2011 NBA Champions: Seven People That Need This Title Most.
Going into this NBA season, there was unprecedented hype over this year’s talent pool and over all the new and improved NBA teams following the most anticipated free agency in the history of the NBA. Going into the playoffs, the excitement reached an even higher level. People expected to be surprised but not this surprised.
Fans everywhere thought they were in for something special; even they were wrong.
These playoffs have been full of upsets and surprises like we haven’t seen in years. These playoffs have become the place where the next chapter for the NBA is going to be written. With just final four teams still standing, these are the top seven people that need to be named NBA Champions by season’s end.
LeBron James
1 of 7
LeBron has been seen as “The Chosen One” and referred to as “King James” ever since he was drafted first overall in the 2003 NBA draft. He went on to win ROY that season, joining Michael Jordan and the Big O Oscar Roberston as the only players to average a 20-5-5 during their rookie campaign.
LeBron so far has had a remarkable career, becoming last season the 10th player in NBA history to win back to back MVP awards. During this past summer and throughout this season, James received a great amount of “heat” for choosing to bolt the Cavs and “take his talents to South Beach."
Many looked at him as somewhat of a coward for choosing to join to other superstars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, instead of carrying the Cavs and the city of Cleveland to a much needed championship. Winning a championship in his very first year with this new roster would make the entire sports media world that focused on the flaws of this team all season look nothing more than ridiculous, while also proving to everyone that he did indeed make the right “Decision” in joining the Heat.
LeBron has been in the league for eight seasons and has done everything there is to do except win the Larry O’Brien. Now is the time for LeBron to start filling his fingers with championship rings, because if he doesn’t, the critics will only multiply, and his “Decision” over this past summer would be one he may regret. Plus, the Heat threw a party before they even stepped onto a court together. Teams usually wait till they actually win before they celebrate, but if they get the job done, they’ll look like geniuses.
Jason Kidd
2 of 7
When his career is all set and done Kidd will be placed at the same level with some of the all-time greats. He’ll be up there with Magic, Isiah and Cousy, and rightfully so. Kidd is a two time Olympic gold medalist, a 10-time NBA All-Star and has made several All NBA and All Defensive NBA teams.
In 2002, Kidd led a talent lacking New Jersey Nets all the way to the NBA Finals, only to be beaten by the powerhouse Lakers that went on to complete their three-peat. Kidd is a household name and is without a doubt a future Hall of Famer. Even with all of these great accomplishments, Kidd’s NBA resume is incomplete without being titled an NBA Champion at least once in his career.
Unlike the other players on this list, Kidd is at the twilight of his illustrious NBA career, and with a lockout looming next season, these playoffs may very much be Kidd’s last chance at winning it all. Kidd is as complete a point guard as this game has ever seen, always able to control a game with his passing, defense and ready to score when need be. Winning an NBA title this season would take his career to a higher plateau and would make this season fit to be his last.
Eric Spoelstra
3 of 7
It would be an understatement to say that coach Spo’ worked his way from the bottom up. Starting as nothing more than a video director for the Miami Heat in 1995, he became the man responsible for improving Wade’s shooting and release. 16 years after joining the Miami Heat organization, Spoelstra is the head coach of the most hated team in NBA history.
He was given the responsibility to deal with bringing three of the game’s biggest stars together to work and play under a team first dynamic, trying to make their skills complement rather than obstruct each other’s’. He had the pressure of knowing that Pat Riley could at any moment take over this master piece he created if he thought Spo’ wasn’t up to par.
If coach Spo is able to lead this Miami Heat team to a title during their first year together, he’ll be deserving of much more of the credit then he would receive being overshadowed by the superstars he has on the court and the mastermind the Heat have as team president.
Winning a title would push him closer to greater things like being one day discussed with the likes of Phil, Riley and Red. Not being able to win it all this year may be the end of a life long journey towards being the first Filipino-American head coach. This team is expected to win now, and if for any reason they were to fail, don’t be surprised to see someone else making the calls on the Miami Heat’s sideline.
Dirk Nowitzki
4 of 7
The single most decorated European player ever to step on the NBA hardwood, Dirk has experienced great success in his career with the Dallas Mavericks that began in 1998. Dirk went on to become a 10-time All-Star, a member of multiple All NBA teams and most notably is the first and only European player to win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award a feat he accomplished in 2007.
For the past decade, Dirk has been the single toughest mismatch for all players that tried to stop him. With unlimited range and a deadly one footed fade-away that is impossible to swat, Nowitzki’s offensive arsenal is one of the best this game has seen. This league has seen many great bigs have great careers but fall short from winning a title.
Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing and Charles Barkley are all-time greats that have failed to reach the highest of highs in the NBA. If Dirk were to add title of NBA Champion to his already impressive resume, he would be able to look down on all those great names when he decides to hang his kicks.
Tom Thibodeau
5 of 7
Coach Thibs first entered the coaching scene of the NBA in 1989 as an assistant on the T’wolves. Known to be a defensive mastermind, he was the architect of the championship defense that brought the Celtics a title in 2008. This season, Coach Thibodeau got his first chance at being an NBA head coach with the up and coming Chicago Bulls.
To say that this season so far was a success is an understatement. He led the Bulls to a league best record of 62-20 during the regular season, becoming just the third rookie head coach in NBA history to reach over 60 wins in his first season.
He is also one of just seven head coaches in history to win the award in their first year. Winning another NBA title this year during his first stint as head coach would make Coach Thibs’ rookie coaching season one of the most successful ones in history.
Derrick Rose
6 of 7
Coach Thibs is not the only Bull that has had an extraordinary season thus far. Derrick Rose is the leader of this young Chicago Bulls team and was able to lead this team to the best record in the NBA.
Rose shattered the Paul-Williams debate and proved to the world that he is the best NBA point guard in the NBA today. Coming into the season, Kevin Durant was regarded as the most probable MVP after having an outstanding summer with Team USA in Turkey; that didn’t happen.
Instead, Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP in NBA history. If Derrick Rose was to somehow lead his Bulls to a comeback victory over Miami’s Heatles and go on to win an NBA title, he would without a doubt prove that he is the best this league has to offer, and he would also make every free agent that passed on joining him this offseason look back on that decision with regret.
Kevin Durant
7 of 7
The Duranchula is the best scorer the NBA has to offer and has been for the past two seasons. He may have faltered this season, as most people selected him to be the MVP favorite, but Durant has made great strides in his game and has continued to improve.
This season, Durant was a starter for the Western Conference All Star team and defended his scoring championship while also being selected to the All-NBA First Team. Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder have improved much faster than any NBA fan or analyst could have seen coming.
Winning a title this year would make a bold statement that the future of the NBA is theirs for the conquering, while also proving that Durant is a superstar player that could indeed lead an NBA franchise to the biggest prize of them all. While people in Oklahoma would be overwhelmed with joy, this would leave people in Seattle thinking what could’ve been.
