(Credit: Keith Allison. Click here for source)
Before I start talking about all the key NBA free agency happenings on here, I need to address the phenomenal performance that we saw from LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals. NBA fans and journalists alike are too quick to look ahead to the next season and talk about free agency while not giving the NBA Finals the proper attention that it deserves.
While we don't know what the future holds in terms of who will win the NBA championship next season, what we do know is that LeBron James led the city of Cleveland to its first professional sports title since the 1960s. By getting a ring in Cleveland, LeBron James elevated himself into a pantheon of basketball greatness that includes the likes of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, and Kobe Bryant. This isn't to say he wasn't already in that discussion before winning a title in Cleveland, but after seeing the way he carried the Cavaliers on his back to win the 2016 NBA championship, it is clear that he is definitely in the same class as those guys.
The big difference between the LeBron James we saw in the 2016 NBA Finals and the LeBron James we saw in previous seasons is that the LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals figured out how to close out a championship series, which is what the NBA's greatest players have been able to do. After trailing the Golden State Warriors 1-3, the Cleveland Cavaliers led by LeBron James won three straight games to win the championship, something that has never previously been done in NBA Finals history.
In Game 7, on the road, LeBron James took over the game with 27 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals. While the NBA regular season MVP Stephen Curry made an errant pass out of bounds and was unable to score the basketball in the final four minutes of the game, LeBron James did just the opposite, coming up with a superhuman block and clutch baskets. LeBron James truly had a performance for the ages in the 2016 NBA Finals and in the process accomplished something that had never been done before.
Going forward, LeBron James should have more confidence than he's ever had before. Nobody is calling him a choker, nobody is calling him a guy who can't lead a team to a championship, and all ghosts from "The Decision" have departed. LeBron James is a new man now and he has all the pieces around him to win multiple championships in Cleveland. To quote Blake Griffin in one his Kia Commercials, "The future in Cleveland is bright. Very bright."
No comments:
Post a Comment