LeBron, with teammates, after winning the Championship
Tom Lenihan
American Sports Writer
For eight spectacular seasons LeBron James had done everything on the basketball court short of winning a championship. The three-time MVP has received eight All-Stars and an Olympic gold medal but failed to win a trophy in the two previous NBA Finals his teams lost so emphatically. Last Thursday he dispelled the enduring, nagging feeling that he would go down as one of the great players never to win a championship by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 in Game 5. James capped off the series with a triple-double as the Heat defeated the Thunder four games to one and was awarded the NBA Finals 2012 MVP.
“We’re all so proud of LeBron and we don’t understand why he was such a lightning rod for criticism” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra afterwards. “He’s an incredible teammate. He does everything for the team and yet he was criticised. To go through this journey he needed to go out of his comfort zone and leave the place where he grew up to start fresh with a new team. Not many people would have had the courage to do that. Then to go through all those trials and tribulations to get to this point, he’s earned it and we’re so proud of him.” So will the criticism of King James continue? Who knows. His controversial exit from Cleveland will not mean anything to fans in South Florida as LeBron has made himself a hero like his current teammate Dwayne Wade and Shaquille O’Neal did when Miami won their first championship in 2006. As the winning manager Spoelstra stated “It’s been an incredible journey. Everyone had to sacrifice something to come with this team and it makes this moment that much more gratifying.” For James he sacrificed the city of Cleveland and many will not forgive him for that. For the Chosen One himself it’s been eight long years. When asked at the podium when he was presented with the product of eight seasons of a Hall of Fame career in his hands what did it feel like, there was only one answer. “It’s about damn time”
For the Miami organisation their time is just beginning. General Manager Pat Riley brought about the Big Three of James, Wade and Bosh with the view of creating a championship contender year after year. The ferocious side powered past the tenacious Boston Celtics in the semi-final, beating them four games to three. Magic Johnson, the man who performed numerous postseason heroics, commented “Before, my biggest knock on LeBron was he was just playing off his God-given talent. He was just the best athlete. But he didn’t play with his head to match that. Now he’s playing with his talent and with his head, and wow, watch out. This guy is going to set the league on fire for a long time.” As Dwayne Wade has shown in his career, pursuing a championship is not a means to an end. It embodies a goal to constantly improve and chase more trophies. Magic is confident LeBron will be given that same taste to win it all again; “I think all the naysayers go away, and I think it’s only going to make him better, too. Michael [Jordan] got better after his first championship, and so I think the same thing happens for LeBron.” What would that mean for the NBA? “LeBron-mania like we’ve never seen before.”
