PD reporters on LeBron's 2nd MVP

[wuck]

Pluto:

A worthy MVP celebration for LeBron James, who 'just gets it': Terry Pluto
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer
May 02, 2010, 9:25PM

AKRON, Ohio -- Perhaps the best-dressed man in the crowd of 3,000 at the University of Akron's Rhodes Arena Sunday was the person everyone was there to see.

Preparing to receive his second Most Valuable Player Award in as many seasons, LeBron James stepped to the stage wearing a sharp gray suit, a plum tie and a blue shirt along with silver cliff links that glittered under the lights.

As the fans chanted "M-V-P, M-V-P," the Cavaliers star looked as if he just stepped out of a Fortune 500 Company board meeting.

"That's just LeBron, he knows the right thing to do," said Keith Dambrot, the University of Akron basketball coach who also coached James during his first two seasons at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.

After thanking his teammates, members of his family and friends, he mentioned his sons -- 5-year-old LeBron Jr. and 2-year-old Bryce Maximus.

"You mean the world to me," he said. "I don't want our last name put down because of my actions."

Listening to that comment, Dru Joyce II smiled and nodded. He had coached James from the age of 8 through high school.

"LeBron has always been smart about avoiding pitfalls," said Joyce, the head coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary. "He didn't have to fall into the hole first to know it's a hole."

James has had a stunning season. He ranked second in scoring (29.6), sixth in assists (8.6), ninth in steals (1.6) along with averaging 7.3 rebounds and shooting 50 percent from the field for the Cavs, which had the NBA's top regular season record at 61-21.

But this day was about so much more than numbers, or the fact that James became only the 10th player in NBA history to win back-to-back MVP awards. It was about James coming back to Akron, his home town. It was about holding the event on the same court where he played many of his high-school games. It was about inviting the public in (free of charge) to share the day.

It also was about his mother, Gloria.

"My mother means so much to me," he said. "What she did as a single parent at 16 ... my two sons have parents, grandparents and even a nanny around to cook. How [my mother] did it by herself, I'll never know."

James didn't talk about how for the first three years of his life, Gloria and he lived with his grandmother. Freda James was a hairdresser, and she held the family together. But when James was three, she died suddenly of a massive heart attack. It was on Christmas Day.

That led to James living in at least eight different places by the time he was in fourth grade. Then he spent two years living primarily with Frankie and Pam Walker, a friend of Gloria's. He moved back with his mother when attending junior high.

Dambrot said, "Gloria really did a good job with LeBron, given all they had to deal with. And you can she how she loves being a grandmother to his sons."

"LeBron had been through so much so early in life," said Lee Cotton, who helped Joyce coach the summer league teams with James. He also was an assistant at St. Vincent-St. Mary for all four years that James played for the Irish.

"I met LeBron when he was eight, and he could have been angry -- but he was always a happy kid," said Cotton, who watched the ceremony from his home in Virginia.

Joyce remembered when he and James were being interviewed. James was a senior in high school. "They asked LeBron if he wondered why certain [bad] things happened in his life," said Joyce. "LeBron said he never asked, 'Why me?' Instead, LeBron said, 'Why not me?' He meant that a lot of people deal with problems -- and LeBron was never one to make excuses."

An assistant coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary during the James Era, Steve Culp also noticed that James stayed away from self pity.

"When things went wrong, he'd get very quiet, a little sad," said Culp. "He's smart. He was thinking about it. But he was not the kind of kid who lashed out, and a lot of kids who grow up in his circumstances are angry."

Men such as Dambrot, Joyce, Culp and Cotton have watched James mature, but they still marvel at his ability to hit the right notes in public with the same ease that he makes the proper decisions on the court.

"He has never been afraid to carry the torch [of leadership]," said Cotton, whose son, Sian, played with James in youth leagues and at St. Vincent-St. Mary.

Dambrot said, "He wanted to have the award ceremony at Akron, doing it in front of his people in his city."

James brought his entire Cavs team on stage when he was handed the MVP trophy -- just as he did last season. But you can go back to the night of the NBA lottery when Cleveland won his draft rights -- all of his high school teammates came up on stage that evening at a local hotel for his press conference.

"LeBron has made it hard for me to coach all these other guys after him," said Dambrot. "Not because of his talent, but he was such a great teammate, so unselfish. He respects his coaches. He just gets it."

http://www.cleveland.com/pluto/blog/index.ssf/2010/05/a_worthy_mvp_celebration_for_l.html

Windhorst:

LeBron James wins second Most Valuable Player Award in a landslide
By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
May 02, 2010, 4:22PM
UPDATED: 6:52 p.m.

AKRON, Ohio -- After requisite thank you's to ownership, sponsors and family members, LeBron James found himself apologizing for what was about to be a break in decorum.

"I'm sorry," James said as he stood in front of about 3,000 fans at the University of Akron's Rhodes Arena. "I've got to have my teammates up here with me, man."

“Since I was a kid, always said I’d find a way to put (Akron) on the map," LeBron James said Sunday. "It will always be my home and it will always be my life.”

Perhaps it was the afterglow of the Cavs' quality 101-93 Game 1 comeback victory over the Boston Celtics the night before. But if there was a theme to this highest honor, it was that James wanted to shift some spotlight to his teammates.

They embraced it, lining up to join James on the stage. Some had video cameras recording. Some embraced James with hugs while falling all over each other in smiles and laughter.

"There's a lot of credit to the people who help me along the line," James said. "I need those 14 other guys who put up with me and I put up with them."

James ran away with the voting, receiving 116 of a possible of a possible 123 first-place votes, an increase from last season when he won in a landslide with 109 first-place votes. It is the most first-place votes since 2004, when Kevin Garnett got 120 votes when he led the league in rebounding and scoring.

Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant finished second in the voting, getting four first-place votes. The only other player to receive first-place votes was Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard, who got three. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant had no first-place votes but finished third overall.

James was second on five ballots and third, which was mildly surprising, on two ballots. Last year, James received 109 of a possible 122 first-place votes.

In addition to praising his teammates, James made a point to bask in the glow of his hometown, where he chose to receive the award for a second consecutive year after holding a press conference at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School last spring.

Though the crowd was hoping for a hint on what he might do after his contract runs out this summer, James only insisted the city would always be his home no matter what happened in his life.

"I'm just a little kid from Akron ... I love Akron to death," James said on the court where he played most of his last two high school seasons. "Since I was a kid, always said I'd find a way to put this city on the map. It will always be my home and it will always be my life."

James said that he actually wanted to hold the event at the nearby Infocision Stadium, Akron's new dazzling football complex. But the threat of rain forced the event indoors.

"We didn't want it to rain on my parade," James joked.

It was a bit of a parade. Last year, James arrived at his old high school with a police escort personally driving his Ferrari. The weather this time prompted him to be chauffeured in his Maybach sedan and he emerged to cheers wearing a trademark dark suit.

"Everything LeBron does is about who he is," said Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. "That is something that has always impressed us. I can't wait to see what he does next. I think LeBron James' best days are ahead of him and I'm sure we'll be here next year for the MV-3."

The "next" part, both Gilbert and James hope, is getting his hands on the biggest trophy he has yet to win. Which James is focused on doing with the collection of teammates he invited to gather around him on another big May day for him.

"That is my only goal, I can't name something individual I haven't done in my short career," James said. "The only reason I do what I do on the court is to compete for an NBA championship."

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/05/lebron_james_wins_second_most.html

A bunch of comments:

What PD writers think about LeBron James' MVP season
By Plain Dealer staff
May 02, 2010, 10:34PM

Four things on LBJ: Brian Windhorst

1. James has been the league's best player for the last three seasons. His body of work was more impressive than Kobe Bryant's in 2007-08 but the rebuilding Cavs' 45 wins held him back. That season the voters, including me, gave Bryant the award for his career work in a season where the Lakers were resurgent. Looking to rehab his image, Bryant purposely took care of the media that year as well.

2. In the modern era, voters don't want to give it to the same player two years in a row. The last two back-to-back winners, Steve Nash and Tim Duncan, each took one of their awards by historically narrow margins. So it is impressive James won both in landslides, gaining first-place voters in the second year when the voters went into the season holding him to a higher standard. He'll be held to even a higher one next season.

3. There is a belief that James could someday average a triple double. This season he got closer than ever. That will be based on his supporting cast. It is not an accident he averaged his most career assists in a season where he had his most talented collection of offensive teammates. When he gets older, he will probably play more power forward and his rebounding will increase but the assists will be based on the quality of scorers with him.

4. Though James emphasizes team goals and downplays individual accolades, the MVP is personally satisfying because of all the work he puts in -- especially in the summer. Some of the most special moments he's had with the family over the years are celebrating the awards he's won. Deciding to receive them in Akron close to friends and family is just one indication of their meaning.

Four things on LBJ: Bill Livingston

1. The biggest rival for a Three-MVPeat will be Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City, not Kobe Bryant.

2. James has improved in almost every area in his seven-year career, but if he doesn't start to become an 80 percent free-throw shooter, he is going to leave championships on the table.

3. He still shoots too many 3s, too. He can get so streaky hot that many overlook this. But 33.3 percent is the minimum efficiency on 3s. It equals 50 percent on other shots. (Example: Six of 18 3-pointers yield 18 points; nine of 18 shorter shots yield 18 points). He is a career 32.9 percent 3-shooter.

4. Clearly, anyone so dominant who still has such room to grow is going to rival Michael Jordan, if nothing happens, as the best ever. It is unrealistic to expect James to win six championships without such players (Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, the often-overlooked Horace Grant) as Jordan had with him. But he has to win a few. Without factoring rings into the equation, it really is no contest. James passes and rebounds better than Jordan, attacks the basket better, doesn't defend as well but is growing into it, trusts his teammates more readily, and does it all with a bigger body and alarming quicks for his size.

Four things on LBJ: Terry Pluto

1. Hard to know what is more impressive: LeBron James winning his second MVP award at the age of 25, or how James was handed about $100 million in salary and endorsement contracts at the age of 18 -- and still remains driven to improve and win a title.

2. James can make a driving layup with either hand. That may sound elementary, but more than half of the players in the NBA can't do it in game conditions.

3. James keeps adding to his game. His jump shot is much better than when he entered the NBA. He has become a feared shot-blocker. He can be an all-world defender when motivated. Now, he needs to work on his low-post game near the basket, because it will serve him well as he gets older.

4. On some nights, he can score 40 points like Michael Jordan. On other nights, he piles up a triple-double like Magic Johnson. He can fill either role. I prefer when he's in his Magic game. This is not to say he's reached the same level as Magic and Michael -- that won't happen until he wins some titles -- but his game actually is more varied than theirs.

Four things on LBJ: Mary Schmitt Boyer

1. He was truly dominant, because the voters hate to give it to one guy two seasons in a row. Since the writers and broadcasters took over the voting in 1980-81, only six players have won it in back-to-back seasons: Moses Malone (with Houston in 1981-82 and Philadelphia in 1982-83), Larry Bird (who won it three times in a row from 1984-86), Magic Johnson (1989-90), Michael Jordan (1991-92), Tim Duncan (2002-03) and Steve Nash (2005-06.)

2. How much better can he get? He's only 25, so it's entirely possible that what we're seeing isn't as good as he's going to get, which has to be a downright scary thought for opponents.

3. Every time I watch, he does something that absolutely takes your breath away. If it's at home, the fans threaten to blow the roof off The Q. If it's on the road, he sucks all the air out of the building and even opposing fans have to marvel.

4. I wonder what he'll give his teammates. Last time, he gave each guy a video camera.

Four things on LBJ: Dennis Manoloff

1. I have recorded and watched all but one of LeBron's NBA games since his debut at Sacramento on Oct. 29, 2003 (Anybody have a tape of Game 24, season 2?). What I've seen in real time and slo-mo is a player who repeatedly gets fouled in the act of driving or shooting without getting the call -- never more so than during this season. Yes, he went to the line 773 times in 76 games, but, by my estimate, it could have been at least 850. His combination of strength and explosiveness actually works against him because opposition contact isn't as obvious.

2. LBJ averaged 29.7 points, 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds. It easily could have been a double-double if his teammates had been able to knock down more wide-open shots off his pinpoint passes. When I say wide-open, I mean it. Sometimes the shooters have so much time and space that their rhythm gets thrown off. It's a good problem to have, I suppose.

3. LBJ never has been better than he was wire-to-wire in this, his seventh season. But he hasn't hit his ceiling. Not even close. Wait until the supporting cast affords him the opportunity to fully implement a post-up game.

4. Among that which separates LBJ from the rest is his ability to create with the off-hand. Since I started watching the NBA in the late 1970s, I cannot recall a player who does more with his off-hand. He used the left a lot more this season than in any of the previous six -- not just to shoot, but to take the ball from wing to rim with authority.

Four things on LBJ: Bud Shaw

1. LeBron James would've won the MVP without his chase-down blocks but they sure accent his trophy room. One of ESPN's best "Sports Science" segments tracked the physics involved in James not only making up ground but launching himself at just the right time. Tayshaun Prince's block of Reggie Miller in the 2004 playoffs stood out before James turned the chase-down into an almost nightly happening.

2. The league MVP can never be used as the primary measure of a player's legacy. At least not as long as Dirk Nowitzki has as many (1) as Kobe Bryant.

3. But if you like to keep track of such things, James would join some pretty elite company if he wins again next year. Bill Russell won three in a row, as did Wilt Chamberlain and Larry Bird. I know, you thought Ricky Davis had, too. That's a common mistake.

4. Really, you can win consecutive MVP awards without playing in New York? Amazing but true.

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/2010/05/what_pd_writers_think_about_le.html