LEBRON JAMES CROWNED MVP 2009

LeBron James at 24 years old has the world at his fingertips. He returned to his alma mater, St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, for the ceremony on May 4th, 2009. A select crowd of 1200-1300 were there to celebrate with him with thousands of adoring fans outside the building waiting to see the king himself.

LeBron really is of royal stock. He not only accepted his award with humility, grace and style. LeBron noted that he couldn't have accomplished all that he has without the cooperation of his fellow teammates, family and friends. When LeBron first turned pro I'm sure there were many people who wondered as I did how would he fare. Amazingly, he seems to be coming along spectacularly.

When asked what was his ultimate goal basketball was not the ultimate for LeBron. His ultimate goal was to be the best he could be, as a father, husband, teammate, etc. LeBron's mother, Gloria James, was on hand, as were his children LeBron James Jr., Bryce Maximus James and their mother Savannah Brinson. The two have yet to tie the knot, but it seems inevitable that will happen at some point in the future as LeBron has strong ties to his boys and Brinson is his high school sweetheart.

In winning the first of many MVP awards, sure to come his way as a pro, Lebron has not forgotten where he comes from. LeBron had to return to the site of other important victory celebrations, his home town of Akron, Ohio. LeBron confided in the crowd that he took the long way through the streets of Akron remembering the sights of his childhood. The people of Akron know LeBron as the hometown king, a man of the people, one of them. He returns these feelings of goodwill by continuing to give back, whenever he can.

Along with the trophy awarded by Kia Motors America came a brand new Borrego SUV which he promptly donated to the Akron Urban League, which is not unusual in and of itself. This is how it's done in the NBA, so that players are left free to endorse the cars of their choice. It appears as though that would be a Ferrari F430 spider (with Ferrari emblems ripped off and LeBron emblems put in their places). That's the car he drove to the awards ceremony. You know LeBron's got to ride in style. But, it is LeBron's style, a style he can call his own. What really impressed this reporter was the fact that, in spite of his enormous presence on his former turf, he decided to donate his vehicle to the Akron Urban League and in receiving his award he remembered to bring gifts for his fellow Cavaliers. Unfortunately, Delonte West (13) is still waiting for his Range Rover in exchange for a preseason gift given to him by LeBron.

All joking aside. It was a great day for Akron. It was a great day for LeBron and a great day for the Cavaliers, as LeBron is the first Cavalier to receive this award. LeBron's not done yet, in fact he stated unequivocally that we should expect to see the Cavaliers in the winners circle at the end of the playoffs and that he'll still keep striving for improvement even after that.


We just want to say congratulations to LeBron, the James family, the Cavaliers and Akron, Ohio for producing a great Black man who can stand head and shoulders with some of the most outstanding human beings to grace the planet.