NBA team playing in the game as well. This means that 74.6% of the time the MVP of the All-Star game had a teammate playing in the game too.
It is worth noting, however, that the recent trend has moved towards players representing their teams alone winning MVP hardware. Before Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’neal split MVP honors this past All-Star game, there was a four game streak of solo MVPs (08 – James, 07 – Bryant, 06 – James, 05 – Iverson), marking the longest streak of MVPs representing their team by their lonesome.
LeBron James is among only four players to have won the MVP award twice without a teammate joining him (Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, and Michael Jordan being the other three). But the others didn’t quite have the same circumstances. Kobe Bryant, for instance, won the award by his lonesome in 2007 and 2002. However, in 2002, Shaquille O’Neal was an All-Star, but sat out the game due to injury. Bryant also won the award last season, splitting co-MVP honors with O’Neal while teammate Pau Gasol saw action in the game. James has never won All-Star MVP honors alongside a teammate and has only played with a Cavalier in two of his soon to be six appearances.
On the other hand, Allen Iverson had a career best characterized by being the only All-Star on his Sixers squad. In his seven All-Star game appearances with the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson was joined by a teammate only once (2002 – Dikembe Mutombo). In the end, this gave him six opportunities to win an MVP award without a teammate present, whereas James has only had three.
Similarly, Michael Jordan was presented with eight chances to win an All-Star MVP lone ranger style. Jordan also played in five All-Star games alongside a teammate, however, meaning he played in a higher percentage of All-Star games with a teammate than James has.
Regardless, if James can come away with the MVP trophy in the All-Star game tonight, he will become the first player in NBA history to win three MVP trophies without playing alongside a teammate in any of those three games. Furthermore, his span of three All-Star MVPs would mark the second quickest to three MVP trophies, just a hair behind Bob Pettit’s mark of three trophies in his first five All-Star appearances.
Ultimately, if LeBron could pull off an MVP effort tonight, it would also put him in a great position to match Pettit’s record for most All-Star MVP awards with four, tying Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, and Oscar Robertson with three MVPs. Not a bad group to be involved with… even if none of them were Cavaliers until this season.
Records of note.
- Most points per game in All-Star games (min. 3 games played or 60 points scored).
LeBron James, 24.3
Oscar Robertson, 20.5
Bob Pettit, 20.4
Michael Jordan, 20.2
Julius Erving, 20.1
Elgin Baylor, 19.8
Kobe Bryant, 18.0
Amar'e Stoudemire, 17.7
Tracy McGrady, 17.1
Shaquille O'Neal, 16.8
- Overall head to head record.
East over the West 35-24.
Quotes from All-Star weekend.
Barkley on former NBA player Darryl Dawkins colorful suit: “It’s been snowing here. Maybe the power went out in his hotel.”
Miller on the lack of creativity in the early rounds of the Sprite Slam Dunk: “These guys are doing dunks that I’ve done at the Calabasas Rec Center (in Southern California ).”
Barkley on Spike Lee wearing New York Knicks paraphernalia: “Spike (Lee) has got courage wearing the Knicks stuff around. That’s like people that wear Chicago Cubs stuff. They should burn all that crap.”
TNT All Decade honors.
TNT NBA All-Decade Winners
Individual Performance: Playoffs – LeBron James (2007 ECF, Game #5)
Playoff Game – 2009 East First Round: Celtics @ Bulls, Game #6
Playoff Dunk – Kobe Bryant windmill over Kevin Garnett (2003)
Playoff Defense – Tayshaun Prince catches Reggie Miller (2004)
Playoff Drama: Individual – Derek Fisher, 2007 West Semis, Game 2
Playoff Buzzer Beater – Derek Fisher, 2005 West Semis, Game 5
Playoff Series – 2009 First Round, Bulls vs. Celtics
Posterization: Regular Season – Dwyane Wade over Anderson Varejao (2009)
Buzzer Beater: Regular Season - Kobe Bryant's Two Three-Pointers (2004)
Individual Performance: Regular Season – Kobe Bryant drops 81 on the Raptors (2006)
Individual Series – Dwyane Wade (2006 NBA Finals)
All-Star Saturday Dunk – Vince Carter reverse 360 (2000)
Player of the Decade (six finalists) – Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal
Player of the Decade nominees were voted on by 13 TNT announcers on a 12 player ballot. The cumulative vote totals created the six nominees. Voting for this category continues through All-Star Weekend until the end of the third quarter of Sunday's All-Star game, with the winner being unveiled during Inside the NBA after the game on TNT.
Individual Performance: Playoffs – LeBron James (2007 ECF, Game #5)
Playoff Game – 2009 East First Round: Celtics @ Bulls, Game #6
Playoff Dunk – Kobe Bryant windmill over Kevin Garnett (2003)
Playoff Defense – Tayshaun Prince catches Reggie Miller (2004)
Playoff Drama: Individual – Derek Fisher, 2007 West Semis, Game 2
Playoff Buzzer Beater – Derek Fisher, 2005 West Semis, Game 5
Playoff Series – 2009 First Round, Bulls vs. Celtics
Posterization: Regular Season – Dwyane Wade over Anderson Varejao (2009)
Buzzer Beater: Regular Season - Kobe Bryant's Two Three-Pointers (2004)
Individual Performance: Regular Season – Kobe Bryant drops 81 on the Raptors (2006)
Individual Series – Dwyane Wade (2006 NBA Finals)
All-Star Saturday Dunk – Vince Carter reverse 360 (2000)
Player of the Decade (six finalists) – Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, LeBron James, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal
Player of the Decade nominees were voted on by 13 TNT announcers on a 12 player ballot. The cumulative vote totals created the six nominees. Voting for this category continues through All-Star Weekend until the end of the third quarter of Sunday's All-Star game, with the winner being unveiled during Inside the NBA after the game on TNT.