G.O.A.T.--LeBron James

by Bob Gurnett

  LeBron’s confidence quickly evaporated after game 1. Playing in San Antonio, the Spurs assigned Bruce Bowen to defend James. Bowen pestered and harassed LeBron all game. If LeBron got around one guy, there was another Spurs player there to stop him. Their team defense completely shut down LeBron. He turned the ball over six times and only scored 14 points. LeBron knew he had to play better to win and he vowed to his teammates he would. But game 2 was more of the same. LeBron’s confidence was gone. He had climbed to the biggest stage in the NBA and was failing.

  LeBron never did figure out the Spurs defense. The Cavaliers lost in four games. They were on the bad end of a sweep. LeBron stood on the sidelines and watched as the Spurs celebrated their 4th Larry O’Brien trophy, the championship trophy awarded to the winner of the Finals, in 9 years. He couldn’t take it. He turned his back to the celebration and headed for the locker room.

  5

  MOST VALUABLE LEBRON

  The defeat by San Antonio stuck with LeBron. The sweetness from beating the Cavs’ rival Detroit Pistons was gone and all that remained was the bitterness of defeat. LeBron didn’t blame his teammates or coaches for the sweep. He placed the responsibility solely on his own shoulders. It was clear to him that he had to be ten times better if he wanted to be a champion. If LeBron got better, it would all trickle down to his teammates. When he played well, the team played well. In San Antonio, he turned the ball over and shot poorly and that took opportunities away from his team. After the loss, San Antonio Spurs star center Tim Duncan told LeBron that soon the league would belong to LeBron. That was little consolation for LeBron—he did not want to wait, so he got to work.

  During the next season, on February 27, 2008, he became the youngest player to ever score 10,000 points in his career, and was once again an All-Star. He even passed Brad Daugherty as the Cavaliers all-time leading scorer. He was still only 23 years old. That year he won the NBA scoring title by averaging more points in the season than any other player. They Cavaliers still fell short of LeBron’s goal: another NBA Finals.

  Before the start of the 2008–2009 season, the Cavaliers traded for hotshot point guard Mo Williams. The Cavs were starting to get nervous that LeBron would leave them and go to another team. The arrival of Mo took pressure off LeBron, much like the arrival of Larry Hughes had seasons earlier. Teams could no longer double-team or triple-team him on every play. LeBron was unleashed. The difference was Mo was a point guard. He could run the offense for LeBron to give the defense a different look if something wasn’t working. Instead of bringing the ball up court every play, LeBron could play off the ball to get into scoring position. Mo, like LeBron, was an excellent passer and was able to get LeBron the ball right where he needed it to score. The change let LeBron open up his game, and he improved in almost every single statistic. LeBron became the all-time leader for the Cavaliers in rebounds, steals, and free throws that season. The 2008–2009 Cavaliers hit a Cavaliers record with 66 wins, the most regular-season wins of any team that season. They only lost 16 times all year!

  LeBron blocking Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic

  The Cavaliers were the best regular season team, and LeBron put up some of the best numbers of his career. It was no surprise that when the media voted on the league’s Most Valuable Player, LeBron James ran away with the award. That is what happens when you average 28–7–7 and lead your team to an astounding 66 wins. Not only did he make the offense click, he was also the anchor of a league-leading defense. LeBron came in second for Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Orlando Magic’s Dwight Howard. A player that dominant at both ends of the ball is a shoe-in for the MVP award.

  When LeBron told the NBA he wanted to have his MVP ceremony at “home,” they assumed he meant the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where LeBron had led the Cavaliers to a 39–2 home record. But when LeBron said home, he meant the gym where he learned to become a great basketball player and person. LeBron James wanted to receive his first MVP award in the gym of St Vincent-St Mary, where his dream of becoming an NBA player began.

  On May 4, 2009, LeBron drove himself to the MVP ceremony. He took the long way. He drove past the houses and apartments where he used to live on couches and missed dozens of days of school. He drove by the dirt yards where he would play football with his friends. He was flooded with memories of how he grew up and how different things were. Fifteen years after LeBron and his mom were bouncing from home to home, he drove by in a luxury car on his way to receive an award for being the best player in the NBA.

  LeBron arrived at the St Vincent-St Mary gym in downtown Akron and he was nervous again. He was not speaking in front of the capacity Quicken Loans Arena like the NBA planned, but a small crowd consisting of students and teachers at St Vincent-St Mary, along with his teammates, coaches, family, and friends. When he took the podium in the gym he played in just six years earlier, the crowd began to chant, “MVP! MVP! MVP!” LeBron held a clenched fist to his mouth and fought back tears. He waited for the chants to die down and for his tears to go away before he spoke.

  LeBron started by thanking the greats that came before him. Magic Johnson, Kareem, Oscar Robertson. All giants on whose shoulders he stood to become the player he was. He thanked his teammates, whose hard work allowed him to be there to begin with. He pointed out that those 14 guys put in the work so he could be MVP. He thanked everyone who believed in him: Frankie Walker, Dru Joyce, Coach Dambrot, and his proud mother, Gloria. Then he spoke to the students in the audience. He wanted one thing to be clear: hard work pays off. He once played in that gym; that’s where it had all begun. Dreams can come true. LeBron held the award tight and walked away from the podium, once again fighting back tears. He never forgot where he came from and he wanted those students to never forget where they could go.

  MVP VOTING

  The NBA Most Valuable Player award is given every year to the best player in the NBA. But who decides who is the best player in the NBA? It is put to a vote! 100 members of the press who do not work for any NBA teams get to vote. The votes are secret so press members can vote for whoever they think is the best without fans or players getting mad at them. Each journalist votes for their top five players. Each 1st place vote gets 10 points, 2nd place is 7 points, 3rd is 5 points, 4th is 3 points, and 5th is 1 point. Whichever player has the most points is the award winner! There is rarely total agreement among all journalists, but it is often close, like when LeBron got all but one MVP 1st place vote in 2010.

  The very next year, on May 2, 2010, LeBron won the MVP again with even more astounding stats: 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game. LeBron was the best player in the NBA two years in a row. The second one was not any less sweet. He decided to receive the second award in the gym for the University of Akron, where Coach Dambrot coached and where LeBron played games after the crowds grew too big for the high school gym. He once again held the ceremony in his hometown to remind the crowd, and himself, that he’s just a kid from Akron. Standing with him to accept the Most Valuable Player award were his girlfriend, his two sons, and his mother.

  By this point, there was a lot of speculation about whether LeBron would stay with the Cavaliers at the end of the year. His contract was up and he was a free agent. He could play for any team in the NBA. He knew the questions were swirling in the minds of all of those in attendance. He wanted to reassure them, but he did not even know what his decision would be. He knew that everything he did, he did not just do for himself. Every win was a win for Cleveland, Akron, and all of Northeast Ohio. He wanted to remain loyal to them, but he also had a drive to win. His team had not been back to the Finals since Tim Duncan and the Spurs swept them. The loss still stung and the only way to relieve it was to go back to the Finals. On stage accepting his second MVP award, LeBron looked out to the crowd and thought about Ohio. He realized even if he left Ohio, he would still just be a little kid from Akron.

  The Cavs and LeBron were poised to make a deep run into the playoffs with their best s
upporting cast yet and LeBron was playing his best season. The press and the fans were sure this would be the year that King James finally took his throne as an NBA champion. But 11 days after accepting his second consecutive MVP, LeBron and the Cavaliers fell short again. After rolling over the Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavaliers fell apart. They lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. The Celtics, just like the Spurs and all the other teams that beat him, had three superstars on their team. They showed the world that three stars were better than one player, even if he was the best in the league. The Cavaliers lost by an average of 17 points a game. Even with spectacular play from LeBron (who averaged 26 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists per game), the team got beaten on both ends of the floor. Another promising regular season felt wasted.

  LeBron on the Cavs against the Celtics’ Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett

  When the game was over, LeBron heard something he had not heard in the Quicken Loans Arena, at least not directed at him. He heard boos. This hurt deep down because not only had LeBron given the first seven years of his career to the city, but this was his home. In the moment, he did not know what to do. He had plenty of individual achievements to show for it (2 MVPs, 6 All-Star selections, 6 All NBA teams, 2 All Defense teams, Rookie of the Year), but there was one award that he had not gotten—an NBA championship. He looked up to the stands and then started walking to the tunnel out of the arena. As he left, he untucked his Cavaliers jersey. He took a few more steps, took the Cleveland #23 jersey off, and walked out of Quicken Loans arena.

  6

  TAKING HIS TALENTS TO SOUTH BEACH

  After leaving the Cleveland arena, LeBron knew he had to make the toughest decision of his career. Would he stay in Cleveland and keep trying to win all by himself? Or would he find a new team that was better prepared to win an NBA championship? No one, including LeBron, knew what he was going to decide. Still, it was something he had been thinking about for years.

  Let’s go back in time two years from this point. It was 2008 and LeBron was on the other side of the globe in Beijing, China. He was representing the United States in the Olympics. At his first Olympics, in 2004, the USA won the bronze medal. But because the USA had so much talent, it was seen as a disappointment. In his second Olympics, people called the 2008 squad the “Redeem Team.” They were trying to redeem their 2004 performance. While playing on the Redeem Team, LeBron became close friends with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

  Dwyane and Chris were incredible talents who had played with LeBron before, but Beijing is where they really clicked. The three stars played great basketball. Dwyane scored an average of 16 points per game. Chris led the team in rebounds with an average of 9 points per game. And, of course, LeBron, the ultimate teammate, led in assists, with an average of 5.6 per game. They were winning games by huge margins and having tons of fun doing it.

  The team ended up going undefeated. The Finals were against Spain, a team with several NBA players as well, but Team USA beat them with ease. Dwyane scored an amazing 27 points, and LeBron backed him up with 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. The big story wasn’t the team’s offense, though. The Americans used their size and athleticism to play machine-like team defense. They held their opponents to 39% shooting through the tournament. LeBron was awarded his first Olympic gold medal, one of the highest honors for any athlete.

  In Beijing, LeBron was really having fun playing basketball. He, Dwyane, and Chris had skills that complemented each other’s games. LeBron loved being able to focus on passing the ball and playing tough defense. Even though he was a gifted scorer, it took a lot out of him to always have to carry his teammates. Though the three friends have never publicly admitted it, many in the press think that it was in Beijing that LeBron, Dwyane, and Chris decided to do whatever they could to play on the same NBA team.

  LeBron playing for Team USA during the Oylmpics

  Back to 2010. LeBron’s contract was up. His team failed to reach the Finals again despite his winning the MVP for the second year in a row. It was a tough choice. Should he stay with the team that picked him? Or should he go to a new city and play with his friends?

  A few days before LeBron gave his decision, Chris Bosh announced that he would join the Miami Heat.

  LeBron agonized over his decision on whether to stay with Cleveland or go to another team that would give him a better chance to win a title. On July 8, 2010 during a live cable television special, LeBron announced his plan for the next season. The show was called The Decision. Nearly 10 million people tuned in to watch.

  LeBron made his announcement by saying the now famous sentence, “In the fall, I’m taking my talents to South Beach.” By South Beach, he was referring to the South Beach neighborhood in Miami, Florida. He was leaving Cleveland to join Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat. Fans in Miami were excited, while fans in LeBron’s hometown were heartbroken. They felt betrayed and some even burned his jersey. The Cleveland Cavaliers were dumbstruck. Many fans saw it as egotistical and selfish. He was panned by media, even outside of Cleveland. LeBron knew people would be mad and disappointed, but he wasn’t prepared for the hate he received. He made a basketball decision that gave him his best shot at a title, which had always been his focus. He had to quickly put the fallout from the Decision behind him. LeBron started with no one rooting for him, then everyone rooting for him. Now for the first time in his career, he had some people rooting against him. It was a feeling LeBron did not like, but it would all be worth it for a title.

  LeBron on the Heat

  7

  LEBRON’S BIG THREE

  LeBron, Dwyane, and Chris were now called the Big Three. Fans in Miami were giddy and expected a championship in 2010–2011. But the Big Three got off to a rocky start and the Heat started the season with 8 losses and 9 wins. If the team wanted to contend, they had to play better basketball. To play better basketball, LeBron had to lead. So he called a players only meeting. After the meeting, the Heat caught fire and rattled off 12 wins in a row! During that win streak, LeBron went to Cleveland for the first time since leaving the Cavaliers. He was booed every time he touched the ball. But LeBron was able to channel that into motivation and he scored 38 points, beating his former team. The Heat was hot for the rest of the season, racking up 58 wins and the second best record in the Eastern Conference.

  LeBron made one thing clear to his team: the playoffs were different. Many fans had been rooting against the Heat since The Decision. The Heat, led by the Big Three, was expected to win it all. LeBron learned time and time again that sometimes things don’t go as planned.

  The first two rounds of the series were smooth sailing for the Big Three. Younger, less talented teams could not compete with three bonafide superstars. If LeBron didn’t score, Wade would. If Bosh couldn’t grab a rebound, LeBron was there. When they fell behind, LeBron reminded them that they were best when no one believed in them. They won both series in five games.

  Being the favorite in the Eastern Conference Finals was a new feeling for LeBron as they faced the Chicago Bulls, but he adjusted. The Heat shut down the league MVP, Derrick Rose, and Chicago was powerless to overcome the Heat. In fact, in game five, Rose attempted a game-tying three pointer at the buzzer to keep the series alive. As Rose released the ball, LeBron James leapt up and got a hand on the ball. There would be no game 6. For the first time since 2007, LeBron James was heading to the NBA Finals to face the Dallas Mavericks.

  LeBron opened the series as aggressive as he had been all playoffs. His teammates mimicked this. They looked to their leader for cues. LeBron spent the game driving to the hoop over and over, seeing little resistance. When the Mavs attempted to contain LeBron, he passed the ball to Wade or Bosh. It looked like the Heat were on their way to an NBA championship.

  In game two, the Heat was up 24 points. But somehow, Miami fell apart on defense, and the Mavericks started scoring in bunches. Wade was scoring and playing great basketball, but with eight minutes left and a 15-point lead, he st
arted to defer to LeBron. With each possession and missed shot, LeBron saw the lead get smaller. After trailing by 24 points, the Mavericks won by two points. LeBron left the court stunned. He had to play better.

  Game three found LeBron taking even less of a role on the team, so Wade and Bosh took over. The Heat came away with the road win, but something was wrong with LeBron. That became even clearer in game four. The Mavericks were playing a zone defense designed to not allow players to drive as easily. This left LeBron looking lost and hesitant on the court. He could not find his favorite shots under the basket and kept passing to teammates. He was frustrated and angry that he could not get to the foul line and could not drive into the paint. All the parts that made his game work seemed broken. As that frustration grew, he started to make mistakes, turning over the ball, badly missing shots. It all came crashing down. LeBron only scored eight points. That was a career playoff low for him. The Heat needed more out of their superstar. They lost the game and went on to lose the last two. LeBron was uninvolved and lost for most of those games as well. Once again, LeBron went to the NBA Finals and had to watch another team celebrate.

  After the game, LeBron was filled with self-doubt. He spent a whole year with media and fans jeering him and rooting for him to fail. Then he did fail. Again. He started to wonder if the critics were right. For the second time, he made it to the championship to only flameout when it mattered. Was this a pattern? Did he not have what it took to be a champion? Did he really not know how to perform under pressure? He spent the offseason with all these thoughts bouncing around in his head.

  LeBron eventually decided that he had two choices: dwell on his two Finals losses and let all the doubters be right, or put that all out of his mind and continue to become a better basketball player. He watched the tape from the Finals. He saw that the Mavericks shut him down by keeping him from driving to the basket. He knew exactly what he could add to his game to counteract that. He reached out to an NBA Hall of Famer, Hakeem Olajuwon. Hakeem, nicknamed the Dream, was known for being an incredible post player. In basketball, the post is the part of the court right under the hoop. So post plays are the moves and ways to score in that area. It is an area where very big and tall players can score in bunches with the right moves. Hakeem had those moves and LeBron wanted to learn them. LeBron spent the summer with Hakeem and learned how to back down a defender and get the ball in the basket with precision footwork and crafty fakeouts. When LeBron left his last training session, Hakeem told the media that LeBron’s game was finally complete. LeBron believed him.