Still king: James again wins AP Male Athlete of Year award
James again wins AP Male Athlete of Year award
LeBron James told the world in 2020 that Black Lives Matter. He helped convince many who had never voted to finally head to the polls. He found more ways to continue elevating the lives of people in his hometown.
If that weren’t enough, he won another NBA championship.
James’ on-court performance this year was spectacular again. A fourth NBA title and fourth NBA Finals MVP trophy were his, as he lifted the Los Angeles Lakers back atop the basketball world. And after a year where he was brilliant, on the court and off, James was announced Saturday as the winner of the Associated Press’ Male Athlete of the Year award for a record-tying fourth time.
“I still know what I do on the floor and obviously, I give everything to the game,” James told the AP. “But I can make a greater impact off the floor right now, more than I can on the floor. And I want to continue to inspire people with the way I play the game of basketball. But there’s so many more things that I can do off the floor to help cultivate people, inspire people, bring people together, empower them.”
The AP award was first given out in 1931. James’ fourth win matched Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods for the most by men. Three women have won the AP award at least four times; Babe Didrikson was a six-time winner, Serena Williams has won five and Chris Evert four.
The AP’s 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 his lifetime to lead the league in points and assists in the same calendar year? Himself, in 2018.
James also became the first player to be NBA Finals MVP for three franchises. He moved past Kobe Bryant for No. 3 on the all-time scoring list, doing so one day before Bryant died last January in a helicopter crash; the last tweet Bryant sent was a congratulatory message to James.
“He’s the greatest player the basketball universe has ever seen,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of James in October. “And if you think you know, you don’t know until you’re around him every day, you’re coaching him, you’re seeing his mind, you’re seeing his adjustments, seeing the way he leads the group. You think you know. You don’t know.”
James finished with 78 points in voting by a panel of 35 AP customers and editors. Kansas City quarterback and reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes was a narrow second with 71 points. Formula One seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton was a distant third
brother Clayton was fatally stabbed last December outside a bar in Nashville, Tennessee. The quarterback is popular among his teammates because of his upbeat personality despite personal and football setbacks.
“That’s why people don’t mind breaking their neck for him,” Wilson said.
Beathard wasn’t amazing on Saturday but avoided big mistakes. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 182 yards, Wilson earned hard yards on the ground and the 49ers came up with two big defensive stops late in the fourth quarter, including Ahkello Witherspoon’s interception of Kyler Murray’s pass in the end zone.
“I think CJ played awesome,” Shanahan said. “I thought he made some plays in the pass game, made some in the zone read ... Just his leadership out there, the way the guys gravitated to him.”
Arizona started the day positioned as the No. 7 and final team in the NFC playoff field, but the game was a struggle from the outset. The 49ers (6-9) pulled ahead 14-6 in the third quarter on Beathard’s 9-yard touchdown pass to fullback Kyle Juszczyk.
Arizona scored its first and only touchdown early in the fourth quarter when Kenyan Drake jumped on top of a pile and stretched his arm just far enough for a 1-yard touchdown. Murray couldn’t connect with DeAndre Hopkins on the 2-point conversion and the 49ers still led 14-12.
The Cardinals’ next offensive drive stalled at their 35 when they went for it on fourthand-2. Another Murray-to-Hopkins attempt couldn’t connect and the 49ers took over on downs.
A couple of plays later, Juszczyk caught his second touchdown of the day, this one on a 1-yard toss from Beathard with 8:36 left in the fourth.
Following the touchdown, San Francisco’s Robbie Gould missed a crucial extra point that kept it a one-possession game at 20-12. He also missed a 37-yard field-goal attempt with 1:05 left. But the 49ers overcame those mistakes and held on for the win.
The Cardinals had a promising opening drive that bogged down in the red zone and ended up settling for a 3-0 lead after a 27-yard field goal by Mike Nugent. It was a common theme for Arizona, which moved the ball at times, but couldn’t hit on enough big plays downfield.
“We didn’t execute as well as we probably could have,” Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury said. “I didn’t call as good of plays as I could’ve. Give them a ton of credit because I thought they were phenomenal with their effort and execution.”
San Francisco took a 7-3 lead late in the first quarter on a 21-yard pass from Beathard to Wilson and the 49ers took a 7-6 advantage into halftime.
Murray completed 31 of 50 passes for 247 yards, no touchdowns and the late interception. Hopkins, the NFL’s leading receiver coming into the game, had eight catches for 48 yards.
FINDING FITZ
Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald had six catches for 28 yards on Saturday. The 37-yearold has caught at least 50 passes in 17 straight seasons, which is an NFL record.
This might have been the final home game of Fitzgerald’s career. As has been the case the past few years, he says he’ll wait until after the season to make any decisions about his future.
UP NEXT
The 49ers play their final “home” game of the year in Arizona against the Seahawks.
The Cardinals travel to face the L.A. Rams in the season finale.