Says Donald Duff
“Not one, not two, not three….” With those famous words basketball superstar LeBron James, in promising to win multiple NBA titles for the Miami Heat, created a burden of expectations for himself and for the Heat basketball fans who had seen their franchise win only once before in 2006 after being formed in 1988 so huge that he had difficulty in fulfilling it.
It was to be words that an unforgiving media and fans hostile to James would not easily forget, or let him.
And when the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in last year’s NBA final, the chorus was deafening.
Not even one, said the naysayers much less multiple championships.
But following Thursday night’s blowout win by the Miami Heat over the Oklahoma City Thunder James has exercised his demons. He has overcome all the negativity that surrounded his quest to secure the NBA ring by which basketball greatness in the league is judged, or at least should have.
Now that he has his first NBA ring, James is a relieved man. “It’s about damn time,” he said at the presentation ceremony after ending the Finals with a triple double scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 13 assists.
“It’s about damn time,” he added for emphasis.
It is time. His time.
The burden of expectations that he carried around his neck like an albatross after nine years in the league and no ring, was lifted by the Heat’s 121-106 triumph in Game Five of the NBA finals Thursday night in Miami.
Ever since he entered the league some nine years ago the self proclaimed `King’ James was anxiously awaiting his coronation.
Drafted as the number one pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, James, though he won the Rookie-of- the-Year award that same year, had to watch as a number five draft pick named Dwyane Wade, became the first player of that batch to win an NBA title, surpassing the likes of number three draft pick Carmelo Anthony and number four pick Chris Bosh.
Wade almost singlehandedly won the Heat’s first title with a little help from his friends – Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Udonis Haslem and Gary Payton.
James, apparently, goaded by his then rival’s showing, reached the 2007 Finals with a motley crew that included Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic but was swept (4-0) by the San Antonio Spurs with Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan to the fore.
When it became pellucidly clear that he would be unable to win an NBA championships with such a raggedy bunch and that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert was not going to surround him with the pieces necessary for success, James in free agency bolted for greener pastures. He decided to take his talents to South Beach.
But, in announcing that move in an aptly made for television one hour show entitled “The Decision”, James ran foul of a section of America whose ire he raised.
Chief among them was Dan Gilbert. So upset was Gilbert that his biggest drawing card, (cash cow if you will) who boosted television ratings and jersey sales like none other in the league was leaving, that he penned a letter to the Cleveland fans calling James’s decision a “cowardly betrayal” and promising the fans that the Cavaliers would win an NBA title before James.
“I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA Championship before the self-titled former ‘King’ wins one,” said Gilbert adding” You can take it to the bank.”
Matters were not helped by the fact that James, Wade and Bosh had a coronation of sorts in South Beach even before they had won a championship parading like if winning an NBA championships was as easy as A, B, C.
Such was the backlash of James’ decision to leave Cleveland that he, in one fell swoop, moved from being the `Golden Boy’ of the NBA and Michael Jordan’s heir apparent to the most vilified person in the league, booed wherever we went and whenever he touched the ball.
He was even mocked by players with Boston Celtics’ Paul Pierce famously posting on his Twitter account following his team’s defeat of the Miami Heat in November of 2010…”It’s been a pleasure to bring my talents to South Beach….”
But none of that stopped the `Big Three’ as James, Wade and Bosh are referred to from going all the way to the NBA finals last year.
They were actually two games away from fulfilling their prediction when they ran into a zone defense of the Mavericks and lost the next three games and the series.
Following that defeat, James spent two weeks in isolation before emerging vowing to be a better player.
A stint with Hall-of-Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, where he not only learnt the rudiments of posting up but where he refined those skills with arguably one of the best centres to have ever played in the NBA, saw James entering this year’s shortened season because of the lock out imposed by the owners, refreshed and ready to pick up from where he left off.
All though the season James was to carry the Heat but his play in two post series stood out.
An injury to Chris Bosh saw the Heat falling behind 1-2 to the chirpy Indian Pacers who scented an upset and whose top shooter Danny Granger was constantly in James’ face.
But, in arguably the most compelling basketball of the tournament, Wade and James ran riot over the Pacers to take the next three games and the series.
In the conference finals, Pierce’s Celtics gave the Heat all they could handle and more taking a 3-2 lead with the sixth game at home and a chance to avenge last year’s defeat. James, though, was unwilling to go out like that and racked up 45 points to force a decider which the Heat won in the final quarter at home after three quarters had failed to separate the two teams, booking their expected place in the NBA Finals.
Again, after dropping the first game to the Thunder, James was not going to be denied and won his first NBA title on his third attempt.
Like Wade in 2006, the Heat owes much of this victory to the indomitable will of one man – LeBron James.
Simply put, James was backed into a corner where there was no more room for error. Lose to the young, slightly wet behind the ears, upstart Thunder, in their first NBA finals and face a crescendo of criticism that he would never be able to live down. Deep down inside James knew that. Knew of the agony he would face after losing yet another NBA Final. It could not happen, it would not happen. It didn’t.
The Heat’s triumph was more a triumph of will. James’ will.
He simply willed the Miami Heat not to lose especially when they were down 1-2 to Indian and 2-3 to the Boston Celtics. And Thursday night everything just fell into place or so it seemed. Mike Miller finally found his shooting touch sinking seven of eight three pointers and the red hot Miami Heat knocked out OKC with a barrage of three pointers.
The 4-1 win over OKC was just reward after all the hard work James has put in through the regular seasons and the playoffs.
James averaged in the post season 27.8 points in the first round, 30 points in the semi-finals and 33.6 points in the Eastern Conference Finals.
If the title of MVP in the regular season was a toss up between himself and Durant, James made sure in the finals that there was no dispute averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds 7.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game compared to Durant’s 30.6 points, six rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
He was also magnanimous in victory hugging all the players on the opposing team and speaking of the lessons he learnt from last year’s defeat.
Unlike last year, he did not use the World stage to lash out at his detractors. Perhaps when you win, you simply don’t care what the critics say.
This time around he did not let his critics define him. He knew who he was and what he could do on a basketball court. He blocked out all those naysayers, all those who so badly wanted him to fail, all those who kept overlooking his achievements, his accomplishments, his virtual one-man-army show through the regular and the post season.
James has endured ridicule and loathing ever since he joined the Miami Heat two years ago.
Thursday night he found redemption. Thursday night marked a new leaf in his basketball career. He can finally claim, boast even, that he is a winner, a champion, a basketball `King’ and one, with a crown.
He does not have anything to prove to his critics, those who so desperately wanted him to fail. But he does have something to prove to his loyal fans.
“Not one, not two not three….”
