AKRON (AP) — Unstoppable at both ends of the floor this season, LeBron James claimed the league MVP on Monday, receiving the award in the high school gym where he first made his name.

The Cleveland Cavaliers star won what some expected to be a close vote in a slam dunk. He received 109 of a possible 121 first-place votes to easily outdistance Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. James totaled 1,172 points in balloting by media members in the U.S. and Canada.

Bryant, last year’s winner, got two first-place votes and finished with 698 points.

James is the first Cavaliers player to win the award. He averaged 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season, his sixth as a pro. He also finished second in voting for defensive player of the year.

2009 NBA Most Valuable Player Voting

(Voting is on a 10-7-5-3-1 basis)

Player, Team 1 2 3 4 5 TP

LeBron James,Cleve. 109 11 1 – – 1172

Kobe Bryant,L.A.Lakers 2 56 52 8 2 698

Dwyane Wade,Miami 7 50 41 17 4 680

Dwight Howard,Orlando 1 3 17 63 23 328

Chris Paul, NewOrleans 2 1 9 23 51 192

Chauncey Billups, Denver – – – 6 15 33

Paul Pierce, Boston – – 1 2 10 21

Tony Parker, San Antonio – – – 1 6 9

Brandon Roy, Portland – – – 1 4 7

Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas – – – – 3 3

Tim Duncan, San Antonio – – – – 2 2

Yao Ming, Houston – – – – 1 1