{"id":2399,"date":"2016-06-20T14:48:24","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T18:48:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2399"},"modified":"2019-06-26T16:50:57","modified_gmt":"2019-06-26T20:50:57","slug":"cleveland-rocks-this-title-is-lebron-james-greatest-achievement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sullyonsports.com\/?p=2399","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Rocks: This Title Is LeBron James’ Greatest Achievement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"OAKLAND,
Photo Credit: Ezra Shaw\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ten days ago, the Cavaliers were dead. \u00a0Today, they’re NBA champions.<\/p>\n

How and why we got here has everything to do with the savior of Cleveland and one of the best players to ever play this game: LeBron James.<\/p>\n

In our country, we like to have debates about James’ greatness and whether or not he’s one of the best players of all-time. \u00a0We also question his ability to come up big in clutch situations; after all, he was just one game away from going to 2-5 in the Finals.<\/p>\n

But frankly, these discourses are ridiculous. \u00a0They have become outlets for\u00a0Twitter eggs<\/del> LeBron haters to vent their frustrations about the best player in the game’s supposed “flaws”. \u00a0These people come in all shapes and sizes, and, as last night showed, from many different walks of life:<\/p>\n

\n

Kyrie last 5 games: 30 in win, 34 as LeBron disappeared, 41 in win, 23 in win (tone-setting 20 in 1st half), 26 & game-winner in Game 7. MVP<\/p>\n

\u2014 Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here it comes: Witnesses will now make the case LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is absurd. \u00a0Anyone who makes a sincere argument about James’ legacy compared to Jordan’s clearly doesn’t understand just how much basketball has changed over the past 20 years. These people also don’t understand that the two men are completely different players who do completely different things on the court. \u00a0LeBron has always been aware of this, thankfully.<\/p>\n

I’m not MJ, I’m LJ<\/p>\n

\u2014 LeBron James (@KingJames) February 13, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He is LJ, one of the best individual talents the league has ever seen. \u00a0Nothing more, nothing less. \u00a0Let’s stop having preposterous debates about whether or not he’s better than Michael Jordan. \u00a0It really does not matter and I could not care less.<\/p>\n

What does matter, though, is what he just accomplished with these Cavaliers: winning an NBA championship, the first for the city of Cleveland since 1964.<\/p>\n

Moreover, it was the way they did it, coming back despite seemingly impossible odds to defeat the greatest regular season team in NBA history, that makes this so remarkable. \u00a0The Cavs demonstrated Cleveland resiliency with a flare for the dramatic, both during the playoffs and over the course of the regular season.<\/p>\n

Let me put it to you this way: in mid-January, did you think there was any way this Cavs team could beat the Warriors? \u00a0On January 25th and in the wake of the firing of former head coach David Blatt, I wrote this about Cleveland’s prospects of winning a championship:<\/p>\n

This is not a question about whether or not the Cavs can come out of the East. That question has been answered. However, Cleveland will have serious issues if they are matched up with the Spurs or Warriors in the Finals, and they may get beaten handily by either team.<\/p>\n

Which is a fact that neither David Blatt, David Griffin nor Tyronn Lue can do anything about.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Okay, needless to say, I was wrong. \u00a0But I wasn’t alone; the Warriors defeated the Cavaliers by 34 the week before, and James’ team lacked any semblance of chemistry or connectivity; many saw this as a red flag for Cleveland’s title hopes. \u00a0Blatt was out as the head coach by that Friday and GM David Griffin immediately hired Tyronn\u00a0Lue as the team’s permanent coach. Lue’s previous claim to fame was as the guy who got stepped over by Allen Iverson in Game 1 of the 2001 Finals.<\/p>\n