2011 NBA Finals: LeBron James, Miami Heat Have Only Themselves to Blame

LeBron James isn't shy about admitting his desire to become a global icon.

This is someone who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated during his junior year in high school. This is someone who has "Chosen 1" tattooed across his back. This is someone who openly predicted that he'd be a worldwide superstar by the time the 2008 Olympics rolled around.

But, these NBA Finals taught us that the global icon status also comes with an unparalleled amount of media coverage—coverage that may have contributed to the undoing of James against the Dallas Mavericks in this year's NBA Finals.

FOX Sports' Jason Whitlock and ESPN's Bill Simmons both recently speculated that the 24/7 nature of today's sports media contributed to James' sub-par performance. And they're certainly not the only two tossing that theory around the office water cooler this week.

Whitlock asked how any purported global icon could survive today's never-ending onslaught of media, pointing out that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson didn't have bloggers, Twitter or Facebook to worry about. It's a valid question, and one that deserves immense consideration the next time we get ready to hype a high school player as the next M.J.

How can anyone expect James to have remained modest, given the circumstances he grew up in during the last decade?

Imagine having someone tell you that you're the greatest thing since sliced bread for the past 10 years. Now, tell me that you're not a total conceited jerk because of it. Oh, right. You can't.

That's all well and good. Athletes don't have to be role models, as much as we may project them to be. Isn't that right, Charles Barkley?

Here's where James' hype machine becomes problematic: When you've got enablers surrounding you in all directions, sooner or later, you're going to start believing your press clippings. You're going to be motivated to say things like, "I spoil people with my play." (And this much is true: There's nothing in the NBA quite like James driving to the rim with a full head of steam.)

But what happens if the script gets flipped, and you've been spoiling yourself with your play? What happens when you've been so content to rest on your laurels of being the most dynamic fast break player in the league, that you're not concerned with developing a reliable low-post game, or a consistent mid-range jumper? The 2011 NBA Finals happens.

If we learned anything from this series, Chris Bosh revealed it in his Game 6 post-game press conference: The Mavs wanted the title more than the Heat this year. And for a team that threw itself a pre-championship celebration in July after pulling off the greatest free agent coup in NBA history, that's quite simply unacceptable. That starts with the two-time league MVP.

It's tough to dispute that James appeared to "shrink" away from the most important moments in the NBA Finals, as CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel accused him of doing after Game 3. Stats don't lie: Having your fourth-quarter playoff average drop by four points in the Finals isn't a way to prove Scottie Pippen's recent theories correct.

But for those writing James' career epitaphs already—wondering if he'll ever come up in the clutch, saying he's never going to become one of the NBA's greatest players—just remember the cautionary tales of the 1980s NBA stars.

Magic Johnson earned the nickname "Tragic Johnson" after making several critical mistakes in the 1984 NBA Finals, and he had already won an NBA championship by that point. As ESPN's Michael Wilbon reminds us, before winning his first title, Jordan was deemed "too impatient, too demanding" to ever win a ring.

Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomson noted two years ago that Hakeem Olajuwon played second fiddle to M.J., Bird and Magic before winning his two rings in the '90s.

Point being: Barring any major surprises with the new collective bargaining agreement (i.e., a hard cap that forces the dissolution of Miami's Big Three), we're all pretty aware that the Heat is eventually going to win a title with this core. It's a flawed team, undoubtedly, that needs a younger, more athletic bench, a true post presence on offense, and to rid themselves of Mike Bibby's expired corpse immediately.

So, let's relax with the "LeBron won't be one of the greatest ever" talk for now, seeing as one majestic playoff run and one ring suddenly transformed Dirk Nowitzki into a Top 20 all-time player. CBSSports.com's Ray Ratto has it right—we have plenty of time to revisit James' legacy in 15 years, once he's called it a career.

Instead, it's worth focusing on what James and Co. must do to transform themselves into a truly championship-worthy team.

And it all starts with humility.

Why has Joe NBA Fan fallen for Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant, beyond their obvious talent on the court? Because both superstars have become A-list NBA players while retaining their humility.

Durant announces his contract extension last summer on Twitter, James hosts "The Decision." Rose refuses to discuss an MVP race which he led for a good chunk of the season, James openly discusses how he punted the MVP race away by taking his talents to South Beach.

One glance at the now-infamous Cough-Gate video tells you everything you needed to know about James' and Wade's mindset heading into Game 5 of the Finals. As ESPN's David Thorpe says, "The right idea was to really, profoundly respect Dallas. Not doing that is a classic character flaw that goes back to not really seeing reality. This showed, ultimately, from a player who has a chance to be top-10 all time, a major underperformance."

Until James, Wade and the Heat lock up 16 playoff wins in a season, they can't ever afford to underestimate an opponent. They're immensely talented, sure, but these Finals proved that even superstars have off games—something the Heat isn't yet designed to survive.

In reality, if James hopes to maximize his talents and truly ascend the ranks of the NBA greats, he  needs to listen to the stinging criticism that Steve Kerr, another teammate of Jordan and Pippen, dished out yesterday.

"Phil Jackson used to call Scottie a 'sometimes shooter.' Sometimes they would go in, sometimes they wouldn't. That's how it is with LeBron. He's a great talent and a great player, but you can see his flaws as a basketball player.

"He doesn't have an offensive game that he can rely on: no low-post game, no mid-range jump shot so when the game really gets tough, he has a hard time finding easy baskets and getting himself going. That's what Michael did in his sleep, so that's why the comparison is wrong.

"As a result, fundamentally and technically, LeBron has some flaws. He has to address those. If I were him, I would spend all summer down on the low block, shooting jump hooks and turnaround jump shots—the entire summer."

This summer, James, Wade and Bosh are left to wallow in the knowledge that their best effort—at least, what should have been their best effort (all jokes about James' fourth quarter performances aside)—still came up short in their ultimate quest for a ring. How they respond to this challenge, the largest they've faced in their 11-month stint as teammates, will come to define this era of the Miami Heat.

In his Game 6 recap, Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix wrote, "To grow, James, Wade and Bosh must shelve dreams of a Hollywood persona and worldwide fame and commit themselves to the team." Truer words will likely never be written about the future success of the Miami Heat.

If James, Wade and Bosh focus on their weaknesses—both as players and as teammates—and devote themselves to developing a true cohesive offensive identity, the Miami Heat could very well become the unstoppable basketball dynasty many predicted it to be last July.

Until then, as ESPN's Simmons says, James is running the risk of becoming the biggest waste of talent in NBA history. Tracy McGrady and Stephon Marbury would be footnotes in the tragic tale of LeBron James.

The real question is: Will this loss humble James enough for him to embrace his own weaknesses as a man, a leader and a basketball player? Or will his cocoon of enablers allow him to continue careening down the route of a would-be mega-star who didn't maximize his God-given talents?

How James answers the call this summer will define for NBA for years to come. And God help the rest of us if James does decide to finally develop a post game.