LeBron James: Winning Finals Would Cement Legacy

LeBron James doesn’t need to win these Finals to be pegged as one of the greatest players ever. He’s already there. He’s the only player we’ve ever seen that is so versatile, so freakishly athletic, and who has created what Bill Simmons calls the “power guard” position as he’s aged.

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If James’ career ended right now, he’d be a top 10 player of all-time. There shouldn’t be a debate around that, especially when you consider the teams he’s played on throughout his career.

Hold that thought. For the record, here’s my top 10 list as it stands right now, even though LeBron’s not nearly done with his career:

Thanks for holding that thought, which I’m sure was, “What do you mean ‘when you consider the teams’? He had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami!”

That’s true, he did. But Wade was only truly healthy for one of LeBron’s four years in South Beach: 2010-11.

While James had probably his worst series ever, Wade played terrifically. I still remember a moment early in the series when Wade hit a couple explosive layups, obviously felt good about it, then ran down the court and drained a three-pointer in front of the Dallas bench.

That Flash is long since gone. Here are his numbers in The Finals during those four LeBron years:

2011 (6 games): 26.5ppg, 7.0rpg, 5.1apg, 1.5spg, 1.5bpg, 54.6 FG%, 34.7 3FG%
2012 (5 games): 22.6ppg, 6.0rpg, 5.2apg, 43.4 FG%
2013 (7 games): 19.5ppg, 4.0rpg, 4.5apg, 47.6 FG%
2014 (5 games): 15.2ppg, 3.8rpg, 2.6apg, 43.7 FG%

Yeesh. Declining like a maxed-out credit card.

Yes, Wade was still a superstar during those years, but he was almost constantly so bogged down with injury that he could rarely play at that superstar level. The 2013 Finals were decided (other than Ray Allen’s killer trifecta) by a game of “Who Can Produce One Better Game Than The Other” between Wade and Manu Ginobili.

That year it was Wade.

When LeBron won his two titles, he won them with one of the Big 3 hobbling, and with a cast of rag-tag role players that were made so much better by just having to be floor spacers (and really not much else) for James and Wade.

When you look at those teams, this year’s Cleveland Cavaliers supporting cast might even be superior. And this isn’t the first time LeBron has taken a team with an injured star to The Finals. It is, however, the first time he’s gone so far without one of the Big 3 at all and the other extremely gimpy.

True, James did take his crappy 2007 squad to The Finals, but there was no Big 3 on that roster to get injured and leave holes. I’m not sure if that makes that feat by James more impressive or less so than this year’s.

Excluding 2011, James put his teams on his back every time he reached The Finals. Two of them he won, but the numbers in almost every series are impressive:

2007 (4 games): 22.0ppg, 7.0rpg, 6.8apg, 35.5 FG%
2011 (6 games): 17.8ppg, 7.2rpg, 6.8apg, 47.7 FG%
2012 (5 games): 28.6ppg, 10.2rpg, 7.4apg, 47.2 FG%
2013 (7 games): 25.3ppg, 10.9rpg, 7.0apg, 44.6 FG%, 35.2 3FG%
2014 (5 games): 28.2ppg, 7.8rpg, 4.0apg, 57.1 FG%, 51.8 3FG%

They don’t call him The King for nothing.

Now we’re here. With LeBron ready to take another crack at a ring. He is on record saying that he feels like he’s at the height of his powers right now, although that might have something to do with his team’s slaying of every toothless beast in the Eastern Conference.

And while this might be the weakest roster James has had since 2007 (at least he had Bosh in every Finals in Miami), the Golden State Warriors are by far the most fearsome Finals opponent he’s ever faced.

Seriously, the Spurs that humiliated and desecrated the Heat in last year’s Finals aren’t nearly as good as this Dubs team.

It’s the entire reason I picked the Warriors in five. Even Superman needs the Justice League when there are just too many villains.

Thanks to Tom Ziller at SB Nation, here’s a look at the quality of James’ Finals opponents:

Wins

2015 Warriors: 67
2014 Spurs: 62
2007 Spurs: 58; 2012 Thunder: 58; 2013 Spurs: 58
2011 Mavericks: 57

Net Rating

2015 Warriors: +10.2
2007 Spurs: +10.0
2014 Spurs: +8.1
2013 Spurs: +6.7
2012 Thunder: +6.6
2011 Mavericks: +4.7

Scoring Margin

2015 Warriors: +10.1
2007 Spurs: +8.4
2014 Spurs: +7.7
2013 Spurs: +6.4
2012 Thunder: +6.1
2011 Mavericks: +4.2

Those numbers are terrifying if you’re a Cleveland fan. The scoring margin alone is head-spinning when you consider how much the 2014 Spurs resembled a kraken ripping through Miami’s creaky wooden ship.

So now that we’re all clear on how tough these Finals are going to be for LeBron and company … What if the Cavs win?

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It would have to be one of the single greatest Finals performances ever, and considering how great James’ past ones have been and that he’d need to one-up all of those, that seems nearly impossible.

Yet picking against LeBron James is often basketball blasphemy. If he’s feeling as good as he says he is, then we might all be in for one heck of a surprise.

It’s a huge “if”, but if LeBron can once more drag a team all the way, then his legacy would immediately be cemented on a whole new level. It would be one of the greatest feats ever in NBA history.

Would he be considered the new G.O.A.T.? I wouldn’t go that far yet, but he’d have to be in contention for that title. Some say that he already is.

The stage is set. The rest is up to LeBron. The madness begins tonight.

Next: 2015 NBA Finals Preview

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