LeBron James has played in six NBA Finals and won just two championships. Does that mean he was only a part of two great teams? King James doesn’t think so.
On Tuesday, LeBron made an appearance on Bleacher Report’s “Uninterrupted” platform to tell viewers he “can’t control myself” while watching the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron’s overall message was that both teams were incredible, and only one could move on to play for a title.
“The lineups on the floor right now — there’s so many great players in this game it’s ridiculous. … I wish I played in the Western Conference right there and then, man,” James said. “This is top-of-the-line ballplaying.”
While LeBron was complimenting a great era of basketball, you have to wonder if his argument was a bit self-serving. He then got into how great teams don’t always win championships.
“If you don’t know the history of the game, man, you’ll forget how many great teams didn’t win championships,” LeBron added. “That doesn’t mean they weren’t great, though. It’s just unbelievable, man.”
No team was going to beat Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and the Lakers in 2000. That doesn’t mean that same Trail Blazers team couldn’t have won a championship now or some other year. Can the same be said of LeBron’s 2014-2015 Cleveland Cavaliers?
One thing we do know is that LeBron couldn’t have played any better in last year’s Finals. There’s a reason David Blatt has a new plan for his best player next season. But, at this point in his career, all that matters for James is winning titles. No one is going to remember any “great” teams he played on that fell short of a championship.
