Cleveland LeBron James takes NBA MVP award

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers was awarded the 2008-09 NBA Most Valuable Player on Monday, at the same time becoming the first Cavalier to win the award.

ClevelandCavaliers'LeBronJamestalksalongsidehis
trophyafterbeingnamedtheNBAMostValuablePlayer
(MVP)duringaceremonyatJames'almamater,AkronSt.
Vincent-St.MaryHighSchool,inAkron,OhioMay4,
2009.REUTERS/AaronJosefczyk(UNITEDSTATESSPORT
BASKETBALL)

James totaled 1,172 points including 109 first place votes, easily outdistancing Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. Miami's Dwyane Wade was third followed by Orlando's Dwight Howard and New Orleans' Chris Paul.

James led Cleveland in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals. The forward also helped Cleveland to an NBA and franchise best 66-16 season, a 21-game improvement over last season. On top of that, James led the league with seven triple-doubles this season and became the 12th player in NBA history to record three consecutive triple doubles.

Lebron James said, "You look at tall the greats who've ever played this game of basketball...Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Dr J., Oscar Robertson. All of these guys layed down the path for guys like myself, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Dwayne Wade just to name a few. To be voted most valuable player of the NBA is unbelievable."

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Denvers Warkentien named NBA Executive of the Year

WASHINGTON, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien was on Sunday named the 2008-2009 NBA Executive of the Year for managing biggest trade of the season.

Warkentien received nine of a possible 30 votes from a panel of NBA executives. Cleveland's Danny Ferry finished runner-up with seven votes, while Orlando's Otis Smith was third with six.

Warkentien has been the architect of several trades since coming to Denver in 2005. However, his most successful move was acquiring four-time All-Star guard and home-grown product Chauncey Billups from Detroit for Allen Iverson on November 3, 2008.

Billups played micro-wave oven effect to help Denver win franchise-tying 54 regular-season games en route to capturing its sixth division title in team history since joining the NBA in 1976.

The second-seed in the West, Denver won its first playoff series since 1994, easily disposing of New Orleans in five games to advance to the conference semifinals against the Dallas Mavericks.

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Three NBA coaches fined for criticizing refs

WASHINGTON, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Three NBA coaches were fined on Tuesday for publicly criticizing referees during the NBA playoffs.

Houston's Rick Adelman, Portland's Nate McMillan and Boston's Doc Rivers all were penalized 25,000 U.S. dollars.

Adelman and McMillan are facing each other in a first-round series that Houston leads 3-1. Both coaches were fined for comments after Houston victories.

Rivers was assessed a fine for comments made after a 121-118 loss to Chicago in two overtimes that tied their series at 2.

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Chinese basketball 7-footer Zhang Dayu likely to be an NBA hopeful

Chinese basketball 7-footer Zhang Dayu is likely to become an NBA hopeful after his solid performance at the Nike Hoop Summit.

Chinesebasketball7-footerZhangDayuislikelyto
becomean NBAhopefulafterhissolidperformanceat
theNikeHoopSummit.

The 18-year-old Zhang Dayu was the only player from China invited to the Nike Hoop Summit at Portland, Oregon. Zhang was a member of the World Team which played against the USA Team.

Rob Beveridge, World Team Head Coach, said, "He played well..."

Zhang put on a steady performance. His speed and agility were excellent for a player his size. The promising center scored 6 points in the game as the World team defeated the USA.

Zhang Dayu , 18-year old center, said, "I'm aggressive on the court but my body is not strong enough. Right now,I need to train my body and learn English. I'm also working on defense and rotation with teammates."

Rob also said, "Big players need time to develop..."

At his young age, Zhang already ranks the 12th on the international ballplayer list. He's showing the promise to become the next "Yao Ming".

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NBA: Lakers beat Jazz 125-112

The Los Angeles Lakers earned their 65th victory, beating the Utah Jazz 125-112. The Lakers will open the playoffs this weekend against the Jazz.

TheLosAngelesLakersearnedtheir65thvictory,beating
theUtahJazz125-112.

The Lakers' Andrew Bynum scored 22 points in his best effort since returning from injury. Pau Gasol added 20 points and nine rebounds. Lamar Odom had 16 points. Deron Williams collected 25 points and 13 assists for the Jazz, and reserve Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points.

The Lakers closed their regular season with their 6th straight home court win. They've already clinched the top seed in the West to secure home-court advantage throughout the conference finals.

NBA suspends Celtics Allen for elbowing Varejao

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- NBA has banned Boston Celtics guard Ray Allen for one game after he elbowed Cleveland Cavaliers forward Anderson Varejao in the groin.

The players became tangled under the basket after a free throw with 5:05 remaining in the Cavaliers' 107-76 victory on Sunday. Varejao flung Boston's guard to the floor, and Allen responded with his elbow. Allen will be docked more than 167,000 U.S. dollars in salary.

Allen will sit out the Celtics' game in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

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