CLEVELAND -- According to a league source, LeBron James will be named the NBA Most Valuable Player this afternoon.
James has chosen to have the announcement at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron. All his Cavs teammates are expected to be there as well as representatives from Kia, which will give him a new car as part of the honor.
He will be the first Cav to win the honor in history and the second youngest ever to win the award behind Wes Unseld in 1969. James averaged 28.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists this season, his sixth in the NBA.
Two weeks ago James finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting and an upgrade in that area this season plus the Cavs franchise-record 66 wins were compeling to the 123 media voters. The award will be officially announced later today and he will be honored before the Cavs play the Hawks in Game 1 on the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Tuesday. Traditionally, NBA Commissioner David Stern is on hand to present the Maurice Podoloff Trophy in front the fans.
Having the honor given to him in the gym at SVSM was James' personal choice. It is a special place for him. His retired No. 23 jersey is on the wall and three state championship banners he won with the Fighting Irish hang in the rafters. When he made the announcement he was turning pro it was in the gym and he's had many photo shoots and filmed many commercials there as well. His first Sports Illustrated cover was shot there and he recently filmed a "60 Minutes" interview there. Still a resident of Akron, it is another sign of how loyal James is to his Akron roots.