“In this fall… this is very tough… in this fall I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. I feel like it’s going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there.”
- LeBron James, July 8th, 2010 when leaving Cleveland for Miami.
“Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…”
- LeBron James, July 9th, 2010 when addressing winning a championship in Miami
“It’s about damn time.”
- LeBron James, June 21st, 2012 after winning his first NBA Championship
The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, four games to one; to win their second NBA Championship and the first NBA Championship for LeBron James with a series-clinching 121-106 victory on June 21st. LeBron James won the Finals MVP with a performance that will go down in history. However, did this championship finally end the hate for LeBron James? For many, it did. For many more, this victory did nothing.
The Miami Heat won the NBA Championship in the record book. However, anybody who watched the NBA postseason knows that the Miami Heat’s victory should come with an asterisk because the Miami Heat did NOT win the title without the help of the NBA officials and the front office. From the no-call late in Game Two where LeBron James was allowed to mug Thunder forward Kevin Durant forward, the Heat were playing eight-on-five with the referees in their back pocket for Games three, four, and five. The Miami Heat, on paper, was a better team. At times, they played as if they were the better team. However, the reality is that the Miami Heat never had a real challenge because the officials were not going to allow the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Heat and stop LeBron James from finally getting his first ring. Why? David Stern sees the money that will come from our bandwagon-jumping sports nation.
As I said when addressing the Jerk of the Week last week, NBA Commissioner David Stern has made a history of sketchy decisions to alter the course of the National Basketball Association. The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery was the latest of Stern’s fixes to occur before our very eyes with his kool-aid drinking sycophants justifying the incident. Now, on a grander scale, the stereotypical bandwagon jumpers who see a frontrunner and “become life-long fans” of a team in the blink of an eye are joining forces with the kool-aid drinking sycophants with the coronation of LeBron James finally as an NBA Champion. Why would David Stern need to fix the finals for James though? Plan and simple, LeBron James folds under pressure. When the officials are not on the take, James folds. He gets in foul trouble, opponents get to play defense, and he folds like a cheap suit. In the 2012 postseason, both the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat on the ropes until shady officiating played a part in the game concurrently with the Miami Heat’s “magical comeback.” Coincidence? I think NOT!
David Stern, Nike, ESPN/ABC, and the NBA are going to make millions… no, scratch that… billions off LeBron James merchandise and endorsement deals that will come with James finally as an NBA Champion. With that accolade, James can finally say he is a champion when talking about his spot in basketball history alongside Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and the other greats of all-time. Considering the short-term memories and naïve nature of young sports fans, they may do what Stern wants and start calling LeBron James the greatest of all-time. However, it remains true that none of those men mentioned above joined forces with other competitors to win. Even Kobe won a title without Shaq. Magic, Larry, and Michael acquired their championship sidekicks via the NBA Draft and not summer time meets and ridiculous TV specials. LeBron James is now an NBA Champion. However, the means by which he acquired this title are still means that any sports fan that holds the term “champion” to a level of integrity and respect will frown upon.
Congratulations LeBron James on finally winning an NBA Championship. You now have a reason to celebrate. Not having a reason has not stopped you before but at least you now have a reason. I do hope that while you celebrate with your Miami Heat teammates like Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, and Mike Miller that you do not forget to celebrate with your most important teammates…
They deserve rings too for this championship.
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