LeBron James with the NBA Championship and his NBA Finals MVP trophy.

The coronation of the King is complete. LeBron James is an NBA Champion, an NBA Finals MVP, and above all, he has become the leader we all expected him to be. Yet, I’m sure there are still those who will question his greatness. Never has there been a more scrutinized player. But, why? It is one thing to dislike a player as a fan. It is, however, a completely different thing to ignore the level of talent we have seen unfold before our very eyes. His resume  is nothing short of legend, and it appears as though he is just coming into his prime. On top of his epic finals performance, he is already a three time league MVP, an 8 time NBA All-Star, 6 time All NBA First Team, 4 Time All NBA Defensive First Team, 2 time NBA All Star game MVP, NBA Rookie of the Year…oh yeah, and he is also a Team USA Olympic Bronze and Gold Medal Winner.

I myself have been guilty of letting my fandom blur the reality of LeBron’s talent. But during this NBA Finals run, King James has silenced this critic. Throughout this NBA Finals series I saw a different player…a different man. Now, I’m not one of those people that are buying into the reading of The Hunger Games, or the meditation on the bench, and proclaiming that this has made him a deeper thinker, or a Phil Jackson-like Zen Master. I saw the greatest player in the game today finally take ownership of that role, place his team on his back, and will a less-talented Heat team to an NBA Championship. Win or lose, LeBron was going to leave everything he was, is, and had on that court. He played with an unmatched and unrivaled strength and ferocity. He was unstoppable. He was The Chosen One.

Now, just days after reaching the mountain top, I can only imagine that next year critics, cynics, and haters alike will all demand he live up to his proclamation of “not 2, not 3, not 4….”. But, does he really need to accomplish that? Did he not just cement his legacy? Should he say, in the words of his good friend Jay-Z, “What more can I do?….Pound for pound I’m the best to ever come around here. Excluding nobody!”  But if they don’t critique, question, doubt, and/or be cynical…what else would there be to talk about? So the barber shop debates will continue, and Skip Bayless will continue to flip-flop his arguments about LeBron. And LeBron? He’ll just continue to entertain. After all…is that not why you are here?

LeBron James celebrating his 1st NBA Championship

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