LeBron James: How Will Adding a Ring Affect His Legacy?

LeBron James recently won his third NBA MVP award. With the award, he has the most MVP's among all active players. 

LeBron's trophy case is about as full as it can get right now, and he is only 27. The single most important thing he is missing is that elusive championship trophy. 

LeBron has been to the NBA Finals twice and come away empty-handed. LeBron and the Heat are trying to make it to the Finals for the second straight year. If they do, the Heat will have made the Finals in both years since the Heat banded the "Big Three" together.

If James finally gets his first championship this year, where will that put him on the list of all-time greats?

Most people criticize James for leaving Cleveland and going to a team with two other superstars. This might have a small part to play in regards to his legacy, but it shouldn't make or break how he won his ring. He couldn't get it done in Cleveland because he never had dynamic players surrounding him. Antawn Jamison was added to their roster, and he was supposed to be the player to help James win his title, but it didn't pan out according to plan. 

James joined the Heat because he felt like it would be his best option to win titles. So far, he has had the opportunity. He made it to the finals in his first year and is on pace to do it again this year. So he was right in his estimation that joining the Heat would better his chances.

But just by virtue of joining the "Big Three," does that affect his legacy? If James, Wade and Bosh were hypothetically going to win the championship for the next five years, where would they stand on the list of greats? Well, for starters, they would crack the top 15 all-time for most championships. They would be tied with Kobe and one short of Jordan. 

Now, there is no way that James will ever be No. 1 on the all-time list unless he goes on a historic winning streak, but let's say he plays until he is 40. If he wins four titles with the Heat and Wade and Bosh are still on the team, does an asterisk get put by his name because the talent level of the team was too great for anybody in the league to handle?

I don't think it should.

James is a great player with talent that you only see once or twice in a lifetime. It doesn't matter how good your team is around you; what matters is winning championships, and if he had to move to Miami to get that done, then so be it. James made the right decision, and this year will be the first of multiple titles added to his name.