In Miami it was billed as the Big 3, but as soon as LeBron James arrived new teammate Dwyane Wade was quick to say the Heat was now LeBron’s team. Many fans who’d watched Wade win a championship without James were surprised. But Wade knew basketball way better than anybody else. The Heat was LeBron’s team whether he wanted it to be or not. LeBron James is the lion at the zoo, the shark at the aquarium, Babe Ruth at the ballpark. Last night James became the first player to reach five consecutive NBA Finals since a bunch of dominant Celtics did it back in 1966. (Michael Jordan took that baseball time!)
If James wins this one, he will have won more than half those five attempts. He didn’t do it without help. The NBA is too competitive for one player to waltz a team to the Finals all by himself, or at least it’s supposed to be. But in the Cavs 4-0 sweep of the Atlanta Hawks James averaged a triple double (including 32.7 points) in the first three games. He got a little rest in Game 4, as the Cavs blew out the Hawks, 118-88. Like Wade, the Cavaliers Kyrie Irving is a brilliant basketball player who can only ever be second best on his team. Irving may now win a championship, though. Being a teammate of James is a very good job, if championship contending is what you hope to do.
