Yeah, I threw up in my mouth a bit as well too...no shame in admitting it. The Warriors went out and bought a championship by adding Kevin Durant, because they were not good enough to beat LeBron James on their own.
This not only establishes Golden State’s dynasty, but it finally ends the “LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan” discussion once and for all.
Michael was only swept twice in his career--1986 and 1987--and both were in the first round. LeBron narrowly missed the playoffs in his first two seasons the first time around in Cleveland, and has not sat home since. However, this marks the second time a LeBron-led Cavalier team will have been swept in the NBA Finals, when the Warriors put Cleveland out of their misery tomorrow night.
It pains me to say this as a Clevelander, but these have been the most apathetic playoffs I can ever remember as a Cavalier fan. The Cavs were expected to coast through the Eastern Conference playoffs, and did just that. The trifecta against the Warriors was inevitable. This Warrior team may be one of the greatest in history.
Take heed that I said “one of the greatest,” and not “THE greatest.” No team in the history of the sport will have gone 16-0 though the playoffs, but Michael never recruited Larry or Magic when he couldn’t beat the Pistons either. Michael is on the forefront of the NBA Mount Rushmore. LeBron is in the team photo, but his face isn’t on the mountain.
After tomorrow night it never will be either.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both, I interviewed Michael during one of his last games with the Wizards, and have seen both live in their prime. For what they can do on a basketball court, you would think they cloned LeBron with Michael’s DNA, and fed it some growth hormone.
Michael never quit on his team, and he certainly did not recruit super teams like today’s NBA. The greatest player outside of Scottie Pippen Michael ever played with was Dennis Rodman, and he never scored. LeBron has played alongside Kyrie Irving, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, and Ray Allen. You could form an All-Star team out of just those players, and they would beat any team in the NBA...including Golden State, and some of Michael’s Bulls teams.
LeBron has gone to seven straight NBA Finals, but Michael won all six he played in. It would have been eight in a row, had he not taken nearly two years off. Michael took down Magic, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone in his six championships. LeBron cast aside Steph Curry, Durant, and Tim Duncan.
If you have to pause to decipher which resume is more impressive, you probably have no idea the Warriors had a Big Three dubbed “Run TMC” either.
I’m not trying to troll the Cavaliers, but the argument can end. LeBron is the best of his era, just like Michael was until LeBron got there. Michael put his name atop the mantle by knocking off Kareem, and Kareem did the same with Bill Russell in the 1960s.
I was there in the bowels of the Gund Arena when LeBron was trying to meet Michael on 4 April 2003...Michael’s final game against the Cavaliers. We all wished Michael had one more year in him, so we could see an official passing of the torch. LeBron broke Michael’s career playoff scoring record, and was robbed of being up for a fifth league MVP (both whom still trail Kareem's record of six), which would have tied Michael’s five. LeBron is only 3,505 points behind Michael for fourth on the league’s regular season all-time scoring list, and is only 31.
The King may run down the legend, but until he wins a few more championships, LeBron still has to kneel to the crown of the current owner of the Charlotte Hornets.
-JC24