2018 NBA Finals: LeBron James, Warriors’ legacy and the 5 biggest takeaways

2. This series should not be a referendum on LeBron James’ GOAT argument

There’s a case to be made for Michael Jordan as the GOAT, just as there’s a case to be made for LeBron James as the GOAT. I personally side with the former case, but the truth is, no matter which side of the line you stand on, the 2018 NBA Finals shouldn’t have much bearing on the argument.

On one hand, James fell to 3-6 all time in the Finals and was swept. After Game 1, he didn’t play as well as he needed to in order for this series to be competitive, and at this point, it’s hard to see him ever reaching MJ’s six rings.

On the other hand, context is important, and the argument for the greatest basketball player who ever lived should never be dumbed down to “6 > 3” — especially when his team was overmatched in all but one of those Finals losses.

For those worried about this year’s sweep, LeBron submitted one of the greatest Finals performances in NBA history with his 51-8-8 in Game 1, and if not for perhaps the biggest blunder in Finals history from J.R. Smith, the Cavs may have stolen at least one game.

You’re going to hear a lot of opinions like the ones already expressed on NBA TV from Charles Barkley, and even this one from Grant Hill.

I love Grant Hill, but this isn’t a black and white discussion, especially after what happened in the series opener.

That Game 1 mishap broke the Cavaliers’ spirit, and while you can make your arguments about having the “heart of champion” or the “indomitable will” to bounce back, the truth is, Jordan never had to face an insurmountable opponent like these Warriors (nor did he ever have to play with J.R. Smith).

Against an all-time team like this, the Cavs needed to pull off that gut-punch of stealing the series opener. What we saw after Game 1 (and in Game 4 in particular) was not “giving up” as much as “accepting one’s reality and submitting to the will of the universe, for death is come.”

LeBron averaging 34.0 points, 10.0 assists and 8.5 rebounds per game for the series in his 15th season is remarkable. But he got swept. But he also had less help than he’s ever had. But it looked like he quit in Game 4. But he may have been playing with a broken hand! The back-and-forth could wage on for ages.

LeBron’s Game 1 deserves to be in the pantheon of all-time NBA Finals performances, but it’s hard to argue it’s yet another indicator of his GOAT case when his team lost. It’s similar to MJ’s 63-point performance in Boston back in 1986 — it was historic and deserves to be remembered, even outside of the context that his team lost the game and the series, but it’s probably not where you’d want to start your argument.

Coming back from down 3-1 against a 73-win team to bring Cleveland its first ever NBA championship? Now that’s where you’d start, and as this year’s Finals proved, it’s unlikely we ever see anything from LeBron that tops that moment.

Simply put, what happened in the 2018 NBA Finals does not significantly strengthen or weaken LeBron’s case for GOAT; it’s simply another chip thrown in the stack of whatever pile you’re pushing to the middle of the table of all-time NBA greats.