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Now that we've all had a few days to digest the tornado that is LeBron James and the Miami Heat's championship victory last week over the Oklahoma City Thunder, there's so many things we need to talk about.
Let me preface this by saying, I AM NOT A LEBRON FAN. I am not a LeBron-hater either, although some may dispute that claim. As a fan of the game, I have appreciated and respected everything he has given us in his nine seasons and watched in awe as he put up some of the most staggering numbers we've ever seen. Sure, there were a few times when I questioned why he would do certain things (pre-game antics in Cleveland, the ridiculousness of the Decision and subsequent pep rally that's been replayed not one, not two, not three...you get the picture), but I guess it was my fault for holding him to such lofty standards. For me, Jordan will forever be the benchmark that every other great, transcendent player will be held to and that's not fair to them. There will never be another MJ. Someone may score more points or win more titles, but no one will EVER have the impact on the game and the globe the way MJ did. For modern-day all-stars, my benchmark is always Kobe. In a pure basketball sense, Kobe is the closest thing to MJ in this era. The relentless pursuit of greatness, the clutch gene, the scoring ability and most importantly, the ability to strike fear in every opponent. But how do we measure LeBron?
LeBron's skill set is not like Jordan and Kobe. He's truly unlike anything we've ever seen. He has Magic's vision and passing ability for a man of that size, Karl Malone's physique, Dominique's power at the rim, combined with a speed and athleticism never before seen for a man of his stature. This championship merely vindicates what we already knew rather than propelling LeBron into a new stratosphere of greatness. A championship was the final piece to his already Hall of Fame resume. He is in an elite group of players who have won three MVP awards (Kareem, MJ, Russell, Moses, Bird, Magic, Wilt), he has his gold medal from the 2008 Olympics, as well as numerous first team All-NBA honors and All-Star appearances. A championship was the only thing that was missing, and it appears that there could be plenty more on the horizon (let's not forget Finals MVP, which is like the icing on the cake). And in an era where every minor flaw is exposed in an over-saturated sports television market, I believe most of his shortcomings and flaws were immensely overblown.
James' reputation for shrinking in big spots, not being "clutch" and not having "what it takes" to carry a team to a championship are some of the most ridiculous allegations ever. Did I sometimes enjoy seeing him fail in big spots? It's juvenile, but yes. I was tired of people telling me how great the "King" was without anything tangible to back it up with. But let's be real, you cannot call the man invisible in big games. I don't necessarily judge a player's clutchness on if he hits a buzzer beater to win the game and LeBron doesn't have the highlight reel of game winners the way Kobe and MJ do (and who does for that matter, other than Robert Horry). Game winners help but I try and look at the big picture. Let's start in 2007. LeBron CARRIED a mediocre (that's me being as kind as I can possibly be) Cleveland team through the Eastern Conference Playoffs and a seasoned Detroit Pistons team en route to the NBA Finals. Sure they lost to a veteran Spurs team, but that doesn't take away what he did with that team and the absolute masterpiece he painted in Game 5 of that Pistons series. In the Palace, in double overtime, the Cavaliers stunned the Pistons on their home court, thanks to his playoff career-high 48-points. The man scored the Cavaliers' final 25 points, including ALL 18 points in overtime, forced the second OT with a driving dunk and made a driving layup with 2.2 seconds left in the second OT! Prior to that year, the only time I ever saw one player carry such a sub-par roster to the Finals was AI and the 2001 76ers. Nothing short of incredible.
In 2008, in the Eastern Conference Semis against the eventual World Champion Celtics, LeBron and Paul Pierce dueled Dominique/Bird style to the wire in Game 7. LeBron scored 45 to Pierce's 41, but Pierce's supporting cast gave him just enough help, while LeBron's sat back, popped some popcorn and watched the show his teammate was putting on. In the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals against the Magic, a series in which LeBron gets a lot of slack for (for coming up short against a slightly above-average Magic team and for leaving the floor without shaking hands after the clinching game), he hit a ridiculous game-winning 3 in Game 2 and posted scoring totals of 49, 35, 41, 44, 37 and 25. Yeah, he was definitely shying away from the moment. He came up short against Boston the following year again, and who can blame him for leaving that situation. How many of us, with all other things being equal, facing the choice of playing in Cleveland with a bunch of role players and bad free agent acquisitions past their primes, or playing in South Beach with another Hall of Famer in D-Wade, an All-Star in Chris Bosh and Pat Riley pulling the strings; what would we decide? "Oh but how could LeBron do that to Cleveland, he's from Ohio?" NEWSFLASH: LeBron's roots are from Akron, not Cleveland. I'm from Philly and I have no affiliation whatsoever with Harrisburg or Lancaster and I would rather see Pittsburgh banned from all professional sports before I would ever root for them in any form or fashion. LeBron made the move to South Beach and it was undoubtedly the right move.
His only true shortcoming was the 2011 Finals loss to the Mavericks. The pressure the Heat were under, and LeBron in particular, was unlike anything we had ever seen. Combined with the fact that Dirk was playing on another level, the Mavs were experienced with hungry veterans dying for a ring and it turned out to be an awful matchup for the Heat. At the time, it seemed like the worst possible thing. People were calling for Erik Spoelstra to be fired and people were taking shots at LeBron whenever they had the chance (and frankly who can blame them after the show they put on in the off-season). Looking back on it, however, it may have been the kick in the ass the team, and LeBron himself, needed.
This season just seemed more business-like for LeBron than I've seen him in the past. He smiled less, cut out the whole clown routine and turned in one of the greatest seasons we've seen recently in the NBA. His playoff run was nothing short of spectacular and he did everything necessary in big spots. His Game 6 demolition of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals in the Garden, with the Heat down 3-2, was Jordan-esque. 45-15-5 for the King with his back against the wall and his team badly needing a game of this caliber from their superstar. His Finals performances trumped all of Kevin Durant's exploits in the series and LeBron was THE reason the Heat brought home the title. Any people still having the audacity to say that this is Wade's team clearly aren't watching enough basketball or they are living in 2006 because the Heat is Bron's team (it has been documented enough on this site of the dip in production of D-Wade, no need to harp on it, right?).
Now that's all well and good, but where does this put the King now amongst the other NBA greats? Just based on LeBron's career in Cleveland, with no ring, he was in the Top 25 all-time. Now, in my opinion, he sits anywhere between 17-12 depending on how we were to break everything down (one day we will, but today is not that day). We try not to over-react to one season and we're not. This is a validation of nine years of some of the best basketball we've ever witnessed. He's now in the pantheon of all-time great players who all have sterling resumes and are separated by minuscule differences. It's not out of the realm of possibility to have him in the conversation with guys like Elgin Baylor and John Havlicek and nipping at the heels of guys like Oscar and Jerry West. He has been the best player in the league for some time now (with all due respect to Kobe who has passed the torch to him and Durant who had a chance to snag the torch from LeBron but missed out on the opportunity) and with the exception of Durant, I don't see anyone else particularly close. Kobe is facing the twilight of his career (Although he is the ONE person I would never count out seeing as how the Lakers are always one trade away from being back in the championship mix), D-Wade is a shell of himself from 2-3 years ago, Melo isn't in the conversation and neither is Dwight, D-Rose, Westbrook or anyone else for that matter. Whether his detractors want to embrace it or not, this is LeBron's league and the reign has just begun. Let's remember, he's only 27 and seems to be hitting his peak at the worst time for the rest of the league. Who's to say that the Heat, barring any significant injury, won't run through the East next year? Rose's injury eliminates the Bulls from doing any damage, the Celtics will lose pieces, the 76ers and Pacers aren't ready to make that jump yet and who can trust that the Knicks can put it all together.
Long live the King. (You have no idea how it pains me to write that)
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