A Ring for the King

It may have come a year later than he wanted, but LeBron James finally accomplished what he came to Miami to do, winning his first NBA Championship last night in Miami, as the Heat get their second championship in franchise history, trouncing the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-106 to win the series in five games.

James, who was named Finals MVP after the game, was simply unstoppable again, tallying a triple double with 26 points, 13 assists, and 11 rebounds. Publicly vilified after his "Decision" TV announcement and the butt of "no-ring king" jokes after last year's no-show during crunch-time against the Mavericks, this championship can finally shut up all the haters, as he earns his long-sought after ring. 

"You know, my dream has become a reality now, and it's the best feeling I ever had," James said. "It was the hardest thing I've ever done as a basketball player. You just put a lot of hard work into it and you hope that one day it will pay off for you."


But as great as James, Dwayne Wade (averaged 22.6 ppg in series), and Chris Bosh (14.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg) were in this series, they would not have done it without the Heat's supporting cast. Guard Mike Miller was sensational last night, hitting seven three-pointers when James drew double teams. Former Rocket Shane Battier added 11, including outstanding defense on Durant all series long. Mario Chalmers came up big with 25 in Miami's Game 4 win. The role players which couldn't contribute last year made a big impact this year.


For Oklahoma City, a great run to the championship round (which included knockouts of teams which had won the West the last 13 years in San Antonio, Dallas, and the Lakers) ends in bitter disappointment. The Thunder simply cracked under the pressure of the Finals, losing heart-breakers in Games 2-4 and never had a chance in Game 5. The role players which were so good in beating the Spurs (James Harden, Serge Ibaka,  Thabo Sefolosha) didn't show up in the Finals, and ultimately, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant (combined to average 58 ppg in the series) couldn't carry them all the way.

"It hurts, man," Durant said. "We're all brothers on this team, and it just hurts to go out like this. We made it to the Finals, which was cool for us, but we didn't want to just make it there. Unfortunately we lost, so it's tough."