LeBron’s Legacy: Ringless No More Part IV

A weight that LeBron James had been carrying ever since he entered the NBA in 2003 has finally been lifted off his shoulders, and possibly off the backs of Cleveland natives. After reaching the Finals for the third time in his career James can finally call himself a champion. In a 121-106 blowout of the Oklahoma City Thunder, James recorded his first triple-double of the season, scoring 26 points while dishing out 13 assists with 11 rebounds collected.

LeBron proved to the world that he could lead his team to a championship, and he did that while averaging 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the Finals series against the Thunder. He showed signs of strength all postseason long, something he had not been able to do in the past. He finished the playoffs averaging 30.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists and finished three points shy of 700 postseason points.

LeBron posted these historic numbers because he was focused. He knew what was at stake if he disappeared in this year’s playoffs and he  showed the will and determination necessary to be the dominant MVP that he was all season long. You can tell by his two-month long Twitter hiatus that the only thing he was focused on was winning his first NBA championship so he could make a case for himself as one of the all-time greats and to keep quiet the many fans who would always keep him down for not having a ring.

After his break from the social-networking world was broken by his team’s victory in Game 5, James took to the Internet to say how thankful he was for the support from his fans. He also tweeted a picture of himself holding up the Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award and the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and a message expressing his excitement for winning his long-awaited title:

"OMFG I think it just hit me, I’m a CHAMPION!! I AM a CHAMPION!!"

So after Dan Gilbert promised the city of Cleveland that the Cavaliers would win a championship before the “self-proclaimed king,” what’s next for the city that had it’s heart broken two years ago? How do you react to watching one of the best players in the NBA leave your team to go team up with two other superstars and win a championship that way? Although nothing can match the pain and anger felt of the night LeBron made his decision, Cleveland fans have to find a way to move on from the LeBron days. He’s with a different team, so there’s no reason to root against him unless he’s playing against our beloved Cavaliers.

If fans keep on following LeBron’s career in Miami hoping to see failures, they’re going to be very disappointed. He proved he has what it takes to lead his team to a championship, and he did it without succumbing to the pressure as he did last season in the Finals. The Heat are going to be dominant for the next few years, so it’s best if Cleveland sticks to watching what special things are happening with the Wine and Gold.

The Cavaliers will have the No. 4 pick in the draft this coming Thursday. It’s unknown if they will trade up to the No. 2 pick to pick Bradley Beal or if they will take their chances and stay put, possibly snagging Harrison Barnes or Michael Kidd-Gilchirst with the fourth pick.

LeBron James and the Miami Heat are everywhere right now, so it’s been hard for Cleveland fans to turn on the TV and watch SportsCenter. But the team had their parade today, so things should start to be getting back to normal. Football training camps will become more important, the Olympics will start to take off and the MLB season will soon reach it’s All-Star break.

It’s best that LeBron got the whole “winning a championship” thing out of the way. Now it’s Cleveland’s turn to see what they can build with the NBA draft this year