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Last night the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in game six of the NBA finals to take home the championship for the 2010/2011 season.  It’s no secret that the 95% (yes I personally did the math) of people outside of Miami were rooting against Lebron James and the Heat.

After Lebron’s mishandling of “The Decision”, and Miami’s pre-season celebration, many people began to develop negative feelings towards Lebron James, and as a result, projected those feelings onto the newly assembled Miami Heat “super team”.

When it comes to disliking Lebron James, I don’t consider myself a hater. He’s 6’8″, can pass like an elite point guard, rebound like a power forward, play tenacious defense, and attack the basket in an incredibly explosive manner. I’ve always respected his game, and he is without a doubt one of the top 5 players I’ve ever seen play (At this point I’d say he’s at least #3, but definitely not #1). He’s never gotten into trouble with the law, and has made contributions to charities. Yes, like everyone else, I think Lebron mishandled “The Decision”, but I’ve always respected his right to choose where he wants to play.  Who is anyone to tell Lebron where he can and can’t play ball?  Especially if he is making that move with the interest of winning a championship, the ultimate goal in any sport.  Not to mention Cleavland’s complete lack of responsibility to go out and provide Lebron with a legitimate supporting cast.

While I may lack some of the negative emotions towards Lebron in those aspects, I do understand a lot of the negative attention. Personally, there are various things that turn me off to Lebron James. Referring to himself as “King James”, and “The Chosen One”, gives you a small insight to his arrogance. You can also get an insight to Lebron’s obnoxiousness (Is that a real word? We’ll pretend it is.) in various interviews, by referring to how talented he is, or deflecting blame from himself. That being said, “The King”, might have out-done himself in his post game interview last night.  When asked about his “haters” celebrating the Heat loss, Lebron’s answer seemed to carry an undertone that many of his haters have miserable, boring, less important lives than himself (However, his answer can interpreted different ways, and you can click HERE to check out the video for yourself).

While it’s clear Lebron personality has become a lightning rod, which everyone has an opinion on, let’s now strictly focus on his on the court performance.  He had a typically great Lebron year, averaging an incredibly well rounded 26.7, 7.5, and 7. His play, along with the rest of the Heat squad was good enough to earn the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference, and at times they looked utterly dominant, and were considered by many to be the favorite to win it all.  It was hard to argue against the Heat with the amount of talent they possessed, and the performance that talent created.  They continued to look strong in the first and second round of the playoffs, and Lebron was playing as great as ever.  But, then something funny happened, the Finals.

For those who watched games two through six, it gradually became more clear that Lebron was crumbling under pressure.  Something that you can’t do if you want people to mention you amongst the all time greats.  While I acknowledge that a major part of Lebron’s game is passing, he simply did not look to attack the basket, or create opportunities for his team to score.  His body language didn’t reflect someone determined to win, but rather someone who was being swallowed up in the moment. Fellow Super-star, Dwyane Wade, tried to take back control of the game, but was only rewarded with frustration, as Lebron continued to disappear, and the Mavericks continued to drain big shots, and make key defensive stops.

What does all this result in? A missed chance at his first NBA Championship. Damage to Lebron’s reputation as the undisputed best player in the game.  A ring sized hole in the argument that Lebron is a greater player than Kobe Bryant. Jordan comparisons? It’s safe to say no one will even have the guts to bring that up for a while.

In that now infamous post-game press conference Lebron chose to dismiss the impact of his critics, and focused on how those same people must return to their normal lives and problems.  As Lebron returns to his regular off season life, he won’t have to deal with many of the common problems that us non-multimillionaire, NBA Superstars struggle with. However, he will face a disappointment unique to himself: He just missed another opportunity to acquire something no NBA or Nike contract will enable him to buy, a championship ring.

Sources: Picture via nba.com