LeBron James named AP Male Athlete of Year award

In 2020, LeBron James publicly declared his support for the Black Lives Matter movement. He played a significant role in encouraging many first-time voters to participate in the election, and continued to find ways to uplift the community in his hometown.

As if that wasn’t sufficient, he secured another NBA championship.

James’ on-court performance this year was spectacular again. A fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals MVP trophy were his, as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers back atop the basketball world. And after a year where he was brilliant, on the court and off, James was announced Saturday as the winner of The Associated Press’ Male Athlete of the Year award for a record-tying fourth time.

“I still know what I do on the floor and obviously, I give everything to the game,” James told AP. “But I can make a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play the game of basketball. But there’s so many more things that I can do off the floor to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them.”

The AP award was first given out in 1931. James’ fourth win matched Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods for the most by men. Three women have won the AP award at least four times; Babe Didrikson was a six-time winner, Serena Williams has won five and Chris Evert four.

The AP’s Female Athlete of the Year will be announced Sunday.

In 2020, no NBA player outperformed James in terms of points scored or assists made. The only other player to have ever led the league in both points and assists within the same year during his lifetime was James himself, back in 2018.

LeBron James: Ultimate Highlight of the 2020 Lakers Championship

James made history by becoming the first player to be named NBA Finals MVP for three different franchises. He also surpassed Kobe Bryant to become No. 3 on the all-time scoring list. This achievement happened just a day before Bryant tragically died in a helicopter crash in January. Bryant’s last tweet was a message of congratulations to James.

“Lakers coach Frank Vogel spoke highly of James in October, stating, “He’s the finest player the basketball world has ever witnessed. You may believe you understand, but you won’t truly comprehend until you spend every day with him, coach him, observe his mentality, watch his adaptability, and see how he guides the team. You may think you understand. You don’t.”

In a vote by a panel of 35 AP customers and editors, James emerged the winner with 78 points. Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City quarterback and current Super Bowl MVP, closely trailed with 71 points. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time champion of Formula One, was a far third with 14 points.

James — also the AP’s male athlete of this past decade — also won the yearly AP award in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Michael Jordan, a three-time winner, is the only other basketball player to win the AP award more than once.

“James is one of the greatest leaders in sports,” said Lakers guard Kyle Kuzma.

This is applicable both on and off the court.

James’s organization, More Than A Vote, successfully attracted over 42,000 volunteers to staff polling stations during the November election. Additionally, it aided in the restoration of voting rights for some individuals and encouraged voter turnout among Black and younger demographics.

Black voters made up 11% of the national electorate, and 9 in 10 of them supported President-elect Joe Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. When compared to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Biden drew more voters in critical areas with large Black populations — such as NBA cities like Detroit, Milwaukee and Atlanta. That proved massive.

“James said the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery – cases that everyone has heard about and seen – have exhausted him and his community. That’s why he used his platform to call for action, believing he could inspire others to join him.”

As always, he also concentrated on his hometown of Akron, Ohio.

The I PROMISE School, which was established by him in 2018, now accommodates more than 450 students from third to sixth grade. During the school’s closure due to the pandemic, James and his team took care to deliver hot meals to the homes of the students, including full Thanksgiving meals. This year saw the commencement of a cost-effective housing project to accommodate 50 families. Recently, James announced plans for House Three Thirty (referring to Akron’s area code), which will include services such as accessible family financial health programs, job training, and a community gathering area.

James acknowledged, “We’ve all been hit hard by the pandemic, regardless of our circumstances or stage in life. When the pandemic struck, my initial concern, aside from the interruption of the season, was ‘What measures will I take for my students back at my school?'”

Already looking forward to 2021, he anticipates the Lakers to be contenders once more. His “Space Jam” remake is predicted to launch this summer. Meanwhile, James, turning 36 on Wednesday, is still open to the possibility of rejoining USA Basketball for the Tokyo Olympics, under the coaching of Gregg Popovich.

“Coach Pop has my admiration, and I cannot confidently say that there’s absolutely no chance,” James declared, “It’s still within the realm of possibility.”

However, as 2020 came to a close, James took a moment to ponder over a year that was unlike any other.

James said, “This is a homage to my colleagues, to those at my foundation, and to the sponsors who persistently back us and our objectives. It’s incredible. I couldn’t have predicted back in March when we halted that we would reach this point in December.”

Yet here he is, again.