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.