A crowning moment for King James
Love him or hate him, Lebron James dominated game six in historic fashion.
On July 8, 2010, Lebron James publicly announced “the decision”. It was a day that would live in infamy. King James, once the beloved basketball darling, instantly morphed into the ultimate basketball villain. The Decision opened a flood gate of hatred that poured onto the shores of South Beach. James faced scrutiny and criticism unlike any athlete in human history. Every last-second shot, every receding hairline, every interview –dissected on national television. The Miami Heat catalyzed an experiment –a new world order in the NBA. If it fails, the basketball world will be ready to heap laughter and critique upon them. If it succeeds, it is only what was expected from the moment the decision was made. It’s a date that will live in infamy. It’s the date that James suddenly bore the weight of the basketball world upon his broad shoulders.
June 7, 2012. Mark it down. This date now belongs in the book of Lebron James’ legacy. It wasn’t a good game. It wasn’t a great game. It wasn’t even an incredible game. The show that James put on in Boston’s TD Garden was quite simply a domination –something that only comes around in cycles in the NBA Playoffs. It’s the Halley’s Comet of basketball, only we don’t know it is coming. But when it happens, the world is certainly watching.
I’m no Lebron James apologist. I don’t root for the Heat. In all honesty, a part of me cringed at the media circus that was The Decision and the poorly handled dismissal of Cleveland. But, regardless, the hate has to stop here. With this game, there are no excuses to dismiss the talents of Lebron James. The ringleader of Lebron James’ hater bandwagon, ESPN First Take’s Skip Bayless, claimed that James only exhibited a good game because he faced the least amount of pressure he’s faced since being in Miami. Skip is often right. Here, he wrong –dead wrong.
Lebron James was facing, as usual, more pressure than most athletes have ever encountered. Leading up to the game, the burning question on numerous sports shows was, “If the Heat loses, who has to go?” Game six represented the possible explosion within the Big Three experiment. A loss might mean failure, a team dismantled, and another start from scratch. Lebron has been there before. He’s lost late in the playoffs. He’s faced the reality that a team simply wasn’t constituted to win the biggest games. He’s started from scratch. That’s not a place Lebron James wants to revisit. I would argue that the pressure has never been greater on Lebron James. A loss last night would have been more than a loss. It would have been the end of a short, failing Era.
James did not fold beneath that pressure. Instead, he dominated. He dominated in a way that was more than transcendent, message-sending, or worthy of praise. Lebron James’ game six –June 7, 2012—was a performance of instant historical merit. Few playoff performances have been so one-sided. For, last night, James did more than stuff the stat sheet and win the game. He made all of the other NBA players around him (which included at least four future hall of famers) look like boys trying to keep up with a man.
Lebron scored 45 points. That total accounted for 25% of all points scored in the game (by both teams!) and the next leading scorer was Rajon Rondo –24 points away with 21 of his own. Lebron secured 15 rebounds; the next closest was Udonis Haslem with 9. Lebron shot 19-26 with a percentage of 73.1; the next closest (among those shooting at least five shots) was Brandon Bass’ 62.5% shooting performance. Bass only made five shots. Lebron played 45 minutes, one for every point; Rondo was closest with 41.
To put that jumbled paragraphs of numbers simply: Lebron James dominated the court. In every facet of the game, he was there and he was outplaying every other beating heart upon the floor. Lebron James didn’t just obtain great statistics. He rendered all other players obsolete and took the game into his own hands. That’s a feat that doesn’t happen very often –even from the most dominating players in the game’s history…even from players that Skip Bayless pays the utmost respect.
April 20, 1986. On this date, a young Michael Jordan turned in one of the most legendary playoff performances of all time. Also facing the Boston Celtics, Jordan scored an incredible 63 points –it’s a date and game that still lives in basketball infamy. And yet, it is nowhere near being the domination exhibited by Lebron James last night.
Michael Jordan, 1986: 63 points | 22-41 FG (53.7%) | 5 rebounds | 6 assists | 47.2 Game Score
Lebron James, 2012: 45 points | 19-26 FG (73.1%) | 15 rebounds | 5 assists | 36.4 Game Score
Despite His Airness’ higher Game Score, he did not own the floor in the way that Lebron James would do 26 years later. The scoring discrepancy is similar. While James outscored his nearest rival by 24 points and accounted for 25% of all scoring, Jordan outscored Larry Bird by 27 points and accounted for 24% of all scoring. But James’ total game becomes more impressive upon a closer look.
As noted before, Lebron also dominated the game in rebounding, field goal percentage, and minutes played. Jordan led none of these categories. Kevin McHale hauled in ten more rebounds with 15. Danny Ainge shot the ball much more efficiently at 61.5%. And Larry Bird played more minutes, gracing the court for a ridiculous 56 minutes. The most important discrepancy is one often forgotten when people recount this incredible Jordan performance: he lost. James, single-handedly, won last night.
A better comparison is another infamous date that often graces top ten lists of individual playoff performances. On June 4, 2000, a dominating game emitted from the humongous body of Shaquille O’Neal –a player that Mr. Bayless says, in his prime, was the most dominating big man we ever saw play basketball.
Shaquille O’Neal, 2000: 43 points | 21-31 FG (67.7%) | 19 rebounds | 4 assists | 37.9 Game Score
Lebron James, 2012: 45 points | 19-26 FG (73.1%) | 15 rebounds | 5 assists | 36.4 Game Score
On that night in 2000, O’Neal owned the floor and the Indiana Pacers. The next highest scorer was Mark Jackson at 18. The next highest rebounder was Dale Davis at 8. The next highest amount of minutes played belonged to Reggie Miller at 41 (compared to Shaq’s 44). And he won. Much like James with Dwayne Wade, O’Neal shared the floor with Kobe Bryant and rendered him moot. It was his game. And much like James, he owned it –he delivered a game of historic proportions. Which is fitting, because Shaquille O’Neal was a man of historic proportions.
Where these two nights in history differ is in the reaction. I don’t remember people questioning or belittling O’Neal’s dominance. It was, as it should have been, heralded universally. But today, an inevitability of today’s basketball has reared its ugly head: Much like heat will always rise, so will the doubters and haters of Lebron James in his most prolific moments.
For the radio callers and many analysts, it wasn’t enough for James to take over a playoff game. It wasn’t enough for James, with his back up against the wall of elimination and his team facing a potential offseason overhaul, to single-handedly extend the series and breathe life into Miami’s championship hopes. It wasn’t enough to deliver a performance that puts him in the company of Michael Jordan’s and Shaquille O’Neal’s best playoff performances. No…it’s never enough.
Perhaps it will never be enough. Not until he wins a championship on his own buzzer beater in a pressure-packed game seven will the doubters start to squander their harsh criticisms. That reality began with his own decision –with the infamous date of July 8, 2010. On June 7, 2012, Lebron James made a different decision. He decided to show the world –the world weighing down his shoulders—exactly what he meant by the “talents” he brought to South Beach. This time, he brought them to Boston. This time, it wasn’t a Big Three –it was a one man show and a domination.
This time, Lebron, it wasn’t a decision that led to a scrutinized future. It was a decision that led to instant history.
Category: Featured, Pro Sports
About the Author (Author Profile)
Cory Collins is the current Sports Editor of The Rambler, Transylvania University's award-winning weekly newspaper. He recently completed the manuscript for Bats that Won’t Break: Rediscovering the Pastime, a book featuring players and coaches from the Louisville Bats, as well as youth players from rural Kentucky. You can follow Cory on twitter @CoCoCoryCollins .Subscribe
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Congrats to LBJ on digging up Whitney Houston corpse and stealing her headband to cover his bald ass head so he can hang on the rim and throw half ass karate kicks at me. GO THUNDER