LeBron James Has Achieved Basketball Immortality

The pursuit of an elusive third ring has come to a glorious end. Cleveland Cavaliers legend LeBron James has officially achieved basketball immortality.

2015-16 will forever be known as the season The King reclaimed his throne. Against all odds—both literally and figuratively—LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the first championship in franchise history by improbably overcoming the 73-9 Golden State Warriors in seven games.

Beyond the obvious short-term ramifications is the indisputable reality that James has cemented his legacy as one of the greatest players of all-time.

James and the Cavaliers did the unthinkable. Matched up against the winningest team in NBA history, and tasked with overcoming a juggernaut of a foe, James helped Cleveland do something that it’d never done before.

Behind James’ otherworldly efforts, the Cavaliers secured the first NBA championship in franchise history.

A long-awaited achievement for a Cavaliers organization that was founded in 1970.

James finished the 2016 NBA Finals with averages of 29.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, 2.3 blocks, and 1.9 3-point field goals made per game. On the strength of his production and leadership, he won his third career NBA championship, and his third Finals MVP award.

More importantly, James effectively achieved basketball immortality.

Breaking The Curse

International fame is an alluring honor, but nothing quite compares to the admiration of a local fan base. LeBron James was already a legend of Cleveland sports, but winning an elusive championship has elevated his status to unfathomable heights.

In the most statistically prolific way imaginable, James led the city of Cleveland to its first major professional sports championship since 1964.

The kid from Akron, Ohio, who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, has delivered on his promise of bringing his home-state team a championship.

That may not matter to some, but James just ended a drought that spanned four full decades: the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The last time Cleveland won a major pro sports championship—in any sport—was 1964, when the Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship.

Yes, the NFL championship—a title game that didn’t become the Super Bowl until 1967.

It’s been a long time coming, and now that it’s here, the entire landscape of NBA history has shifted.

The star of the 1964 Browns, Jim Brown, remains a genuine icon in the city of Cleveland. He was also an incomparably influential member of the Civil Rights movement, which clearly places him in a tier that cannot be compared.

Strictly talking what happened on the field and court, however, James is now right next to Brown in the Cleveland sports world.

Iconic NBA Finals

If LeBron James had put forth a pedestrian effort en route to a third career championship, the impact on his all-time resume would still be significant. Pedestrian for him is spectacular for most, and a ring for Cleveland is a ring for Cleveland.

James didn’t have a pedestrian series, though; he was every adjective for great that one can fathom. There’s no better adjective to describe the series he had, however, than one that puts his performance into perspective: peerless.

James stepped up with the greatest statistical output in NBA Finals history.

As for that, “Greatest statistical output in NBA history,” part:

Unbelievable.

James ended the series in remarkable fashion, recording 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. In turn, he joined Jerry West in 1969 and James Worthy in 1984 as the only players in NBA Finals history to record a triple-double in a Game 7.

All three men went on to win Finals MVP.

The most impressive triple James had, however, wasn’t points, rebounds, or assists; it was the three consecutive victories he led Cleveland to in Games 5, 6, and 7. Two of those victories were on the road, and all were secured while facing elimination.

Behind James’ unforgettable efforts, the Cavaliers became the first team in league history to overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals.

Again: peerless.

James is the first player in NBA Finals history to record at least 150 points, 50 rebounds, 50 assists, and 15 steals. He easily exceeded every one of those marks with 208 points, 79 rebounds, 62 assists, 18 steals, and, for good measure, 16 blocks.

That includes a play that will forever be known in Cleveland sports lore as, “The Block.”

James provided fans and critics with one of the greatest seven-game stretches in NBA Finals history.

Silencing The Critics

LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat, thus betraying the city of Cleveland—and then he came back to win the city of Cleveland its first championship since 1964. LeBron James choked away the 2011 NBA Finals—and then he won three rings in five years.

Upon James righting his most significant wrongs, a hush fell over the critical crowd.

There’s nothing left to do but appreciate his greatness and admit that, whether higher or lower than his cohabitants, he’s kicked down the door to the tier of the all-time elite.

LeBron James is in the same building, if not yet on the same floor, as the greatest of all-time.

As a result of his brilliant work in 2016, James joined Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Shaquille O’Neal as the only players in NBA history with at least three Finals MVP awards.

He joined Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jordan, and Bill Russell as the only players in NBA history with at least three championships and four regular season MVP awards.

Only James and Jordan have won at least three championships, three Finals MVP awards, and four NBA MVP awards.

Once the dust settles, we’ll discuss the manner in which winning a ring for Cleveland has reshaped James’ historical standing. This latest achievement certainly creates an infinite number of tantalizing debates pertaining to his place in the all-time Top 10.

For now, however, we should live in the moment—a moment that was 52 years and a number of generations in the making.

Whether James is the greatest or the 10th greatest player of all-time, for, it doesn’t matter. In a rare moment of harmonious thinking, the sports world has come to the objective conclusion that James has cemented his legacy.

While it’s in our nature as sports fans to debate, do yourself a favor and fully immerse yourself in the experience of what’s transpired.

must read: Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals was the biggest outing in league history

You’ve just witnessed LeBron James achieve what only a select few have before him: basketball immortality.