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LeBron James told the world in 2020 that Black Lives Matter. It helped convince many who had never voted to finally go to the polls. He found more 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. A fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophy were his, as he led the Los Angeles Lakers to the top of the basketball world. And after a brilliant year, on and off the court, James was announced Saturday as the winner of The Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award for a record fourth time.
Read: LeBron James Named Time Magazine Athlete of the Year for 2020
“I still know what I’m doing on the court and obviously I give my all for the game,” James told the AP. “But I can make a bigger impact from the ground right now, more than I can do on the ground. And I want to keep inspiring people with the way I play basketball. But there are many more things I can do from the ground to help cultivate people, inspire them, bring them together, empower them. “
The AP award was first presented in 1931. James’ fourth victory equaled Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods for the 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.
The AP Female Athlete of the Year will be announced 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 for No. 3 on the all-time scoring list, and he did it the day before Bryant died last January in a helicopter crash; The last tweet Bryant sent was a congratulatory message 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 it, you don’t know it until you are around him every day, you are training him, you are watching his mind, you are watching his adjustments, seeing the way he leads the group. You think you know. You do not know “.
James finished with 78 points in the vote of a panel of 35 AP clients and editors. Kansas City quarterback and current Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was a narrow second with 71 points. Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton came in a distant third with 14 points.
James, also the AP male athlete of the past decade, also won the annual AP award in 2013, 2016 and 2018. Three-time winner Michael Jordan is the only other basketball player to win the AP award more than once.
“He’s one of the greatest sports leaders,” Lakers guard Kyle Kuzma said of James.
That applies on and off the court.
James’ More Than A Vote organization attracted more than 42,000 volunteers to work at the polling stations for the November elections, helped some regain their voting rights and lobbied for young and black voters to participate.
Black voters made up 11% of the national electorate, and 9 out of 10 of them supported President-elect Joe Biden, according to the AP VoteCast, a poll of more than 110,000 voters nationwide. 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 was huge.
“The tragic death of George Floyd, everyone had a chance to see that and also hear the story of Breonna Taylor, her tragic story and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia … my people have had enough and I have had enough,” said James. “That’s why I asked for action and with my platform, I believed that I could get people to join me.”
He was also focused, as always, on his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The I PROMISE school that opened in 2018 now has more than 450 students in grades three through six. When the pandemic closed the school, James and his team made sure that students received hot meals at home, including full Thanksgiving meals. This year an affordable housing project was started for 50 families. And this month, plans for the Three Thirty House (a nod to the Akron area code) were announced, detailing how James will offer things like accessible family financial health programs, job training and a community gathering space.
“The pandemic has affected us all,” said James. “No matter your situation, no matter where you are in life, it has been difficult. And the first thing I thought about, in addition to the stoppage of the season, when the pandemic hit was ‘What am I going to do for my children at the back of my school?’ ”.
He’s already looking at 2021. The Lakers hope to be contenders again. His remake of “Space Jam” is expected to be released this summer. And James, who turns 36 on Wednesday, has not ruled out playing for USA Basketball again at the Tokyo Olympics on the team that will be coached by Gregg Popovich.
“It’s still possible,” James said. “It’s not a 0% probability, I’ll say it. I love Coach Pop. “
But, as 2020 wrapped up, 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 strive for,” said James. “It’s unbelievable. I can’t just sit here and say that the moment we stopped in March I thought this would all happen and that we would be at this point in December.”
Yet here it is, again.
