The Phoenix Suns have scheduled on Sunday a news conference to be expected guard Steve Nash will officially be named MVP for the second straight season, ESPN.com reported very early on Sunday.

The announcement would come the day after Nash helped lead the Suns to an opening-round playoff series win over the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming the eighth team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a playoff series.

Late last month, several news outlets reported Nash would win the award for a second consecutive season. The Arizona Republic and others reported that the voting shows Nash edging LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Chauncey Billups and Kobe Bryant for the MVP.

The Phoenix Suns playmaker would become the 10th player to win the award in consecutive seasons.

Nash, 32, won his first MVP award last season when he edged Shaquille O'Neal in what was the fourth-closest balloting in history.

Nash had career-highs in points (18.8 points per game), rebounds (4.2 per game), field goal percentage (51.2 percent) and free-throw percentage (92.1 percent -- best in the league) this season. He was also the league-leader in assists (10.5) and shot nearly 50 percent from 3-point range.

Source: Xinhua