For the third straight year, the NBA Finals is a match-up of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors. The Cavaliers are currently down 3-0 to the Warriors. Everyone who pays attention to sports even a little bit knows about Lebron James' infamous move from his hometown team, the Cavaliers, to the Miami Heat during the summer of 2010. So far up to this point in his career, Lebron's legacy is defined by this and his eventual move back to Cleveland after 4 seasons and 2 championships in Miami.
Despite his now 3 championships, 4 MVP titles, and countless other accolades Lebron is always scrutinized very highly due to his move to Miami. But, could losing to the Warriors over and over again become his ultimate legacy in this league? If Golden State is able to stay as good as they are now (which is likely due to their players' contracts and ages) and the Eastern Conference doesn't find a team to compete with the Cavs, we could see 5 or 6 straight Finals between the two teams. And if Lebron ends up losing 4/5 or 5/6 of these Finals, does this become his legacy once he retires despite his greatness and despite his move to Miami and then back to Cleveland?
Lebron could end up being the only top 5 greatest players of all time with a very negative legacy. He has clearly been the league's best player for 10 years and still adding up, he made amends by going back to Cleveland, and he even brought a very first championship to a team with a terrible owner. However, I believe his legacy when all is said and done will always be his lack of championships compared to appearances. A sweep in the Finals tonight would even further my stance.
What do you all think about Lebron's legacy? Will the Cavs get swept tonight? Let me know in the comments.
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Great post and thoughts. But I think Lebron's legacy is sealed. He has multiple titles. Came back to Cleveland of all places and WON a title against a team who set the record for most wins. 7 straight Finals which is CRAZY. Olympic Gold medalist. And I agree with @numpypython. He has good players on his team. But never the quality Jordan had. Plus he is only 32 years old. Still has some miles in the tank.
Yeah he is an unbelievable player with an unbelievable career so far. But you don't think people would remember him for losing to the warriors if he did it 3-4 more times?
If he makes it to the finals 3 to for more times that will be over 11 finals. That is impressive. Only ONE out of 30 teams can win it all every year. And we only like to remember winners and greatness. As long as you win ONE you will be revered as a WINNER. Lebron has 3.
Fair enough, just always seems that Lebron receives more hate than all the other greats.
Lebron is great but he can only carry the team so far. At least Michael Jordan had a good supporting cast of pippen and rodman.
MJ said there's no I in team but there is in win. Looks like we're finding out the limits of 'i'.
Exactly. He's good enough single handedly to get his team through the Eastern Conference, but the Warriors are a different beast.
Lebron James has not the best team. I know it would be a different story with better players supporting as a team. But you are right. Warriors are working hard to stop lebron's legacy haha
Warriors will win! Lebron can't beat Steph, Durant, Klay, and Draymond!
Warriors have created one of the strongest teams in NBA history, no doubt.
I'm not a big fan of LBJ, but I must admit he's threatening Jordan's throne as the GOAT; at the end of his career we will judge, but he's really close to His Airness.
I agree, but I wonder if losing to Golden State so many times would keep him under Jordan in most people's eyes.
This will happen for sure. Just like Stockton&Malone that lost only to Jordan's Bulls and for this are waaaay underestimated.
Nice post! My NBA posts haven't gotten much traction on here. I suspect the Venn diagram of "Steemit early adopters" and "NBA Fans" may not be entirely overlapping.
Thanks! Yeah I had been seeing some bigger articles based around the finals so I figured I'd try it, hopefully it goes somewhere.
he's the greatest player in the NBA right now, but he needs to quit his whining