Lebron James the NBA's best?

Lebron James is one of the most gifted athletes to ever play in the NBA. He has the size to abuse opponents in the post, the speed to drive by opponents on the perimeter and the ability to knock down a shot from anywhere on the court. While there is not one team in the league that wouldn’t want James on their roster, is he the best player in the NBA? For me, the answer is no. The reason being, he has yet to win a championship.

While James took a lot of heat for leaving Cleveland for, well, the Heat, it was well deserved. Lebron James grew up in Akron, Ohio, he was their hometown hero and he had the chance to bring the city and the state their first professional sports championship in ages. He had already led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals in 2007 and had them at the cusp of doing the same last season. Sadly though, James has a history of falling short when it matters the most. It’s looking like the same will be true this season, unless Dwayne Wade can again carry his team to their second title under his command.

Falling short would be an understatement after watching James performance last night in Game 4 against Dallas. In 46 minutes of action in a tight ballgame, James finished with only 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting. In addition to that, he turned the ball over four times. Even more shocking is the fact that he went scoreless throughout the fourth quarter and only attempted one shot in those 12 minutes. You’ve got to question whether or not that performance is something you’d see Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant have in the same situation.

For those of you who didn’t pay much attention when the Spurs swept away the Cavaliers with ease during the 2007 NBA Finals, it won’t take long to see how poor James performed during that series as well. Through the four games, Lebron shot a measly 36% from the field, 69% from the free throw line and turned the ball over nearly six times per game. While he did lead the Cavaliers in scoring at 22 points per game, it was the other failures that stood out to observers.

Granted, there is still some distaste I have towards James for how he went about leaving Cleveland last season. Not only was it conceded on his part, but it was not how any superstar should handle free agency or any other type of professional matter. However, with that being said, the statistics and history are still right in front of our eyes. Lebron James never won a championship for his Cavaliers. While the Miami Heat are only two games away from winning their second championship in five seasons, this isn’t Lebron James team.

The man in charge of this team is Dwayne Wade and he’s performing in these Finals like he did in 2006. He has put the team on his back and has them all staring down a NBA title. Sadly, James is just another player along for the ride with Wade, and that’s why he isn’t, and never will be, the best in the NBA.

Photo Courtesy of Robyn Beck/AFP