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LeBron James makes his living above the rim.
His dominant dunks strike fear in his opponents and amaze more than just the crowds who are religious NBA followers.
Now the 2009 Most Valuable Player has added a new aspect to his game that he never had before.
Shooting.
The only thing that has forced James to wait five NBA seasons to finally win an MVP award was inconsistent shooting from the floor.
Before the season began James spent more time than ever at the Cavaliers’ training facility, shooting jump shots so he could eliminate this problem, and boy did he ever.
After fine-tuning his stroke, James shot 48.9 percent from the field during the regular season and averaged 28.4 points per game, but that was just a glimpse of what James is actually capable of.
By sharpening his shooting, James hopes that his recent success in the NBA Playoffs can translate into an NBA Championship.
During the Cavaliers’ four-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, he stepped his game up even more by upping his shooting percentage to 50.6 as well as his points per game to 32.
He’s also averaging 11.3 rebounds per game so far this postseason, up from 7.6 during the regular season.
The 6-foot-8, 250-pound James has been dominant at both ends of the court this season. After finishing second in the Defensive MVP balloting behind the Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard any doubt that he was the NBA’s most complete player were gone.
Blocking shots and grabbing rebounds is just as much a part of James’ game as his jaw-dropping dunks that make him so valuable to the Cavaliers, and at times even seem superhuman.
The craziest thing about it all is that he is doing this stuff against professional players who also just have to sit back in awe due to the blatant separation of talent James posses.
James, who is only 24 years old, is the second youngest player to win an MVP award. Wes Unseld won the award in 1868-69 at the age of 23.
Competing with Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade for MVP honors during the regular season seemingly forced James to put on nearly triple-double numbers all season.
Throughout the season the three players seemed to feed off each other’s dominating nightly performances.
They NBA’s three biggest stars brought their A game every night, and by the end of the season, SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays became a showcase of who could out do who.
The next challenge facing James in the second round of the NBA Playoffs is the Atlanta Hawks, who defeated Wade and the Miami Heat in an entertaining series that went seven games.
The Cavaliers have suddenly become the overwhelming favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals this year and there are many saying that they might be the favorite to win it all.
Of course Bryant and the Lakers might have something to say about that, because Bryant, the 2008 MVP, and James, the 2009 MVP, are seemingly on a collision course to meet in the Finals is a match made in heaven.
TRENT LOOTENS
Arbiter Journalist
