The Miami Heat have been crowned NBA World Champions. It’s a long way from the eight titles LeBron James ambitiously promised a couple of years ago, but it’s a start. The knives were sharpened and ready to stick into the star-studded Miami team if they had lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but LeBron and his boys left the doubters having to admit that their doubts were unfounded.
Miami began this series as the underdogs. The Thunder were quick, young, hungry and had depth, while the Heat had LeBron and a host of other superstars who had struggled all year to even come close to being “super”. Now Mr James and his entourage can point to the scoreboard and feel vindicated in their effort. The 4-1 dismantling of the Thunder in the finals was quite simply awe-inspiring, and Miami deserve to start next year as strong favorites to win back-to-back world championships.
LeBron is the best player in the NBA. He hasn’t had the career that Kobe Bryant has had, but he’s still young. I was shocked to learn recently that LeBron is the same age as Michael Jordon was when he won his first NBA Ring. I can’t see him equaling Jordan’s tally of five championships, but he could easily be on track to win two or three with this team alone. LeBron gelled the Heat together, and drove them to win this series. Wade, Bosh, Chandler and the other boys were excellent, but it was LeBron that choked the life out of the Thunder.
The Thunder’s own superstar Durant played well, but to even mention him in the same breath as LeBron is unwarranted. Westbrook was the real star for the Thunder and the only player who played up to, or superseded, expectation.
This was a great series and one that brought many new fans to the NBA. Being the bloodthirsty lot we sports fans are, we salivated over the prospect of Miami and LeBron falling at the final hurdle again. However, by the end of the one-sided series all we could do was applaud. Love or hate him, LeBron James is at the height of his powers and if he continues to play like he did in this series his name will be etched alongside the greats.
James Potter
