Well, Lebron finally did it. He has brought home the ever so coveted NBA Championship title. After nine years in the sport he can now call himself a champion.
Capping off a stellar game-five with a triple double, it was no surprise when James was named the finals MVP. However just one championship is not enough. It won’t be enough for James as a competitor. And it won’t be enough for critics. As I have written about before, James’ infamous “not five, not six, not seven” statement will be the bar for James his entire career. Now, most people don’t believe he will ever reach Bill Russell’s ridiculous and unheard of 11 NBA championships. But with that said, Russell almost seems irrelevant in the equation. Why? You might ask. The answer is simple. Jordan.
Most true NBA fans can tell you who Bill Russell is. But anyone can tell you who Michael Jordan is. Jordan is the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time). It seems Jordan is the player most want to match, or one up. Any time a player wins multiple championships, they are compared with Jordan.
Kobe wins four, the only thing anyone can talk about is the fact that he is two away from matching Jordan’s six. Lebron wins his first and they say now the true test begins. Can he win five more? Or win six more and make good on his word?
James is quite possibly the best player in the NBA today. But to be mentioned in the likes of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan or even Shaquille O’Neal is still premature.
You have to win multiple titles. In this day and age of technology and social media, you place yourself under the microscope. And by saying you will win seven titles, you have pretty well dug your own grave. Unless you produce. Now nine years in, it would be safe to say that James is in his prime. And the level of basketball James performed in the post-season was remarkable. But all of that was for the hunger of that first ring. Can James find that next level of legendary basketball again? Will he be hungry enough to play like he did when he won his first championship?
When you are as touted and as highly profiled as Lebron James, one can only expect a winner. Now let’s not forget the fact that James has a tattoo of “Chosen 1” across his back. So don’t be surprised when you are criticized and critiqued. You only brought these kind of things on yourself.
No, James did not bring the media hype on himself while he was in high school, but when you get a tattoo stating you’re the chosen one and you go out and let a multi-billion dollar sponsor give out a slogan with your name on it stating, “We are all witnesses.” Then you hold a huge press conference in which you bore American for over two hour just to say “I am moving my talents to South Beach.” Then, you go on to say you will win over seven titles. So why be upset or even surprised when they say one is not going to be good enough to bring “King James” to the likes of true legitimized NBA legends?
Oh yeah, there is also the fact that James had to team up with one of the league’s top three shooting guards in Wade and one of the top and rising power forwards Bosh.
As I have said before I have no problem with a perennial powerhouse of a team.  Teams do it in college and a few teams have been doing it for years. Sometimes winning is more  important than your pay day.
But I’m just saying Jordan never teamed up with Bird or Magic. Jordan was quoted by NBC Sports as saying, "There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.'" Jordan also said, "I'm a competitive guy and I like to play against competitive players and see what happens from there."
As a competitor, I can totally relate to Jordan and where he is coming from. If you want to be the best, then you have to beat the best. So has Lebron really beat the best? Or just made up a team of the best? You could make the point, YES! James beat the best. He beat the Thunder.
I’m not taking anything away from James, he was phenomenal in the post-season. But could he have done it with Cleveland?
Love him or hate him, James is the best player in the NBA today and can finally call himself a champion. His legacy has already been etched in stone as an NBA Champion. And a finals MVP to top it all off.
But with one down and five to go, should James be considered one of the best of all time? James is still young and still has a lot of basketball ahead of him. And I do expect more from James. He is far too talented of a player to be finished at the age of 27. James will be elite for many years to come but only time will tell if he will be legendry like his heroes.