LeBron James is a four-time NBA champion no matter how things are sliced. The constant pressure of reaching the status of Michael Jordan is ridiculous. I mean, that’s what this is about right? Every achievement is a step closer to challenging the throne.
He knows he’s chasing down the ghost. It’s evident as he has compiled a resume that players dream about. When asked about the constant debates, he spoke candidly about his place on Road Trippin via World Wide Wob:
on tonight’s @RoadTrippinPod episode, when asked about being compared to former greats, LeBron says he’s “won the two hardest championships (2016, 2020) in NBA league history” pic.twitter.com/duF5v2osJA
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 8, 2020
What’s really a hard pill to swallow is that he’s correct.
The 2016 NBA Finals had not had a team overcome a 3-1 deficit. Not even close. Sure, there are injuries and suspensions, but those are littered in a lot of title runs. It’s still impressive to stifle that many bites at the apple. The Golden State Warriors were led by the all-star trio of Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry. They immortalized a 73 win season along with an MVP award for Curry. James and company took a beating but remained resilient when at the brink of defeat. He brought the Cleveland Cavaliers their first NBA championship.
Orlando’s NBA bubble was filled with question marks for the Los Angeles Lakers. There was no homecourt advantage. Coaching staffs were limited due to COVID-restrictions. Worse yet, the number of non-basketball challenges was daunting. We literally almost lost the season due to a number of senseless killings of citizens by law enforcement. The Lakers weathered these storms and stayed cohesive throughout it all.
We watched one team and an entire league almost have a season reduced to a close. Rather than frowning about this, it should be celebrated.
Let The King hold his crown.
