LeBron falls one vote shy of unanimous MVP title thanks to Boston writer
Miami Heat star LeBron James nearly became the first ever unanimous MVP in NBA history, but he was robbed of that title when The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn chose to use his first place vote on someone else: Carmelo Anthony.
“I voted for Carmelo Anthony based on his importance to the New York Knicks, who, if you haven’t been paying attention the past decade, have failed to be relevant,” said Washburn, the only one of the 121 voters to not vote for James as MVP.
“Secondly, this isn’t the Best Player in the Game award, it’s the Most Valuable Player award, and I think what Anthony accomplished this season was worthy of my vote. He led the Knicks to their first division title in 19 years,” he said.
Anthony said he was humbled by his one vote.
“That is the furthest thing from my mind at this point, but I will take that vote,” Anthony said. “I came into this season with a totally different mind-set than I had in the past as far as an individual and a team…So far everything has been going the way I planned it. As far the MVP thing goes, LeBron gets it, and I take my hat off to him. He had a hell of a year. (Miami) had a hell of a year.”
James averaged 26.8 points, 8 rebounds and 7.3 assists. The Heat had the NBA’s best record at 66-15.
Meanwhile, Anthony led the NBA in scoring at 28.7 points per game with 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 67 games for the Knicks, who had a 54-28 record before ousting Boston in six games in the first round of the playoffs.
“It was probably a writer out of New York that didn’t give me that vote,” James said (incorrectly). “And we know the history between the Heat and the Knicks, so I get it. My ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. That’s what I was brought here for. That’s why I signed here as a free agent in 2010. It wasn’t to win MVP trophies. It was to win a championship—and win multiple championships—and that’s still my No. 1 priority.”
