The Los Angeles Lakers won their 17th NBA Championship in game six against the Miami Heat. While many will view this specific NBA championship with an asterisk next to it due to being in the bubble, many NBA players believe that this was one of the hardest championships to win in history. There were so many different storylines being written in these finals. However, none of them were bigger than the legacy of LeBron James.
LeBron now has four championship rings and four NBA Finals MVP trophies. He has also become the third player in NBA history to win three rings with three different teams: the Miami Heat, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Yes, LeBron is 4-6 in the NBA Finals. But this championship changes things. LeBron now has 1,500 more points in the playoffs than anyone else, the most career playoff wins, he’s second in playoff assists to Magic Johnson, etc. I could go on for days. But here’s a stat that sticks out: LeBron James is the only player in NBA history to be in the top 10 all time in career playoff points, assists, rebounds, and steals.
With this fourth championship ring, LeBron James’s case for being the greatest player of all time has strengthened. Haters said that “he won’t win in LA” and he has proved them wrong. He got the Lakers, an organization that has struggled since the retirement of late superstar Kobe Bryant, over the hump.
With 17 championships, The Lakers are now tied with the Boston Celtics. But with LeBron and Anthony Davis running the show in LA, will it soon be 18 for the Lakers?
Almost every NBA fan would be thrilled with a Celtics-Lakers championship matchup next year.
