Coronation of the Prodigal Son: The Biggest Win of LeBron James' Career

There's nothing like being on the right side of history, but until the Cleveland Cavaliers won the first championship of their 46-year existence, the team was an extension of a city that had grown accustomed to being on the wrong side of history.  Even though they rolled through the Eastern Conference on their way to their second consecutive NBA Finals appearance against the defending-champion Golden State Warriors, many pundits still gave them little to no shot against the team that set the new record for regular season wins at 73 led by the league's first unanimous MVP in Stephen Curry.  Meanwhile, LeBron James made history by being the first player in NBA history (along with teammate James Jones, who was with him all four years in Miami) to make six consecutive Finals appearances.  However, when they lost Game 4 at home of all places, LeBron and the Cavs faced an uphill battle that no other team in NBA Finals history had ever been able to overcome: come back from a 3-1 deficit to win the series.  However, with a tenacity like perhaps no other player before him, King James willed himself and his teammates with a "why not us" mentality and rallied to accomplish what seemed impossible against arguably the best team in basketball.  The Warriors' historic season quickly paled in comparison as the Cavs made team history, NBA Finals history and, most important, Cleveland history as the region's "Prodigal Son" finally brought one home for "the 'Land".  So let's explore parts of the path to LeBron's ultimate victory...

NO VOTES??? NO PROBLEM.  Let's set the record straight: considering the historic year that Steph Curry had, I didn't take as much issue with him becoming the NBA's first unanimous MVP as a lot of people did.  When you nearly beat out the late, great Wilt Chamberlain for the most efficient season by any player ever, the debate should only be but so raucous.  However, I did think that it was major shade that the best player couldn't even get one vote for MVP.  Per his usual, LeBron averaged 25.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game in the regular season, helping to lead his team to a 57-25 record--although barely edging out the Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the East.  He continued his model of consistency in the playoffs, averaging 26.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game; recording his 14th and 15th playoff triple double (No. 2 to Magic Johnson's 30), including being the third player in NBA history to have a triple double in Game 7 of the Finals (two shy of Magic's eight triple doubles in the Finals); and helping Cleveland to sweep both Detroit and Atlanta, dominate Toronto, defy historical odds against Golden State and finish with a 16-5 postseason record.  Without LeBron James, the Cavs would've not only lost the NBA Finals, but they probably would've missed the playoffs altogether.  Think about that...we could've been talking about the Warriors demolishing the Raptors for the NBA title--and how would that story have been interesting?!?!  Think about this, too...the Warriors had the league's unanimous MVP and still couldn't beat the squad with the man who didn't even get one vote.  That's poetic justice for that you-know-what.  Speaking of which...

DON'T EVER POKE THE BEAR WHEN THAT BEAR IS STILL THE BEST PLAYER IN BASKETBALL.  You would've thought that the Warriors would've known how it felt to be tempted when Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant were feeling themselves a bit with a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals and decided to take gratuitous shots at Steph Curry's "defense" as they took it personally enough to sweep the rest of the series.  It was already bad enough that LeBron James has always had a slew of doubters constantly waiting for him to go from "The Chosen One" to "The Frozen One" as Skip Bayless used to call him.  It was even worse that he constantly struggled to play well at Oracle Arena, which was evident in the first two games of the Finals when the Cavs got handled by 15 and 33, respectively.  So when Draymond Green challenged his manhood in Game 4 in Cleveland--although pursuant to the code of Man Law, LeBron was charged with unnecessarily stepping over Draymond with his "manhood"--the King was pushed to his limits and snapped back with "don't call me a p---y".  In the post-game interview, Klay Thompson gave his two cents:

Guys talk trash in this league all the time.  I'm just kinda shocked that some guys take it so personal.  It's a man league and I've heard a lot of bad things on that court, but at the end of the day, it stays on the court.  We're all competitive people.  Trash talk is a part of the game of basketball.  It's a part of any sport, especially this competitive...I don't know how the man feels, but people have feelings, people's feelings get hurt--even if they're called a bad word.  I guess his feelings just got hurt...

So we all have that one family member or friend who gets the "he/she means well" treatment, and that was Klay Thompson in that moment.  It's not that I disagreed with what he said; I just question the timing of what he said when Draymond was about to get suspended for a game and the Warriors still hadn't closed the deal yet.  So in answering the ever-popular "you big mad or little mad" question, LeBron kept it classy in his "high road" response, but decided to be the former on the mad meter by doing whatever the heck he wanted on the court.  He drove more to score instead of to dish, hit more jumpers in crunch time, grabbed a ton of boards and played even more hellacious defense than normal--especially against the reigning league MVP, highlighted in that vicious stare down after he sent Curry's shot like a scud missile in Game 6.  The best way to respond to criticism is to show up and show off, and LeBron got on his Jay (Romany Malco) from The 40-Year-Old Virgin (but rephrased): "You was looking for a man?  Man here now!"

BUT WHAT ABOUT KYRIE?!?!  Let me be clear: without Kyrie Irving, the Cavs didn't win last year's Finals and they wouldn't have won this year either.  He's making a case for himself as not only the best player to come out of Duke--even over Grant Hill--but also as one of the best point guards in the league--although I'd still put Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook ahead of him because they're much better defenders.  He was the consistently better point guard than Steph Curry because he did the one thing that most people said that he couldn't do very well: play defense.  He got in passing lanes and up on opponents to pick a few pockets, made a few blocks at pivotal moments and overall didn't make life easy for anybody who he defended--especially Curry.  Most important, he averaged 27.1 PPG--including a 41-point performance in Game 5 when he was making nearly 80 percent of his shots from everywhere on the court, a layup clinic as part of his 26-point performance in Game 7 and essentially the game-winning, three-ball dagger that was the biggest shot of his career.  In contrast, however, LeBron averaged 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks.  Hence, when you become the first player in NBA history to lead all players in five statistical categories for an entire Finals series, there's no denying that you should win the Finals MVP and indisputably win it unanimously.  Kyrie was the X-factor as was Tristan Thompson, but again, the Cavs probably wouldn't be in the playoffs if it weren't for LeBron--let alone make it to the Finals or win one.  Memo to the Skip Baylesses of the world: the right man won Finals MVP, so stop the hate post-haste.

LEBRON JAMES COULD END UP A BIGGER SPORTS GOD IN CLEVELAND THAN JIM BROWN.  To some, that statement might be utterly blasphemous considering that Brown--a man who many contend is the best running back of all time--was a key factor in one of the last successful runs for a Cleveland Browns team as well as the last Cleveland championship in 1964.  However, from Generation X on down, you're talking about a large number of sports fans who barely remember the Browns being dominant to any degree, let alone Jim Brown's legendary career or winning an actual championship.  More important, there's a significant difference when a player is imported from another state--Brown was born in St. Simons, Georgia--and when they're much closer to being homegrown--James being born and raised in Akron.  There are so many times when athletes grow up one place and end up somewhere so far removed from home, so as the state of Ohio watched their Prodigal Son blossom before their eyes and become a national phenom, it was like manna from Heaven when the Cavaliers landed the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.  They actually enjoyed watching their basketball team for the first time since the Brad Dougherty and Mark Price days--well, at least they marveled at the man-child that was King James.  Seven seasons, six playoff berths and their first Finals appearance in franchise history, it was clear that the local product was the real deal and their best shot for a championship.

However, when management failed to supply him with the type of help necessary to win championships, he chose to take his talent to South Beach and the city felt betrayed because it was like their child turned his back on them.  Regardless of the politics involved, they couldn't stand to lose both the original Browns and LeBron James in a fifteen-year window without an emotional, vitriolic response.  Four championships and two rings later, the Prodigal Son who was equipped with more experience in winning at highest level decided to come back home and dedicate himself to assembling a team that could bring one home.  It would've meant something if anybody would've been able to end Cleveland's half-century drought, but it's way more rewarding when the person who quenches the thirst of a city that has endured economic decline and public ridicule is of the populace and understands the pain.  Jim Brown will always have O.G. Bobby Johnson status in Cleveland, but LeBron James is the one who put the "believe" in "Believeland" and turned a once-hopeless belief into a joyous reality.  (Oh yeah...and you gotta love the Slim Shady clap back potential behind that "Ultimate Warrior" T-shirt.)

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When NBA TV posted this picture of LeBron James' epic block of Andre Iguodala, one of my favorite Facebook friends said, "This GOTTA be his statue in Cleveland."  Among all of the memorable moments that he's given NBA fans over the past 13 years, this might just be the biggest play of his entire career because it completely changed the course of Game 7 and is the sheer definition of not only his character, but also of the spirit of Cleveland.  Just when you thought that Iggy was about to give Golden State a 91-89 lead, LeBron never gave up on the play and did a better Dikembe Mutombo "no no, not today" impression than Dikembe himself.  Despite nearly 52 years worth of "missed it by that much" or "we'll get 'em next year", they never gave up hope that their town would know what it feels like to win again.  Now we all know that there are those who will continue to knock him with the "he's not Jordan" or "he's not Kobe" arguments because his Finals record is still 3-4.  Those same people will probably choose to take a Denny Green attitude from his legendary 2006 rant: "You wanna crown 'em?  Then crown their a--!"  However, I couldn't care less about any of his four losses or even his first two wins in Miami--and I was genuinely happy for him when he won his first ring in 2012.  Manifested in his endless tears of joy, this was the win that meant the most because James overcame so much between his rough-and-tumble Akron upbringing and all of the criticism in his pro basketball career.  Most important, he delivered that ever-elusive championship to Cleveland and turned one of the great sports towns who had been America's laughing stock to a unified and ignited nation of believers who were finally able to laugh last and laugh best.