Written by Jamel Malone
LeBron James is currently the best player on the planet. That comes without question or hesitation. After an amazing and thrilling Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, in which LeBron’s Heat battled back from 10 points down in the fourth quarter to take the lead, lose the lead and force overtime, fan and critics alike are still questioning about the mark LeBron has made on the NBA in his 10 year career. Concerns about LeBron’s “clutch” gene, LeBron’s stat lines and his “heart” come into the fold during nail biting games like last night’s classic. What is fair? What isn’t? Is any of it warranted? In Game 7, LeBron’s legacy will go somewhere else. Let’s take a look at a few things:
1. Is LeBron Clutch?
Clutch is a word and concept sports fans have thrown around within the last few years. Can you be born with a clutch gene? Can you develop it? When can you exert your clutch gene? LeBron has been labeled as one to rack up immaculate stat lines but fade away during “crunch” time. But what is clutch? Most will try to make it about making baskets late in the fourth quarter. If being clutch is only based on making critical shots late in the 4th, how come Robert Horry isn’t hailed as one of the best players of all-time? Maybe we know better than say he isn’t because we’re smart enough to know there’s 48 minutes in a basketball game and how you play for the duration of the game is more indicative of who that player is.
How come being clutch it can’t be grabbing a big rebound or passing to an open player? What makes LeBron so great is that his basketball IQ is one of the highest we’ve seen in years. The way LeBron plays is how we teach young kids. LeBron repeatedly makes amazing defensive plays and gets the ball in the hands of players to do what they do best and sometimes a bit too much. Being clutch should be playing basketball at the highest level and making smart plays. LeBron does that. During last night’s game, LeBron put his team on his back during the 4th quarter after a very poor start through the first three quarters.
Last night, people wanted to point out the huge shot Ray Allen made to tie the game and head to overtime and how if LeBron was clutch, he would have made that shot instead. There were plenty of times where Jordan didn’t take that last shot. Game 6 of the 1997 NBA Finals saw Steve Kerr hit an important shot to help win the game. Derek Fisher and Robert Horry hit many shots to give the Lakers wins during their early-2000s run. Most people would consider Jordan and Kobe as the most clutch players of all-time and they sometimes needed help elsewhere. LeBron can’t win. If not for big plays by throughout the 4th quarter last night, Ray Allen doesn’t have the opportunity to shoot to tie because the Spurs are preparing to celebrate on South Beach.
Has LeBron made boneheaded plays and plays that make you wonder what happened? Yes. Last night’s game provided a great example of it. When driving on a fast break late in the game, LeBron got the ball stripped from him as he was attacking the rim. How does one lose the ball that easy? Go up strong and evoke your will and it foul and going to the line for free throws. Not so clutch but many will remember that play as bad one for the night.
At the end of the day, LeBron makes clutch plays and has solid games when they matter. LeBron should be held accountable if Dwyane Wade or Mo Williams go MIA. LeBron is consistently go
2. LeBron Doesn’t Have Heart
I struggle with this all of the time. How do you determine whether or not an athlete has heart of not when they’re putting their body on the line every night? The detractors of LeBron will love to point out that while late in the game, LeBron will quit on his team and becomes very passive. LeBron continues to look at his teammates to get them going and involved. Wouldn’t consider it passive. We try to compare LeBron to players such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. They were/are players who elected to not defer to others and shoot their teams to victory. Does that give them heart? No.
Quantifying someone’s heart, will, and determination is tricky and a slippery slope. Even if LeBron doesn’t have the heart, somehow he’s managed to lead his team to a championship and in the position to win another. If there were a poll for most fearless players, I’m sure it would match the talent of either the Spurs or Heat.
3. LeBron’s Legacy is at Stake
Regardless of what happens in the final game of the series, LeBron’s legacy will either take a spike in legend status or GOAT status. Before the comeback last night, there were talks of LeBron not being the superstar he’s be pinned to be. For LeBron James and the Miami Heat, it is championship or bust. Media and fans have pushed LeBron into a corner with unreasonable expectations. Would the season be a failure if the Heat lose on Thursday night? Absolutely not. Very similar to the heart, we love to compare LeBron to all-time greats like MJ and Kobe. With each player comes different circumstances. Comparing the legacies of different players who played in different eras on different teams with different teammates against different opponents with different officials. It is hard too hard to say “LeBron didn’t win the series and Jordan will have never let that happen.” He’s not Jordan. He’s LeBron.
With a win tomorrow, LeBron will propel himself into another category. He was able to will his team down 2-3 to win a Game 7. He will have won back-to-back titles and 3 of the last 4 MVPs. His run of titles and awards are historical. Even without a win, his individual accolades should be weighted and weighted heavily. With a loss, he’ll be destroyed and bashed for his entire career. How dare his team lose to the Spurs? We still hear about the Cavaliers‘ loss to the Spurs in the ’07 Finals and the Heat’s loss to the Mavericks in the ’11 Finals. It will never go away. Losing a third Final would be a huge blow to his career as we know it. We saw glimpses of it last night as Spurs fans and LeBron Haters came out in droves to declare the Spurs as champions and LeBron as a big loser.
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