Does Lebron Get Too Much Hate?

Lebron James is by far the must scrutinized athlete in the world, and the most criticized NBA player of all time, but sometimes, does he get too much hate?

The Finals

Lebron James is 3-6 in the NBA Finals, a pretty bad record considering he is in the conversation to the be the greatest of all time, along with Michael Jordan, who is 6-0 in the Finals. Well, some of these Finals losses aren’t even Lebron’s fault.

2007: Lebron James had finally made a Finals appearance with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He had absolutely no help, and this series was heavily over matched as the Spurs won 4-0. Lebron averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists. Only 2 other players on the Cavs averaged more than 10 points, and those people were Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson. So, no matter how well Lebron could have played, there was nothing that he could have done to win this series with the limited help that he did.

2011: It was the 1st time Lebron James had made it to the Finals with his new team the Miami Heat. Teaming up with D-Wade and Chris Bosh, Miami became the instant favorites to the win the title in their first year, but it’s not that easy. The Heat won Game 1 in Miami 92-84 at home behind 24 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists from Lebron James. The Heat would lose Game 2 at home 95-93 after giving up a huge lead in the 4th quarter. Wade had 36, but Lebron only had 20 points and 8 rebounds. With the series shifting back to Dallas, the Heat took Game 3 88-86 behind 29 from Wade, but only 17 points and 9 rebounds from Lebron James. In Game 4, the Mavericks won 86-83, tying the series 2-2. James only had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. The so called “G.O.A.T” had 8 points in an NBA Finals Game. Dallas won Game 5 at home as well 112-103. James had a triple-double with 17-10-10, but it was too little to late. Dallas would win Game 6 on the road 105-95, with James scoring just 21 points. Lebron James did not show up for this Finals series, was much too passive, and got outplayed by Jason Terry.

2012: Fresh off the loss in 2011 and the criticism that James could not win a NBA title, the Heat powered through the playoffs and met the young Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Playoffs. Though the Thunder won Game 1, the Heat won the next 4 and won the series in 5 games. James averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists and was named Finals MVP. This was the James we expected to see in 2011, but we did not. This was James’s first title with Miami, and his first one overall.

2013: This Finals was one to remember, Miami Heat vs San Antonio Spurs. The Heat were down 3-2 in the series and trailed in the 4th quarter of Game 6. This could have been the final quarter of the season, but it wasn’t. Now, here is where things get missed/misspoken. People say that Ray Allen, who hit the game-tying shot to send the game to overtime, saved Lebron’s career, is not true. How do you think the Heat were even in the position for this to happen? Lebron James. With a flurry of points in the 4th, he put the team on his back, and helped them force the game to overtime. Ray Allen’s shot was the cherry on top, he helped the Heat, not saved them. James had a monster Game 6, with 32 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. In Game 7, Lebron controlled the game, hitting 5 3’s, and scoring 37 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. He helped the Heat win 95-88, winning back-to-back titles. James was once again crowned Finals MVP with averages of 25.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.3 steals per game. This might be one of the more impressive Finals series Lebron James has won.

2014: It was rematch time as the Miami Heat once again squared off with the San Antonio Spurs. But this time, things were different. Kawhi Leonard, who guarded Lebron for most of both finals, had matured and had become better on both sides off the ball. He was the x-factor, and the main reason why the Spurs won so easily. The Spurs won 4-1 in a pretty easy series. James averaged 28.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals. He was great, but the rest of his team was not, with just Wade and Bosh averaged double-figures. This was the first signs of decline in both Wade and Bosh, who’s body’s were not like Lebron’s who has still never really deteriorated to this day. This will not go against Lebron mainly because he had no help like in 2007. After this season, Lebron moved back to Cleveland.

2015: In his 1st season with new teammates Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, the Cavs were favorites to win the title again that season. But, they lost Kevin Love in the 1st round due to a shoulder injury, and he was out for the rest of the playoffs. While this was a major blow, the Cavs still had Lebron and Kyrie and managed to go to the NBA Finals. But, the Warriors had emerged as new contenders with new coach Steve Kerr, along with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Cavs were already banged up, but they still had a shot in the series. Game 1 was closely contested, but nearing the end of regulation, Kyrie Irving fell and hurt his knee. He ended up fracturing his knee cap, taking him out of the series as well. So Lebron was on his own again, but still managed to put up a fight, pushing the series to 6 games, but losing 4-2. James averaged 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds and 8.8 assists. Dominant. The Cavs were already underdogs without Love, but after losing Kyrie, it was all but over for the Cavs. It is still impressive how the Cavaliers still almost won that series, being up 2-1 at one point. James had his best Finals yet, but he was over-matched.

2016: The Warriors had become a powerhouse, becoming the greatest team in NBA history, winning 73 out of 82 games. They had the 1st ever unanimous MVP in Curry, and were the heavy favorites. After coming back from 3-1 against the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, the Warriors were poised for the repeat. Even though the Cavs were fully healthy with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, they were heavy underdogs. After losing both games on the road in blowouts, it looked like the Cavs would fall against the best team the sport had ever seen. Things looked promising as they won Game 3, making the series 2-1, but lost at home in Game 4. Going back to Oracle Arena for Game 5, it was do or die for the Cavs. Lebron James and Kyrie Irving had perhaps the greatest game in Finals history, both of them scoring 41 points as the Cavs won 112-97. This was the most important game as the Cavs had the momentum going back to Cleveland for Game 6. The Cavs dominated once again in Game 6 behind 41 points from Lebron once again. Now, it was Game 7, and the Cavs were looking to become the first team in NBA History to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals. Game 7 was close throughout, without either team pulling away. With about a minute left, Kyrie Irving hit the dagger 3 to put the Cavs up 92-89. This would eventually win the game as the Warriors were unable to score, and the Cavs would win 93-89. They had become the first team ever to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals and they broke the drought of 52 years without a major sports title in Cleveland. James was named Finals MVP, with averaged of 29.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists. Amazing. This will probably go down as Lebron’s greatest achievement of all time.

I will not include the 2017 and 2018 Finals because, well, Lebron had no chance it was again not his fault. So, even though Lebron is 3-6 in the NBA Finals, only once did he not perform, and that was in 2011. Other than that, Lebron was put in terrible situations with injuries or the other team just being flat out better, that is why Lebron’s Finals record is the way that it is.

Especially in 2018, when Lebron James had the equivalent of the 2007 Cavs, where he carried them to the Finals where they were bested by the far superior Western Conference team. In the 2018 post-season, James averaged 34.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 9.0 assists. Goat. The only other time Lebron has scored more than this was in the 2008-09 season with the Cavs, when, yet again, he had no help and was forced to carry the team. This postseason was all the more impressive because James was getting older and was in his 15th season. Everybody is focused on Lebron’s Finals record, even though only 1 time he could have realistically played better, or won the ring. Other than that, it’s not always Lebron’s fault. Sometimes James is just better than the East, but not the West.

Changes

After leaving the Cavs after the 09-10 season, Lebron was the new “villain” in the NBA. Hold up. Lebron is a bad guy because he wants to win. That’s ridiculous. That Cavs team had nobody up until he left, and then Cavs owner Dan Gilbert made that nasty letter saying that Lebron would never win. Gilbert, you are one of the worst owners of all time. You gave Lebron no help in the time that he was there, and I’m surprised how much he accomplished with that Cavs team. After he left for Miami, people gave him all the hate in the world. Why though? He just wants to not waste his talent on a trash team, and he wants to be remembered like Michael Jordan, one of the greatest players of all time, not like Karl Malone, a great player who could not win a ring. Then, after winning 2 rings in Miami, 1 more in Cleveland, Lebron had his best postseason yet, but they were swept by the Warriors because of a lack of talent. Then, Lebron realized it was just like the old times, help would not come. So he left for the Lakers. Now this move was not criticized as much as the Miami move because he had won a ring with Cleveland, so the fans were ok with it. But the rest of the basketball world was ok with it, but in essence, it was the same as the Miami move. Lebron wanted to win in a different scenario, and he did what felt necessary. Exactly the same thing, but people did completely different things.

So and So Saved Lebron’s Career

Lebron has been criticized twice in his career for being “saved”. Once in 2013 with Ray Allen, and again in 2016 with Kyrie. As I elaborated earlier, Ray Allen was the cherry on top, the one that helped the Heat win. But without Lebron’s 4th quarter, none of this would have happened.

In 2016, people say that Kyrie Irving won the series. The Cavs should have lost in 5 games. But, Lebron and Kyrie scored 41 and helped them win. It was never just Lebron, Kyrie was a great piece in that ring, and deserves the credit. But Kyrie did not do everything on his own. James had 41 again in Game 6 and helped the Cavs win. The game was close and Lebron was playing well. Lebron had gotten the Cavs to this point, and once again, Kyrie’s shot was the cherry on top. He was the guy who pushed them over the top, but again, the Cavs should have lost in 5 games. But, because they had Lebron, they were in a close game in Game 7, on the road, against the greatest team ever, in Oracle Arena, that they even stood a chance. So, Kyrie Irving and Ray Allen helped Lebron win a title, but none of those shots would have even mattered if it wasn’t for Lebron James.

Kyrie and Ray Allen were doing their jobs, they were being teammates, the whole point of basketball. It’s not all about the star, you need other guys. In the 2010 NBA Finals, Ron Artest saved Kobe and the Lakers with his 3 in Game 7, winning Kobe his 5th ring. Ron Artest was just being a good teammate. In 1988, Magic Johnson played a great game in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the bad boy Pistons, but James Worthy had a 36 point triple-double. James Worthy was doing his job. He was being a good teammate. Ray Allen and Kyrie Irving were just great teammates that Lebron was fortunate enough to have, and they helped him win championships.

So, Lebron James has some obvious stains on his career, but not all of the blemishes on his career are correct, or his fault. So, that is why Lebron get’s too much hate.

I hope you have enjoyed this post, please leave a comment on any other criticisms of Lebron James, and leave a comment, who is the GOAT, Lebron or Michael.