The arc of the story for LeBron James has changed since the start of the NBA Finals more than two weeks ago.
Starting with questions about his legacy and what another Finals loss would mean, James has shifted the conversation with his amazing performance through six games against the Golden State Warriors.
Throughout the course of the season and based on what he did last season, Stephen Curry began to wrest the title of “Best Basketball Player in the World” from James.
It’s the circle of basketball. One player replaces another in that role, then another player takes the title from that player. From Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant to James.
For about seven years, James had been that player, but then Curry came along with his intoxicating style — long-range three-pointers at a voluminous rate, impressive ballhandling skills and a flair around the basket.
James took note of the evolution, and it’s perhaps the reason he reacted the way he did when Curry won the MVP award again this season.
In comments he later apologized for, James said the award is open to interpretation.
“I think sometimes the word ‘valuable’ or best player of the year, you can have different results,” James told reporters. “You know, that’s not taking anything from anyone that’s ever won the award.”
His comments were interpreted as a slight toward Curry, which James maintains was not his intent.
James’ larger point was this: If someone is going to take the Best Basketball Player in the World title from him, it won’t be easy.
Even at 31, James is not ready to hand it off to Curry, Kevin Durant or anyone else making us question if indeed he’s still the best.
Throughout the playoffs, including the Finals and especially the last two games against the Warriors, James is dropping reminders with the subtlety of a jackhammer that he can do on a basketball court what no one else can do: Control the game with his offense and defense. Scoring, passing, rebounding, blocking shots and getting steals.
In the last two games, in which the Cavaliers faced elimination, James scored 82 points on 32-for-57 shooting (56.1%), grabbed 24 rebounds and delivered 18 assists.
That’s back-to-back games with 41 points, joining Jerry West, Shaquille O’Neal, Rick Barry and Jordan as the only players in Finals history to score 40 or more points in consecutive games.
That’s double-doubles in those two games: 16 rebounds in
Game 5, 11 assists in Cleveland’s 115-101 victory in Game 6. He’s the MVP Finals front-runner heading into the final game of the series.
Now, it’s on to Game 7, the biggest game in Cavaliers history and one of the biggest in Cleveland pro sports history. The city hasn’t won a major pro sports championship since the 1964 Browns — five decades of championship futility. Then kids and now parents and grandparents, some longtime Cleveland sports fans still carry the ticket to that game with them.
And James has long been the one they thought would deliver that title. Born in Akron, Ohio, and drafted by the Cavs in 2003 only to leave for the Miami Heat in 2010 but return in 2014, James has a daunting and inspiring task filled with the unknown.
He’s tried to downplay the pressure of bringing a championship to Cleveland.
“That’s one of the reasons why I came back, but it’s not the main reason I came back,” he said. “It wasn’t the only reason I came back, and there wasn’t just one reason why I came back.
Cavs teammate Richard Jefferson put the weight of James’ responsibility in perspective.
“There are so many other things that get said at times,” Jefferson said, “and not many people in the history of sports have said, ‘Everyone get on my back. The city, state, organization, team, get on my back. If we win or fail, I’ll take the blame, but I’m going to lead you.’
“How many people have ever said that? I can’t think of too many players who have put that type of pressure on themselves and then have delivered more times than not. And he embraces it. It just shouldn’t go unnoticed.
“It should be something that’s recognized by the fans. And he does it for players too. He knows how much this means to me. When we had that moment and he was like, ‘Richard, I know. I know what this means to you.’ He’s doing this for his teammates. He’s doing it for everyone, and that’s a pressure that I know I couldn’t personally handle. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him taking that on.”
Gallery: Best of the NBA Finals
