Perspective on LeBron’s Finals

is getting the better of in these NBA Finals. Some suggest that Durant has supplanted LeBron as the league’s best player (Ahem, yes, that means you, LeBron seems tired. LeBron looks old.

Why don’t we look at the facts:

•LeBron’s numbers through two games of the series against the Warriors: 39.7 minutes per game, 28.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 1.5 steals, 1.5 blocks, .553 shooting, .333 3-point shooting.

•LeBron’s numbers in the 2016 NBA Finals against the Warriors: 41.7 minutes per game, 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 8.9 assists, 2.6 steals, 2.3 blocks, .494 shooting, .371 3-point shooting.

•Heck, for fun, here are LeBron’s numbers from the 2015 Finals against Golden State: 45.7 minutes per game, 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.5 blocks, .398 shooting, .310 3-point shooting.

So compared to last season, LeBron’s rebounds and assists are up, his overall shooting is a little bit up and his 3-point shooting is a little bit down. His steals and blocked shots are down. His scoring is a little bit down, as are his minutes. But mostly, LeBron is producing at roughly the same clip as he did a year ago.

Same with 2015. His scoring and minutes played are down, his rebounding is the same, his assists are up, though no Cavalier can seemingly make a shot, and his shooting is better.

In other words, LeBron James is still LeBron James. Playing in the glare of Golden State greatness, it’s easy to forget the greatness of James.

But these Finals are not a referendum on some kind of torch being passed from LeBron to Durant. LeBron vs. Golden State went to the wire two straight Finals. Golden State won seven games, Cleveland won six. missed one of those 13 games. missed five. missed six. But LeBron was always there, dominating the game.

Then the Warriors added Durant, and a battle royale became predestined. It does not matter how well LeBron plays. No player — not not

not not not nobody. Jordan was a fabulous player, an unbelievable player, in 1988 and 1989 and 1990. But the Bulls weren’t mature,

was not yet a superstar, and the Lakers and the Pistons were deep, talented, wondrous teams. Jordan’s greatness could not overcome them.

Same with LeBron. He is playing phenomenal basketball. In many ways, as good as he played in 2015 and 2016, when the NBA Finals were high theater and the results were not predetermined.

Those days are gone. LeBron is still LeBron. It’s the Warriors who have changed.

If you thought the hidden hip-hop song featuring Durant and James would find its way to the internet, you’re correct.

“And every hater all the same/I feel like the world is and I’m LeBron James,” Durant raps on a snippet of a song released by Spider Studios early Tuesday morning. ESPN reported Monday that James and Durant collaborated on a hip-hop song back in 2011 when Durant was still a member of the Thunder.

The song went six years without being known about, until this week as Durant and James square off in the NBA Finals.

Said James on the track: “It ain’t easy, on the path that I’m on/I put the world on my back because I’m that strong.

“Long journey I been on from the very start/No way I die off, with this iron heart.”

Spider Studios said it would release the full track if the clip received 1 million retweets on Twitter. You can listen to the clip at newsok.com/sports.

June has arrived, and the NBA Finals soon will be over. That means rosters soon will start to change. The NBA Draft is June 22, and the free agency period starts July 1. So we continue our series on NBA payrolls and the contract status of every player in the league. By division, we’ll look at each team and its salary flexibility. Salary information provided by basketballinsiders.com.

Northwest

Division

Division

Southwest

Pacific Division

San Antonio Spurs

LaMarcus Aldridge $21.5M, Kawhi Leonard $18.9M, Tony Parker $15.5M, Danny Green $10.0M, Kyle Anderson $2.2M, Dejounte Murray $1.3M, David Bertans $1.3M.

Pau Gasol $16.2M, Dewayne Dedmon $3.0M, David Lee $2.3M.

Bryn

Forbes $1.3M. Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills, Joel Anthony.

Jonathan Simmons $1.7M. $73.5M.

29th. Tight. Gasol is expected to opt in on his contract, which would raise the guarantee total to almost $90 million and severely limit San Antonio’s options.

Houston Rockets

James Harden $28.3M, Ryan Anderson $19.6M, Eric Gordon $13.0M, Trevor Ariza $7.4M, Lou Williams $7.0M, Patrick Beverley $5.5M, Clint Capela $2.3M, Sam Dekker $1.8M, Montrezl Harrell $1.5M, Chinanu Onuaku $1.3M.

Kyle Wiltjer $1.3M, Isaiah Taylor $1.3M.

Bobby Brown, Troy Williams.

Nene

Hilario. $87.7M.

none. Good. Rockets have some room to maneuver with the payroll cap of $101 million and the luxury tax threshold of $121 million.

Memphis Grizzlies

Mike Conley $28.M, Chandler Parsons $23.1M, Marc Gasol $22.6M, Brandon Wright $6.0M, Troy Daniels $3.4M, James Ennis $3.0M, Wade Baldwin $1.9M, Jarell Martin $1.5M, Deyonta Davis $1.3M, Andrew Harrison $1.3M.

Wayne Selden

$1.3M. JaMychal Green $2.8M.

Zach Randolph, Tony Allen, Vince Carter. $92.8M.

none. Uncertain. Hard to imagine Memphis without Randolph or Allen, but do the Grizzlies need to get younger?

Dallas Mavericks

Harrison Barnes $23.1M, Wesley Matthews $17.9M, Dwight Powell $9.0M, J.J. Barea $3.9M, Seth Curry $3.0M, A.J. Hammons $1.3M.

Dirk Nowitzki $25.0M, DeAndre Liggins $1.6M, Yogi Ferrell $1.3M.

Devin Harris $4.4M, Salah Mejri $1.5M, Dorian Finney-Smith $1.3M, Nicolas Brussino $1.3M, Jarred Uthoff $1.3M.

Nerlens

Noel. $59.9M.

9th. Lots of room. But lots of holes.

New Orleans Pelicans

Anthony Davis $23.8M, DeMarcus Cousins $18.1M, Solomon Hill $11.7M, Omer Asik $10.6M, E’Twaun Moore $8.4M, Alexis Ajinca $5.0M, Quincy Pondexter $3.9M, Tim Frazier $2.0M, Cheick Diallo $1.3M.

Dante Cunningham $3.1M.

Jordan Crawford $1.7M, Axel Toupane $1.5M, Quinn Cook $1.3M. Jrue Holiday, Donatas Motiejunas. $84.8M.

none. A little bit of space, but retaining Holiday is priority A.