LeBron James won his second straight NBA MVP award yesterday — that part was a slam dunk — but where the free-agent-to-be will be playing when he vies for three in a row next season remains the biggest question in basketball.
When asked yesterday about his free-agent future during a television interview at halftime of Game 1 between the Lakers and Jazz, James smirked and said, “It’s going to be a great summer.”
All coy remarks that lend hope to Knicks fans aside, the Cavaliers star continues to play the homebody. He accepted the Maurice Podoloff Trophy in his hometown of Akron at Rhodes Arena on the campus of the University of Akron.
The ceremony was open to the public, and fans, many of them wearing an assortment of No. 23 James jerseys, stood in line for hours for their chance to witness yet another coronation of Ohio’s basketball king.
“Akron Ohio is my home,” he said to loud cheers. “Akron Ohio is my life and I love this city.”
More than 3,000 fans chanted “M-V-P” when James finally walked on stage to accept his award. He was later joined on the podium by his teammates, each of whom congratulated him with a hug before surrounding him as he completed his acceptance speech.
Later, he was asked how he could leave “all this.”
“This is home for me,” he said. “I love this place to death. Every day I wake up I understand that I’m not just carrying myself but I’m also carrying this city to bigger and better heights. No matter where life may head me, I’m never gone from here.”
The Cavaliers star received 116 of a possible 123 first-place votes to win in a landslide over Thunder forward Kevin Durant. Durant was picked first on four ballots and Magic center Dwight Howard, who finished fourth, received the other three first-place votes.
Lakers star Kobe Bryant had no first-place votes and finished third.
James finished with 1,205 points, nearly doubling Durant (609). His margin of victory is the second largest in history, topped by only teammate Shaquille O’Neal, who won by 799 points in 2000.
James is the 10th player to win the award in consecutive seasons, joining Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan and Steve Nash. Russell, Chamberlain and Bird won it three times in a row.