MIAMI -- Heat forward LeBron James is the NBA's MVP for a third time, putting him alongside some of the game's all-time greats.

A source close to James confirmed to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst that the Heat star won the award.

A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press that James will be announced Saturday as this year's winner of the league's top individual honor, and that he will be formally presented with the trophy by commissioner David Stern on Sunday afternoon before Miami hosts Indiana in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference semifinal series.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the league has not announced the results. Late Friday night, the Heat released plans for a 1 p.m. ET Saturday event on the court at AmericanAirlines Arena so the team and the NBA could "make a major announcement."

James is winning the award for the third time in four seasons. Only seven other players -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Moses Malone -- have at least three MVP trophies.

James said last week that while another MVP award "would be amazing and would be humbling," it's not what drives him. In his ninth season, James still has not won an NBA title and it's clear that, although he wanted to reclaim the MVP trophy, winning a championship is far and away his top basketball priority.

"What I'm all about is team and ever since I was a kid, I was always taught it's team first," James told the AP on Friday. "My first time playing basketball, we went undefeated and won a championship and Frank Walker Sr. gave everyone on the team a MVP trophy. Right then and there, I knew that this is what I wanted to do. I wanted to see my teammates reap the benefits as well."