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Best In Show Winner Declared
Not since Michael Jordan in Chicago has any team won an NBA title relying so heavily on one individual player.That might be the next trick for LeBron James.
By winning the Most Valuable Player Award on Thursday, James cemented his status as the best basketball player in the world today. If he wants to reach the real rarified air where the best in history reside, there are other things he must accomplish now.
Like winning championships. Like averaging a triple-double through an entire season, something no one has done since Oscar Robertson did it 47 years ago.
Throughout the last 12 years, the key to winning championships has been some kind of team balance, either a 1-2 punch like Shaq and Kobe had with the Lakers, or a real spread-the-wealth system like Detroit and Boston did.
James finished the season averaging 28.4 points, almost 11 points more than anyone else on the Cleveland roster, a scoring gap that no NBA champion has had since Jordan and the Bulls in the 1995-96 season.
And Jordan at least had Scottie Pippen, an All-Star in his own right. James has only Mo Williams as his second fiddle. And Mo Williams is no Scottie Pippen, leaving James lonelier than Jordan ever was.The Cavs may have won a league best 66 games, but winning a championship is far from a given. In fact, it's probably not going to happen this year. There still are too many things that can go wrong without help.
Assuming Atlanta is no more than a nuisance, the Cavs still must face either Boston with a one-two punch of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, or more likely Orlando, which has a Big Three of Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu. The Magic held a 2-1 advantage in the regular season.
Then in the Finals, there is either Kobe and Gasol with the Lakers, or the Denver Nuggets with Chauncey Billups and Carmelo Anthony. Notice that every other team out there has co-stars.
There is a reason winning with one star – however big -- is so difficult. If James can do with this Cavs team, he deserves his rightful place among the greatest.
Then we can start talking about averaging that Triple-Double, when he can challenge Oscar Robertson for the title of the Greatest Basketball Player of All Time.
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