This time last year we all saw LeBron James completely dominate Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. It only took 5 games for the proclaimed King to win his 1st ring and Finals MVP. The thought around the basketball world was that LeBron's mental state finally caught up with his physical talent. In my eyes the monkey had been lifted of LeBron's back by winning his 1st title, but to leave your imprint in the NBA multiple rings have to be won. Look at all the greats such as Jordan, Kobe, Russell, Shaq, Bird, and Magic just to name a few. After their 1st championship more rings came to follow and in a hurry. LeBron has not been shy in letting us know that he wants to go down as one of, if not the greatest player of all time. James already has a NBA Finals record of 1-2, and if he doesn't get his act together in the 2013 Finals his legacy will definitely take a turn for the worse.
Let me start off by giving you the bad in what LeBron James legacy can be if he falls short to the San Antonio Spurs in this years NBA Finals. Not only will losing to the Spurs drop LeBron to 1-3 all time in the Finals, but all 3 losses will have come in an embarrassing fashion. I'm a LeBron fan, but even the biggest of King James fans know that some of his lowest moments in his career have come during the biggest stage. Flashback to the 2011 Finals match up versus the Mavericks, James averaged 17.8ppg while playing like a scared puppy in the process. Now let us fast forward to this year and you won't see much of a difference. James is averaging 16.6ppg. That's around a ten point differential than what he has averaged so far in the Playoffs. I'm here to tell you that it's not up to Wade or Bosh to lift the Heat. It's going to have to be MVP LeBron James, and right now he's reverting back to old habits we saw in 2007 and 2011. I've never seen the likes of a Jordan, Kobe, Duncan, Shaq, or Magic to save their worst performances for the NBA Finals. If James falls short this year, you can forget even throwing his name in the same paragraph as a Michael Jordan, and maybe not even in the same sentence as Kobe Bryant. Failing to produce when the lights shine the brightest won't have LeBron in the greatest of all time conversation at all.
Here's the positive side of LeBron's legacy if he can bounce back and lead this Heat team to back-to-back championships. James will have joined the likes of Jordan, Magic, Russell, Kobe, Hakeem, and Shaq in winning back-to-back championships. That would make LeBron 2-2 in NBA Finals appearances, which is much more respectable than 1-3 if he loses. With a Heat title it's more than likely that James would capture his 2nd Finals MVP as well. He will then embark upon a journey that not many players have had the privilege of doing, and that's going for a 3 peat. His name will continue to be mentioned with the greats as longs as he gets the job done during the biggest stage. We are kidding ourselves if we think LeBron's legacy isn't on the line here, and it all starts with Game 4 tonight in San Antonio.
The legacy of LeBron James is unwritten as of now, but a lot will be revealed within the next week. Will King James still wear the crown? Stay tuned.
Dougie Fresco I love the blog, I love the realism...glad its not a shrine to Lebron #LakerNation tho
ReplyDeletevery nice blog bro....Lebron needs to have that mindset to dominate from the start, it just seems like its not there right now, really dont know if its the basketball smarts of the spurs thats slowing him down, or if its a mental thing with lebron...A lebron james with a mindset to take over is unstoppable
DeleteThe reality of the situation is that LeBron James has yet realized how to handle the pressure of being the best player of his time. But he has created his path and have spoiled his fans by playing line a freak of nature during the regular season and the first couple rounds of the playoffs. Then when it comes time where his freak like play to win a series let alone a game he turns into a Yorkie thinking that the less the ball it's in his hand the less the blame is on him when they lose or don't play well.. it it's also LeBron fans and the media fought for constantly putting him in the talks of Jordan and Kobe before he hasn't even won at least 3 rings. In my opinion I feel like even now until he proves otherwise should not be mentioned in the talks of Jordan and Kobe.
ReplyDeleteThe blog is very nicely done and informative. I liked how you were able to stay true to the facts without being bias, definitely will support!! :-)
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