The Miami Heat and the NBA have called a press conference for a little less than 24 hours from now. It is hardly a secret what it is for.
Unless the NBA is preparing to name Erik Spoelstra the Coach of the Year, history will be made at American Airlines Arena the day before the Heat return to the court for the second round. That history will be LeBron James winning his fourth MVP award, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan and Bill Russell as the only other four-time winners.
Word got out yesterday that the NBA would officially name James the MVP, but it has seemed a foregone conclusion for some time. James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game this season. More impressively, he shot 56.5 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. It helped him post a league-high 31.6 PER, the sixth straight year he led the league in that metric.
Not only will the award put him among the league's elite, this season should rank among the greatest of all time.
James became just the ninth player to average 25 points per game, grab eight rebounds per game and dish out five assists per game. That is a list that includes only Hall of Famers like Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and Wilt Chamberlain. Of the 18 times such a season has occurred, only 10 players have shot better than 50 percent from the floor. None have shot better than James' 56.5 percent.
He certainly seems to be among the best of the best in NBA history. And no one seemed capable of touching him this season.
LeBron James was the clear choice for MVP. It really should not be a close vote. James very well could have won it unanimously.
