POSTED: Wednesday May 13th 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LEBRON JAMES NAMED TO THE 2008-09 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

WAS THE ONLY PLAYER IN THE NBA TO EARN A UNANIMOUS SELECTION

CLEVELAND – Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was a unanimous selection to the 2008-09 All-NBA First Team, the NBA announced today.

James received a total of 610 points, including first-place votes from the entire panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. The media voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third Teams by position with points awarded on a 5-3-1 basis. He was joined on the First Team by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks and Dwyane Wade of the Miami Heat.

James, the 2008-09 Most Valuable Player, earned All-NBA First Team honors for the third time (2005-06, 2007-08 and 2008-09)  after leading the Cavaliers to an NBA and franchise-best 66-16 (.805) record. He becomes just the eighth player since media voting for the All-NBA Teams began in 1981-82 to be a unanimous selection, joining Michael Jordan (4), Larry Bird (3), Karl Malone (2), Magic Johnson (1), Charles Barkley (1), Shaquille O’Neal (1) and Kobe Bryant (1).

He averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.69 steals and a career-best 1.15 blocks in 37.7 minutes per game. The 6-foot-8 forward also posted career highs in games played (81), field goal percentage (.489) and free throw percentage (.780). He was the only player in the NBA to average at least 28.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game this season. Leading the Cavs in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, James became just the fourth player since the 1973-74 season (when steals and blocks became official stats) to lead his team in each category.

James led the NBA in triple-doubles (7), points per game in road games (31.5) and combined points, rebounds and assists average (43.3). He ranked second in points per game (28.4) and total fourth quarter points (515), eighth in steals (1.69), ninth in assists (7.2), tied for 14^th in double-doubles (29), 23^rd in blocks (1.15) and 27^th in rebounds (7.6).

During the season, the Akron native was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week an NBA all-time best seven times and tied the league record for most Player of the Month wins with four (November, January, March and April). He was named an Eastern Conference All-Star starter for the fifth consecutive season, finished runner-up to Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard for 2008-09 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the 2008-09 NBA All-Defensive First Team for the first time in his career.

This marks the fifth consecutive season he has received All-NBA honors [2004-05 (2^nd Team), 2005-06 (1^st Team), 2006-07 (2^nd Team), 2007-08 (1^st Team) and 2008-09 (1^st Team)]. He has now received All-NBA honors more than any other Cavalier in franchise history, passing Mark Price who earned All-NBA honors on four occasions. Fellow Cavalier and 2009 Eastern Conference All-Star Mo Williams received 10 total votes.

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Keywords · Cleveland Cavaliers · LeBron James

Name: Tora Vinci
Organization: Cleveland Cavaliers
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Phone: +1.216-420-2309
URL: http://www.cavs.com

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