Watching the Cleveland Cavaliers fall to a veteran-led Boston Celtics team last week didn’t come as a surprise to many.
But for Cleveland fans and some NBA insiders who like drinking the LeBron Kool-Aid, the team with the league’s best record got bounced from the playoffs again because “King James” doesn’t know how to be a champion – at least not yet.
Whatever the excuse – be it James’ elbow, an inferior head coach or a supposedly weak cast of teammates – the Cavaliers lost because James withered under the pressure of having to be the man.
While James did score 27 points, grab 19 rebounds and dish out 10 assists in the Game 6 loss to the Celtics, it was the nine turnovers and his disappearing act in crunch time that cost Cleveland a chance to advance.
James is clearly one of the best players in the NBA today, and no one is questioning his talent. But what he has yet to prove is the ability to overcome adversity.
That fact is directly attributable to his lack of big game experience. Even though he’s completed seven years in the NBA, James’ doesn’t have the moxie that other basketball immortals possessed.
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan all played in Final Fours during their college careers.
No, it’s not the NBA Finals, but at least it gave each of those players a taste of what it took to be a champion.
The foundation was laid in their developmental years and it carried over to the NBA, something James never had.
James’ only big game experience came while he was in high school.
Playing for a state championship, especially when your team is overwhelming more talented than the competition, doesn’t provide the foundation of knowing what it takes to be a champion in the NBA.
In James’ defense, unlike all of the game’s greatest players, he hasn’t enjoyed the luxury of having an exceptional coach.
A strong leader on the bench is paramount in becoming an NBA champion.
Just ask Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal what it meant to have Phil Jackson coach their teams.
The Detroit Pistons teams Thomas played for had Chuck Daly and the Los Angeles Lakers teams Magic and Abdul-Jabbar played for in the 1980s had Pat Riley.
James hasn’t had the type of supporting cast the others enjoyed either. Even with O’Neal’s presence on the Cavs’ roster this year, the 37-year-old Shaq is a far different player than the one that helped the Lakers and Heat win NBA titles.
But even if James had a strong coach and more talented role players, it still appears that he lacks the intestinal fortitude to do what it takes to win a championship.
Future Hall of Fame players are judged by the number of championships they’ve won, not how many MVP awards he won or how many times he led his team to the best regular season record.
James will surely win more MVP awards, he’ll likely lead the league in scoring several more times and he’ll probably be part of a team that will end up with the best record.
But until he wills his team to a championship, he’ll be remembered as a really good player that never won a title. That’s a legacy every great player in any sport doesn’t want to be saddled with.
[...] LeBron Doesn’t Know What it Takes to be a Champion [...]