Even without a fistful of rings, James is a force
HAS LED TEAMS TO UNMATCHED 6 NBA FINALS IN A ROW
LeBron James has always had a knack for drawing superlatives. At 17, he was labelled “The Chosen One” on the cover of Sports Illustrated. At various points in his 13- year NBA career, he has been called the most valuable player, a choke artist and a champion — sometimes all three in the same breath.
But after so many NBA seasons of James in the spotlight, Mark Jackson, the ESPN analyst and former coach, still managed to come up with an even greater compliment for James, the Cavaliers’ 12- time All- NBA forward. When asked during the broadcast of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals how far James could take a roster like that of the woeful Philadelphia 76ers, Jackson did not hesitate to declare that the broadcast crew would have been in Philadelphia that night for the conference finals game rather than in Cleveland.
Although there was no doubt some hyperbole involved in saying that James would be the difference between a 10- win season and an appearance in the conference finals, that faith is not totally misplaced. With Friday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors, James has done what Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird and a host of other greats never accomplished: led teams to six consecutive appearances in the NBA finals. Outside of Bill Russell and a few of his teammates with the Boston Celtics, it had never been done. In fact, no one else has ever even had five.
James’s success has coincided with his becoming a free agent before the 2010-11 season, when he was able to choose where he wanted to play. He first chose to team with all- stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat, winning two titles in four years, and then he returned to Cleveland, where he has played with all- stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
Coincidentally, the aging, seldom- used gunner James Jones has also been along for the ride. Jones has been by James’s side on each of the Miami Heat and Cleveland teams that reached the finals, though he did not play beyond the Eastern Conference finals in 2011 because of foot and toe injuries.
Even though James has played with such highly talented teammates, and given that the Eastern Conference has not been all that competitive in recent years, it is still a feat to accomplish a run of so many consecutive conference championships. Kareem Abdul- Jabbar and Johnson never led the Lakers to more than the four straight finals appearances they had from 1982 to 1985. Jordan’s Bulls and Bryant’s Lakers never qualified more than three years in a row ( Jordan’s retirement to play baseball broke up what might have been a longer run). The Tim Duncan dynasty in San Antonio topped out at two straight.
The biggest knock against James is that even though his teams have performed so well during the regular season, he has not found that much success once he reaches the finals. In his six previous appearances — James also led the Cavaliers to the finals in 2006- 07 — he has come away with just two titles, as opposed to Russell, who played in the finals 12 times, including a stretch of 10 straight, and came away with 11 rings. Jordan had six titles in six appearances, Abdul- Jabbar won six times in 10 tries, while Bryant won five times in seven tries.
But if there is one player who provides an analog to James, it is Jerry West. Like James, West was not a stranger to superlative nicknames, with people calling him the Logo, Mr. Clutch and Mr. Outside. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest players to grace an NBA court, yet he won just one career title in nine trips to the finals despite playing with a legendary group of teammates that, at various points, included two other members of the NBA’s 50thanniversary team: Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain.
The lack of success for West’s Lakers is fairly easy to explain. Just as James’ prime has coincided with s ome historically great teams like Bryant’s Lakers, Duncan’s Spurs and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, West found himself trying to win championships against Russell’s Celtics, Walt Frazier’s New York Knicks and Chamberlain’s 76ers.
James and the Cavaliers still have a realistic shot at winning a championship this season, which would perhaps settle any doubts for the remaining naysayers about James’s legacy. But if the widespread admiration for West all these years later is any indication, James’s consistent ability to lead his teams to great success, even if that does not always lead to a championship, will very likely have a lasting impact that goes far beyond audacious nicknames and praise from broadcasters.