Basketball star LeBron James wins the NBA title for the fourth time – this time with the LA Lakers.
After the celebration with cups and confetti on the floor and champagne showers in the cabin, LeBron James treated himself to a cigar. Long draws, big grin – he was satisfied. Ten years after the last Los Angeles Lakers title, he led the most glamorous team in the world’s strongest basketball league to the 17th championship, the 106: 93 against the Miami Heat was a show of force. In addition to the Boston Celtics, the Lakers are now record champions. Personally, James won the fourth NBA title. For the fourth time he was the most valuable player in the final series. With three different teams, no one had ever done it.
So maybe with the cigar and the championship hat on his head, James felt a little bit like his coach Frank Vogel had put it minutes before: “He’s the greatest player the basketball universe has ever seen.”
LeBron James or Michael Jordan – for many fans and professionals in the NBA, the debate about the greatest basketball player in history is a question of faith that can be lively debated but not finally answered. Jordan won six championships and dominated the league with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. James, on the other hand, has shaped the NBA for a much longer period of time – Jordan cannot keep up with his ten appearances in an NBA final. Jordan does not even come close to 260 games in the playoffs.
James often downplays the importance of this comparison. The latent criticism, the questioning of his own greatness, however, fox him. After picking up the trophy for the finals MVP, he said in his speech: “We just want respect. Rob (Pelinka, Lakers manager) wants respect. Coach Vogel wants respect. Our organization wants respect, Laker- Nation wants respect. And I want damn respect too. “
For the 28th time he managed a triple-double against the Heat in the playoffs with double-digit values in the most important statistics categories, 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists. James won two titles with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers in his home state Ohio – and now one with the Lakers, who had not even made it to the final of the Western Conference since 2010. “The feeling of having to prove something has driven me for the past year and a half. There was always a bit of doubt,” he said.
