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There is an old saying about pressure it either bursts pipes or makes diamonds. For too long the former was way too familiar to Cleveland Cavaliers wingman LeBron James. Several postseason failures were fodder for the critics and basketball aficionados who routinely admonished James as a fraud who could never win the “big one.” But things have changed and it appears that for the first time in the Akron native’s 13 year career he does not have the proverbial boulder, of meeting unrealistic and unreasonable expectations, chained around his neck. “The King” has seemingly silenced the doubters and see his only competition in the form of himself. He has checked off several things on his career to-do list. Goals that if he hadn’t met them, would prove the naysayers correct in that the pressure of being “the chosen one” was too much to handle. A weight has been lifted and the pressure that seemed suffocating at times has subsided.
When did it start?
The pressure to be the “king” started on draft night in 2003 the minute LeBron James took that stage he became the savior of a city starved for a championship. It almost seemed from his first game he was expected to revolutionize the game of basketball all while making northern Ohio relevant again and in a hurry. With each sparkling regular season and early playoff exit the pressure became more and more intense. Whispers that maybe he wasn’t “the next big thing” started to surface and James was looked at as supremely talented but mentally weak. Meltdown after meltdown saw James become the target of pundits all across the country and shots were taken almost at will. It was almost as if some experts to joy in his failures as if to say, “I told you so.”
He eventually would move on from Cleveland in the summer of 2010 feeling he would never truly have enough help to bring a title to his hometown team. He would land in South Beach aligned with two of the best players in the league but once again a title evaded him. And in the worst way possible with him arguably yet again folding under the immense pressure. The James led Heat would louse the 2011 NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks in puzzling fashion. James would seemingly disapear in the closing moments of three straight games resulting in Miami surrendering a 2 to 1 series advantage. Once again the critics pounded and were relentless. Soon nicknames such as “The Frozen One” and “LeBrick” became common place and the pressure was as immense as it had ever been before.Then things changed….
The Pressure begins to subside
In 2012 Lebron James won the first of back to back titles and back to back finals MVP awards. Finally, he was a champion and could no longer be saddled with the title of “The guy who could never win the big one”. He had silenced the doubters with his dominant performances. But one task was still unchecked on his career bucket list that was to bring a title to the city of Cleveland and in the summer of 2014 he would get his chance. After a lopsided finals lost to the San Antonio Spurs the opportunity presented it self for James to return home and finish what he had started at the beginning of his career. James penned an emotional piece for the Player’s Tribune explaining his decision and packed his bags and head back to` “The Land”. Unfortunately for James while he had a formidable supporting cast, injuries would derail his first attempt of capturing a title for the home team. While they led the series 2 games to 1 heading in to game for at home the loss of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love were just too much to overcome. The Cavs would fall in 6 games to the Golden State Warriors, but rest assured the King would return with the ultimate goal still as attainable as ever.
Redemption and relief.
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The 2016 NBA Finals saw a rematch of the previous year and for the most part looked like it would have the same result as the Cavs fell in to a 3 to 1 series hole and faced elimination in Game 5 at the Oracle Arena. And at that moment the switch was flipped and that boulder that has been perched atop the shoulders of the 6’8″ 260lb freight train of a man started to slide. Back to back 41 point performances help to force a game 7 that saw James with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love triumphantly dethrone the Warriors and bring and ever elusive championship to Cleveland.
At the conclusion of the series James led all players in points, assist, rebounds, and blocks, something that has never been done in any NBA playoff series of any kind. Coming in to this season there is no longer any fuel for the detractors. No longer can people shout well “he’s never won an MVP”, he has 4, or “he can’t win a ring” he has 3 in 5 years and made 6 straight trips to the Finals. “Well he’ll never win one in Cleveland”, he’s done so and in the most dominant fashion possible. The pressure is off there is nothing left for James to do. He is free to begin his Journey to “chase the ghost of some guy in Chicago.” But he has made his mark on the basketball landscape and it can not be denied. The pressure that seemed excruciating throughout his career has now led to those diamonds that are expressed in the old saying. James no longer has to look at a checklist, there is noting else to accomplish except maybe forcing his name into the discussion of who truly is the greatest of all time. James is playing against shadows now, the metaphorical monkeys are off his back and the jumpman himself is the only thing in his sights. So get ready a LeBron without pressure is a dangerous LeBron and the league better take notice
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