NBA WRAP-UP

With thrilling conclusion, what have we learned?

What Lebron James taught us this season.

And, finally, we can all collectively exhale.

What happened over the past 15 nights might not have always represented the best basketball, but it all certainly added up to one of the greatest and most memorable NBA Finals in history. Thankfully, for fans of closure, it is also one that leaves few ellipses.

LeBron James, whose 37-point, jumper-heavy Game 7 performance will go down as one of the best ever, can no longer be questioned; the Spurs, who with a combination of a little more luck and a different decision or two would have closed out the series in six, are unassailable in their fight.

Nearly every other key player in the series, from Kawhi Leonard to dwyane Wade to Manu Ginobili to Chris Bosh to Tony Parker to Shane Battier to Tim duncan — especially duncan — had moments that confirmed their worth.

In the end, though, it was James’ excellence that clinched the final result. The biggest lessons we learned from this season start with him.

Never stop workiNg

So often, James’ combination of physical traits is labelled as unfair, or some synonym thereof. But the Spurs did their best to not allow James’ blend of grace and power to beat them on Thursday, giving him multiple steps worth of cushion, daring him to take a jumper. James responded, knocking in five of his 10 three-point attempts, and drilling an 18-footer to put away the game in the final minute. This season, the league hit 35.9% of all three-point attempts. Last year, James inched past that mark for the first time, at 36.2%. This year, he shot up to 40.6%. It was that skill that won the Heat Game 7.

A chAmpioNship teAm Needs to trust At leAst NiNe plAyers

In Game 1 of the NBA Finals, Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner and Cory Joseph combined to play 34 minutes for the Spurs, while udonis Haslem, Norris Cole and Joel Anthony played 37. In Game 7, Bonner, Joseph, Cole and Anthony did not get off of the bench; Splitter played four minutes, Haslem played two. In their place, the roles of Boris diaw, Manu Ginobili, Shane Battier and Chris Anderson all inflated. It was a chess match of a series, and each team needed 10 different players to counter all of the moves. Without Battier’s shooting and Andersen’s play behind Chris Bosh, the Heat lose.

tAleNt ANd style should be mArried

The pace of play of the final four teams in the playoffs ranked sixth (the Spurs), 23rd, 25th and 30th. While that would seem to favour slower teams, faster-paced teams such as Houston (first in pace) and Golden State (fourth) both overachieved by leveraging their teams’ strengths — youth and shooting. Miami played a blitzing pick-and-roll defence because it lacks a true rim defender, but in James, Bosh and Wade, the Heat have agile defenders able to clog up passing lanes and recover quickly. The Pacers play a more conservative style because their sheer size makes it tough for teams to get to the rim. There is no such thing as a style of championship basketball. There is only crafting a system that brings out the best in championship-level players.

there is more thAN oNe wAy to build A coNteNder The Indiana Pacers were one win away from beating the Heat in the eastern Conference final. Their starting lineup consisted of George Hill (acquired via trade for the 15th pick in the 2011 draft), Lance Stephenson (the 40th pick in 2010), Paul George (the 10th pick in 2010), david West (a free agent signing) and roy Hibbert (the 17 th pick in 2008). Memphis spent years in the lottery, but their two most important players, Marc Gasol and Zach randolph, were acquired via trade. Aside from the awful year that netted the Spurs Tim duncan — and, sure, this is more than an asterisk — San Antonio has thrived because of shrewd drafting outside of the lottery. And the one time the Heat have picked in the top 19 in the last nine drafts, they picked Michael Beasley. “Tanking” for high picks can be a smart move, with Oklahoma City the best example of that strategy. But there are plenty of examples of tanking failure, too. There are several ways to become relevant in this league.

luck is importANt

russell Westbrook’s torn meniscus ended the Thunder’s chances of getting back to the Finals. The Spurs probably win the title if Ginobili (an 83% career free-throw shooter) and Leonard (80%) hit both of their free throws in the final minute of Game 6 instead of splitting them. There are tons of tiny moments like this throughout the season, and they are verging on impossible to prepare for.

the spurs Are Not Ageless, but they’re close

Let’s all agree to stop doubting the Spurs, OK? Tony Parker’s hamstring injur y left the Spurs without a true offensive creator in Game 7, and that gave it a certain feeling of inevitability. But they scored five more points than the Heat over the course of seven games, and were an unpredictable sequence of events away from winning a fifth title. All of that, with duncan at 37, Ginobili at 35 and Parker at 31. With the positively ascendant Leonard continuing to grow and some smart roster moves, the Spurs could very well be back here next year.

WILFREDO Lee / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LeBron James’s performance in Game 7, a jumper-heavy 37-point feat, will go down as one of the best playoff efforts of all time.