LeBron James told the world in 2020 that black lives are important. It helped to convince many who never voted to finally go to the polls. He found other ways to continue to elevate the lives of people in his hometown.
If that wasn’t enough, he won another NBA championship.
James’ performance on the court this year was spectacular again. The fourth NBA title and the fourth MVP trophy from the NBA Finals were yours as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers back to the top of the basketball world. And after a year in which he was brilliant, on and off the court, James was announced on Saturday as the winner of the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award for the fourth time.
“I still know what I do on the floor and obviously I give my all for the game,” James told AP. “But I can make a bigger impact on the ground now, more than on the ground. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play basketball. But there are many more things I can do from the ground to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them. “
The AP award was first awarded in 1931. James’ fourth victory equaled Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods for most men. Three women have won the AP award at least four times; Babe Didrikson won six times, Serena Williams won five and Chris Evert four.
AP Female Athlete of the Year will be announced on Sunday.
No NBA player scored more points or had more assists in 2020 than James. The only other player in your life to lead the league in points and assists in the same calendar year? Himself, in 2018.
James also became the first player to be an NBA Finals MVP in three franchises. He passed Kobe Bryant to take third place on the all-time scoring list, the day before Bryant died last January in a helicopter crash; Bryant’s last tweet was a message of congratulations to James.
“He’s the best player the basketball universe has ever seen,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of James in October. “And if you think you know, you don’t know until you are close to him every day, you are training him, you are seeing his mind, you are seeing his adjustments, seeing how he leads the group. You think you know. You do not know. “
James finished with 78 points in the vote for a panel of 35 AP clients and editors. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback and current Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes came in second with 71 points. Seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton came in third with 14 points.
James – also a male AP athlete for the past decade – also won the annual 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.
“He is one of the greatest leaders in the sport,” said Lakers guard Kyle Kuzma of James.
This applies on and off the court.
James’ More Than a Vote’s organization attracted more than 42,000 volunteers to work in polling stations for the November elections, helped some regain their voting rights and pushed for black and young voters to participate.
“The tragic death of George Floyd, everyone having a chance to see this, and also to hear the story of Breonna Taylor, his tragic story, and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia … my people are fed up and I am fed up,” James said . “That’s why I asked for action and, with my platform, I believed that I could get people to join me.”
He also focused, as always, on his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The I PROMISE School that he opened in 2018 now has more than 450 students from third to sixth grades. When the pandemic closed the school, James and his team ensured that students received hot meals delivered to their homes – even full Thanksgiving meals. An affordable housing project for 50 families was launched this year. And this month, plans for House Three Thirty (a reference to Akron’s area code) were announced, detailing how James will offer things like affordable family health financial programming, professional training and a community gathering space.
“The pandemic was difficult for all of us,” said James. “No matter what your situation, no matter where you are in life, it has been difficult. And the first thing I thought about, apart from the stoppage of the season, when the pandemic hit, was, ‘What am I going to do for my kids back in my [hometown] in my school?'”
He’s already eyeing 2021. The Lakers hope to be contenders again. Your remake of “Space Jam” is due out this summer. And James, who turns 36 on Wednesday, does not rule out the possibility of playing for US basketball again at the Tokyo Olympics on the team to be coached by Gregg Popovich.
“It’s still possible,” said James. “It’s not a 0% chance, I will say that. I love Coach Pop.”
But as 2020 ended, James allowed himself a moment to reflect on a year like no other.
“It’s a tribute to the people I work with, the people at my foundation, the sponsors who continue to support us and what we do and what we fight for,” said James. “It is unbelievable. I cannot sit here and say that, at the time we stopped in March, I thought that all this was going to happen and that we would be in December right now.”