According to a fan-poll done by ESPN, the Miami Heat's LeBron James has earned the title of "King James" by trumping the Laker's Kobe Bryant as the NBA's most popular player.
James, who earned his second consecutive NBA championship last season, is the most popular player in the NBA for the first time in four years according to the poll. James, who garnered 12.5 percent of the vote from NBA fans as their favorite player, narrowly surpassed Bryant (12.5 percent). This was the first time since 2008-09 that James beat out Bryant.
Bryant had defeated James five out of six seasons between 2006-07 and 2011-12. James won his second consecutive NBA Finals Most Valuable Player award this year, and his star is on the rise to many NBA fans after slipping drastically after "The Decision" to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers following the 2009-10 campaign. According to the report, 18.9 percent of avid NBA fans call James their favorite.
The report also states that 24 percent of African American fans choose James as their favorite player, as opposed to Bryant who only garnered 16 percent of the vote. James (18 percent) also trumped Bryant (15) in the kid's 12-17 vote.
Kevin Durant came in at third in the voting with 3.6 percent while Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade followed closely with 2.8 and 2.6 percent respectively.
James averaged 26.8 points-per-game last season and won the NBA Championship while Bryant bested him with a median of 27.3 points-per-game, but was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.
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