NBA: LeBron James named Most Valuable Player

Miami Heat forward LeBron James was named the National Basketball Association's Most Valuable Player for the 2012-13 season on Sunday.

It was the fourth time in five years that the 28-year-old James had won the game's most prestigious individual award, elevating him among the sport's greatest players.

Only four other players -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain -- have won the trophy at least four times.

Abdul-Jabbar holds the record for six MVP wins, one ahead of Jordan and Russell and two in front of Chamberlain and now James.

James, who twice won the award with the Cleveland Cavaliers before moving to Miami, averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists during the 2012-13 regular season, where the Heat finished with the best record in the NBA.

Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters