Rick Noland

The Gazette

AKRON — The high road and the long road intersected perfectly Monday afternoon when Cavaliers small forward LeBron James received the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.

True to his roots, James elected to hold the press conference at his alma mater, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, where approximately 800 people were on hand for the festive occasion.

While the 24-year-old became the first Cleveland player to win the award and the youngest recipient since Houston’s Moses Malone 30 years ago, it took him six NBA seasons to do so.

To savor the moment, James abandoned the highway route he usually takes to get to his alma mater and drove along many of the city streets he used to walk as a teenager.

“I love Cleveland,” he said. “It’s the franchise that’s given me the opportunity to become what I am today. But I felt it would be more important to have (the news conference) in a place where my dreams started.”

That wasn’t surprising to those who know James best. After receiving 109 of a possible 121 first-place votes from a panel of media members and recording the sixth-largest victory margin in MVP history, James returned to the school on North Maple Street, just west of downtown Akron, where it all started.

“He’s never forgotten where he came from,” said James’ mother, Gloria. “It didn’t surprise me that he took the long route. He knew that’s where his true supporters would be. He hasn’t forgotten them.”

Thirty minutes before the 4 p.m. news conference, which turned out to be more like a high school pep rally, hundreds of fans were al-ready flocking down West Market Street and onto North Maple. They cheered when Cleveland players arrived and flocked toward them for autographs, then cheered some more inside when James thanked all those who helped him grow-ing up.

“Nobody deserves MVP more than he does,” said University of Akron coach Keith Dambrot, James’ coach as a freshman and sophomore at St. V-St. M. “He’s one of the few people in life that has a profound effect on other people and makes their lives better. He’s an unbelievable guy. He’s just the ultimate win-ner.”

In leading the Cavaliers to a league-best 66-16 record during the regular season, James averaged 28.4 points (second in the league), 7.6 rebounds (27th), 7.2 assists (ninth), 1.69 steals (8th) and 1.15 blocks (23rd). He also finished second to Orlando’s Dwight Howard in voting for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

“I never dreamed of being MVP,” James said. “I always dreamed of winning championships. But if I sit up here and say I’m not happy about winning this award, I’d be lying to you.”

James thanked many people, including Frank and Pam Walker, who raised him for a time when his mother was struggling; Dru Joyce II, his high school coach as a junior and senior; and former prep teammates Dru Joyce III, Romeo Travis, Sian Cotton and Willie McGee, with whom he won three state titles and a mythical national championship in 2002-03.

He paid particular homage to his mother — “I may be able to make a jumper or dunk a basketball, but I cannot figure out how you raised me by yourself,” he told her — and, after a reminder from veteran teammate Lorenzen Wright, longtime girlfriend Savannah Brinson, the mother of children LeBron Jr. and Bryce Maximus.

Clad in a navy blue suit and tie and light blue shirt, James quickly tossed aside a list of notes someone else had prepared. He later called his teammates up on stage, where he presented them with cameras he had bought. He also donated the Bill Doraty Kia Borrego SUV he received for being MVP to the Urban League of Akron.

At one point, James, who ended up speaking for about a half-hour, asked how much time he had, then quickly smiled and an-swered his own question by saying he had as much time as he wanted.

“I could sit here and talk all day,” he joked. “Basket-ball is a hobby. Talking is what I really do.”

Funny at times, emotional and heartfelt at others but captivating and gracious throughout, James rattled off a long list of previous MVP winners, then smiled at the reality of an Akron kid adding his name to that list.

“To be in a class with some of the all-time greats, I’m one of the guys who can say hard work pays off and dreams do come true,” James said. “These six years have flown by so fast. I haven’t had a lot of time to sit back and say, ‘Wow, look at what you’ve done.’ I’m so in tune to the team.”

“When we win a championship, my mission will not be done,” he added later. “A mission does not start and end in six years. It’s a long mission.”

One part of that mission was completed Monday, however, and it was done in the city and at the school where it first started.

“I don’t even know if I went through the right procedures,” James said. “I just said, ‘Let’s do it at St. V.’ My people here, they take care of me.”

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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