The King and I
As much as I have tried not to like LeBron James over the years, it is very easy for me to sit here and write and talk about arguably the best player in the world right now. LeBron James performed in the 2017 NBA Finals as if it was the last series of basketball he would play. He scored, he rebounded, he passed, he played defense and did everything else he could do to will his Cleveland Cavaliers to victories in this series. Although the 'Land didn't have enough firepower to keep pace with the Golden State Warriors, LeBron was absolutely sensational throughout the series. For the 5 games, James averaged almost 33 PPG, 12 RPG and 10 APG. He was the first player to average a triple-double in an NBA Finals and did all that will playing almost 90% of the minutes (212 of 240) in this series. We marvel at the physical specimen that LeBron James is: 6' 8", 250 lbs with speed, power, and god-given talent, but we forget to take into account his leadership, will and unselfishness when it comes to wanting to win. I've never denied the fact of the King's talent, but in this series he earned much more of my respect. When the cast around him was alternating between good game and bad one, he stayed the same doing as much as he could to help this team win. In his press conference, he said "I gave everything I had for all five games. I can only speak for myself, but I gave it everything I had." I don't know if he was trying to imply that maybe his teammates didn't do the same, but he literally put his team on his back in trying to defend the 'Land. LeBron's greatness was on full display and should be something fans appreciate and respect. I know a lot of people will look at his 3-5 NBA Finals record, but understand what he has had to do for so long to put his teams in those positions. The comparisons to Jordan will continue (although I always thought he compared more to Magic Johnson than Michael Jordan) as long as LeBron plays. And while he's not 6-0 like his Airness was in NBA Finals, don't disregard the game that LeBron James possesses.
