NBA Finals 2012: Debunking Every Myth About LeBron James
LeBron James may be the man, the myth and the legend, but some of those myths are just plain wrong. It's only natural that the most heavily scrutinized athlete in all of basketball—and maybe in all of basketball history—is going to be overwhelmed by a bunch of false ideas set forth by those trying to bring him down or boost him up a little too much.
In every myth there's a kernel of truth. It's just that the kernel is taken to a ridiculous extreme.
Let's debunk some myths and remember the words of Bunk Moreland, from HBO's The Wire: "The bigger the lie, the more they believe."
Myth No. 1: LeBron Isn't Clutch
We've all seen the highlights on SportsCenter. A game is coming down to the wire and the ball is in LeBron's hands, but instead of hoisting up the final shot at the buzzer, he instead chooses to pass it away to one of his teammates.
Then there's the 2011 NBA Finals, in which the greatest player in the world shrunk from the moment and put together a lackluster series of games that allowed Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks to take home their first title in franchise history. Now, of course, that's the measuring stick for LeBron's career and a seemingly inescapable part of his legacy.
What we don't remember is the big shots that he's made, the game-winners he's hit, the right decisions he's made when the seconds are ticking down. We forget about the 48 Special, when he scored 29 of his team's last 30 points in the playoffs against the Detroit Pistons. We fail to talk about his legendary performances in each of the last two Eastern Conference finals.
As so often happens in our sensationalistic culture, the negatives are overemphasized.
Myth No. 2: LeBron Should Have Stayed in Cleveland
I'm sorry for all the bitter Cleveland Cavaliers fans out there, but LeBron James did make the right decision to spurn his hometown team and leave for greener pastures.
The Decision could have been handled in a much better way. There's no denying that. However, the decision was the correct one.
Regardless of how you feel about it—maybe he would have been better off with the Chicago Bulls or New York Knicks, but we'll never know—LeBron wasn't getting the help necessary in Cleveland.
Just take a look at the first- and second-highest player efficiency ratings during James' time with the Cavs, counting only players who averaged more than 20 minutes per game to eliminate non-rotation members:
| No. 1 PER | No. 2 PER | |
| 2009-2010 | 31.1 (LeBron James) | 17.9 (Shaquille O'Neal) |
| 2008-2009 | 31.7 (LeBron James) | 18.0 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) |
| 2007-2008 | 29.1 (LeBron James) | 18.7 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) |
| 2006-2007 | 24.5 (LeBron James) | 18.0 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) |
| 2005-2006 | 28.1 (LeBron James) | 21.9 (Zydrunas Ilgauskas) |
| 2004-2005 | 25.7 (LeBron James) | 19.7 (Drew Gooden) |
| 2003-2004 | 20.8 (Carlos Boozer) | 20.2 (Zydrunas Ilguaskas) |
Regardless of how you feel about the decision from a personal standpoint, it's pretty clear that LeBron wasn't receiving much help while attempting to carry the Cavs to a championship. He was still great enough that he nearly did.
Myth No. 3: LeBron is a Top-10 Player of All Time
I had to mix in one myth that is too extreme on the opposite end of the spectrum to go along with all of the false, anti-LeBron sentiments.
It's amazing to me that some people already argue for LeBron's inclusion among the top-10 basketball players of all time. Hell, it's still controversial enough to try to argue that both Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan belong within that tier of all-time rankings.
Throughout the years, I've maintained that I don't know enough to actually rank the top players of all time. I'm well-schooled in my basketball history, but the game has such an ebb and flow to it that I still feel well short in my ability to conclusively order the top 10, 20 or however many you want in the rankings.
However, I recognize that while LeBron may one day have enough on his resume to justify inclusion in the top 10, that day is not upon us yet.
Myth No. 4: LeBron Has Received Extra Help from the Referees This Postseason
The complaining about referees has been a bit too pervasive for my liking this postseason, especially from bitter fans who just saw their team's hopes for a championship go up in flames (or up in Heat?).
No player, to the surprise of absolutely no one, has been accused of getting the benefit of the doubt from the zebras more than James.
Yes, he does receive a little bit of superstar treatment, a concept that stems from the refs hesitance to insert themselves into the game by calling the best, most popular players for questionable fouls. However, note the title of this myth one more time.
"LeBron Has Received Extra Help from the Referees This Postseason."
The reason I'm singling out this myth is that he's received no more help during the 2012 NBA playoffs than he has throughout the rest of his career. Despite his physical style of play, LeBron has been able to minimize foul trouble ever since he entered the league straight out of high school.
He's averaging 1.9 fouls per game during his career, a number that has ebbed and flowed throughout the years, but generally stayed fairly consistent. This regular season saw James whistled for a foul 1.5 times per game.
During his postseason career, LeBron has averaged 2.4 fouls per game, and that number is down to 2.1 per game during this particular set of playoffs.
If anything, the refs have singled out James more than normal now that the playoffs are happening.
Myth No. 5: LeBron Can't Win a Title
Well, let's wait until after the 2012 NBA Finals for this one.
