Humbly I admit, LeBron is the best basketball player in the world.

By: Joe Manganiello

STAFF WRITER

LeBron James’ ninth and most highly scrutinized season appeared to be ending early.

The Heat were behind two games to one against the Pacers entering Sunday, continuing to play without the third leg of their oft-talked about trio, Chris Bosh, who is out indefinitely. Without Bosh this series, the Heat’s supporting cast has struggled, failing to yield a scorer with more than five points in their game two loss, while Dwyane Wade scored just five points in their game three loss.

The Heat knew that Sunday was a must win to keep their championship hopes alive, yet found themselves down 9-0 in the first four minutes of game four. During that stretch, the Heat missed their first four shots from the field, getting blocked on three of the attempts, while James’ had already missed a pair of shots and thrown a ball out of bounds.

The Pacers lead could have been even larger. Hibbert was called for an offensive goaltending penalty that would have given the Pacers a 9-0 lead after two minutes of action. Additionally, Paul George and George Hill missed three consecutive wide open three-pointers that could have blown the game wide open and sent the Indiana fan base into a frenzy.

But just as quick as he rises up the all-time leader boards of seemingly every offensive record in NBA history, James changed the game, the series and the outlook of his career on Sunday. LeBron James became the best player in the world on a driving slam dunk over Danny Granger.

For some, James has been the league’s best player since the 2008-09 season when he won his first MVP award. Others maintain that he became the world’s most elite basketball player when he posted just the second triple-double in all-star game history last season (joining the sport’s greatest player, Michael Jordan).

Then there are people like me, who would defend up and down that James is not the league’s best player because “he isn’t clutch” and “you can’t put the ball in his hands late” and that he “never changes the game when it matters.” I tirelessly brought up the lack of big game moments during his Cleveland playing days, the unflattering “decision” to damage his legacy forever by joining forces with the 2006 Finals MVP (Wade) in South Beach and the fragile nature of James’ fourth quarter gameplay.

I’ll admit, bashing James on public airwaves and blogs has become among my favorite activities. I’ve never called him the world’s “best basketball player.” Hell, I’ve never admitted he was Miami’s best player, as Wade has the ring and the late-game chops that James could never dream of acquiring.

As of last night, most of that has changed. James is not just the most talented athlete in the country and the most impressive physical specimen basketball has had sense Wilt the Stilt: he is the game’s best player.

The irony of James’ dunking over the Pacers starting small forward, the talented but much inferior Granger, speaks volumes for the moment. James made it very clear as he soared over Granger and threw down a thunderous dunk that he was going to personally rip the series out of Granger’s hands and burry the Pacers.

Not to mention, it was Granger’s hard fouls on LeBron in games two and three that gave Indiana a huge emotional spark in both victories. In Sunday’s game, LeBron’s dunk seemingly silenced any effect Granger could make the rest of the series.

Woah, LeBron, we have never seen this side of you before… I am impressed.

What is even more important is how the Heat players responded to the play. The Heat defense held the Pacers to just two points on their next five possessions. Meanwhile, the Heat would finish the first quarter with three crucial jumpers from three-point land. LeBron closed out the first quarter with seven points in the final three minutes.

With the Heat down 18-25 heading into the second quarter, James stayed on the floor and made an immediate impact, blocking a shot on defense and then earning a trip to the free-throw line, scoring the first two points of the quarter.

The Pacers battled, and despite 10 second quarter points by James, the Pacers took an eight point lead into the second half. If the Pacers held on to win game four, they would have had an unbelievable statistic backing up their cause to finish the series; teams that lead a series 3-1 go on to win the series 96 percent of the time.

And so, like the best player in the league should, James gritted his teeth and put up the best half of playoff basketball he has ever had.

Over the first five minutes of the third quarter, James finished an and-1 opportunity, stole a pass and drove down the court for another two points, assisted a Dwyane Wade lay-up and then led a defensive effort that held the Pacers scoreless for a minute and a half, including defending a Roy Hibbert post-move off of a defensive switch.

By the 6:56 mark in the third quarter, a Wade dunk had cut Indiana’s lead to four points, forcing Frank Vogel to use a full timeout. Out of the Indiana timeout, James pulled down a defensive rebound and threw down a huge, two-handed slam on the other end, cutting the Indiana lead to two.

The next sequence, James pulled down another defensive rebound and drove straight to the basket, earning a trip to the line and a chance to tie the game for the first time since the middle of the second quarter, where he makes them both.

LeBron… Oh man… You are unstoppable. And embracing it.

James’ finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in the third quarter, leading Miami to a six-point lead heading into the final frame. The Heat outscored the Pacers by 16 in the third quarter, as Wade scored 14 points and hit 6-7 field goals, with three of his shots assisted by James. At one point, James and Wade had scored 37 consecutive points for Miami.

And with the Heat’s magical quarter went the Pacers chances of winning the game, as Miami had built a lead they would not relinquish. At the forefront of Miami’s fourth quarter poise was the game’s newly crowned most elite player: LeBron James.

Vogel, intimidated by the speed of the Miami wings, played a smaller lineup the majority of the fourth quarter, a move that proved fatal for the Pacers. Keeping Hibbert on the bench for much of the fourth allowed James, who very suddenly became the largest player on the court, to become a a rebounding animal.

James nearly posted a double-double in the fourth quarter alone, scoring seven points and securing an astonishing nine rebounds. He led all rebounders in the game with 18, doubling Roy Hibbert’s total and pushing Miami to a 47-38 rebounding advantage. In the game’s final minute, James hit 3-4 foul shots to put the game out of reach, tying the series at two games a piece and affectively shutting down any ideas of Indiana advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

James finished the game as just the second player all-time to post at least 40 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists in a single playoff game, joining Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, who did it back in 1961.

Was there a buzzer beater shot that mirrored the ESPN classic highlights from Michael Jordan and other legends? No. Did Miami benefit from a terrible fourth quarter coaching job from Vogel? Yes. Was Dwyane Wade arguably just as much a part of this victory as LeBron James? Sure.

But the cases against LeBron James being not just the most talented basketball player in the league but the BEST player in the league are over now. The performance speaks for itself.

There is no other player at his level right now in the league, whether or not LeBron has the benefits of  having Wade as a teammate. Durant is on his way to unquestionable legend, but he is behind LeBron in both defensive ability and offensive versatility at this point in their careers.

And the league’s best player up until Saturday, Kobe Bryant (yes, Kobe Bryant was STILL the best player in the world), is yet again on the brink of playoff elimination, and even with the unbelievable 38 point performance in game four against the Thunder, it is clear that Kobe’s mystic as an invincible champion is not what it was in 2009 and 2010.

James’ Sunday stat line of 40 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists catapults him to the title of the world’s best basketball player. It is that simple.

Now, this is very important: I don’t apologize for being “late to the party” because I was not wrong. He wasn’t the league’s most valuable player this season and I’ll argue that one for all of time.

He was not the NBA’s best player UNTIL last night. This was the first important game of his career where he was domineering, unrelenting and great. He was greatness on Sunday; he was invaluable for the Heat.

I am almost proud that he answered the call yesterday and pleased to know the league’s largest talent is ready to become the player the world knows he can be.

Now LeBron, it is time you go and earn the jewelry you promised the fans of Miami. You are the most capable man for the job.

-JM