LeBron James; A Promise Achieved
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LeBron James; A Promise Achieved

The King's Quest For His Ultimate Goal

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LeBron James; A Promise Achieved
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The Chosen One.

He finally did it. After 52 years without a title for the city, and 13 NBA seasons chasing that elusive ring for Cleveland – Lebron James finally fulfilled his promise.

"Ohio high school junior LeBron James is so good that he's already being mentioned as the heir to Air Jordan" (Wahl, 2002).

If you do not recall the writer, Grant Wahl, who penned the Sports Illustrated piece depicting LeBron for the first time on a main stage. You may at very least remember the article and of course the magazine cover, which dubbed James, "The Chosen One." At the time, the junior playing at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio was so wildly publicized, heralded, and undoubtedly talented, that he was being called, "the next Michael Jordan" at the age of SEVENTEEN. There was even talk of him potentially breaking the rules and declaring for the draft before his high school career came to a close. This kid was a phenomenon, and even the now – Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge was quoted saying, "There are only four or five players in the NBA that I wouldn't trade to get LeBron right now." Let that sink in... that's only 4 or 5 professional basketball players Ainge wouldn't have traded for a high school kid.


Before everyone gets ahead of themselves and starts asking the weighted question that trails LeBron second to his shadow, looming larger with every feat he accomplishes, trying to see if he is truly the Air's heir; we need to marvel at the greatness we have witnessed here recently.

But let's start from the beginning.

At eighteen years old, LeBron James was selected first overall in the 2003 NBA Draft, and was granted the opportunity to play for his home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In his first season, the Cavs were sub-par, only winning 35 games; despite realizing that they already had their franchise player in the nineteen year old rookie of the year award winner. Each season the Cavaliers improved behind their rising young talent and would eventually make it into the playoffs in 2005-2006; where they had won 50 games – 33 more than they did in the 2002 season (which was their last season prior to "The King" arriving).

The supporting cast in James's first stint with Cleveland was weak. But despite being alongside other Cavalier starters by the names of Larry Hughes and Daniel Gibson, the twenty-two year old led the Cavs to the NBA Finals in 2007, drawing themselves a series with the San Antonio Spurs. With Spurs top players being in their primes, Lebron was ousted in 4 straight games. He was plagued by losing it seemed; the Boston Celtics proved to be LeBron's kryptonite, practically bullying King James around. They continued breaking the hearts of Cleveland fans once again the following year, and arousing everyone's thoughts on if LeBron could win a ring.

Soon came the summer of 2010, and LeBron was set to be a free agent. Naturally, ESPN, amidst the entire general public, completely lost their minds as he announced his off season plans, appropriately labeled, "The Decision." James would take his talents to South Beach and join forces with the likes of Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, alluding to "not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7..."

James's time with the Heat did not start easy that first year. however, as the Dallas Mavericks proved that they were still a force in the Western Conference, taking care of Miami in 6 games in the Finals. But LeBron finally got to the point in his career the next time around he had been dreaming of his entire life, winning an NBA championship. A huge weight had been lifted, and he was hungry for more. A second title the following year would be the third of four straight trips to the Finals for LeBron as a member of the Miami Heat. But, the loss to the never-aging Spurs that fourth year left James with another choice that summer.

Thus we have it: The Decision 2.0; LeBron James returned to the Cavaliers in an attempt to complete what he set out to do on draft night, to bring the city of Cleveland a championship.

After a first year Finals loss to the elite Golden State Warriors, lead by league MVP Steph Curry, fast forward to this year. The Golden State Warriors lead 3-1 in the NBA Finals, and it's looking bleak for King James... So what does "The King" do? Besides reasserting himself on his own throne and silencing the critics, he scored 41 points in back-to-back games, and caps off the first ever 3-1 deficit comeback with a triple-double, a monumental block, and a Finals MVP award. But you already knew all this. You watched it happen. LeBron James has finally brought Cleveland a championship after all these years.

It doesn't matter where you stand on the LeBron James scale in terms of liking him or not, this is something you have to respect and tip your hat to. It's been roughly 15 years we've watched James play. We've watched our phones blow up with notifications about free agency, and have been thrilled by his outstanding performances on the court. It's been a ride, and it's not over yet. As afore mentioned, one day we can actually ask that heavy question, "Is LeBron James the greatest of all time?" But we have plenty of time left in James's career to get to that.

He's in the top 3 greatest players of all time without debate however, and we have gotten to watch in amazement at each step of the way. The adversity and challenges he has had to face and overcome to bring Cleveland a title are almost innumerable. But the memories that LeBron has created for all of us are remarkable and unforgettable. This journey that he has brought us on, starting as a high school legend, to hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy above his head for the city of Cleveland, has been nothing short of historic.

As of June 19th, 2016, we are all witnesses.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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