By Blake Dowson
He was labeled the Chosen One. The King. He was the One who was going to finally bring a title to Cleveland. It was storybook material. The kid superstar from Akron, drafted out of high school with the No. 1 pick by Cleveland in 2003, was destined to give Cleveland fans a long drink of water after a title drought that was moving toward 50 years.
But after seven seasons in a Cavalier uniform and only one finals appearance, the Chosen One jumped ship and headed off to Miami. And Cleveland had to watch as LeBron visited the finals for four-straight years, capping off two seasons with world championships.
Then the King decided to come back to his throne in northeastern Ohio. He was done with what he admitted were basically his “college years” in Miami and made it his solitary mission to bring a championship to Cleveland.
He cautioned his city that it would take time. But when in the first season he carried his team to the Finals and a 2-1 series lead, it seemed the wait was over. The Herculean effort proved not enough without the contributions of Kyrie Irving though, and the drought continued.
And in the second year, in what may well be labeled his greatest triumph, the Chosen One fulfilled his promise.
Remember how storybook the start of LeBron’s career seemed?
The finals contained the biggest number of of story lines I can remember. It was LeBron versus the greatest regular-season team of all time. It was LeBron versus Steph Curry.
And he said bring it on.
The seven-game finals performance of LeBron will go down as one of, if not the greatest; performance in the championship series of all time. With his team down 3-1 in the series and facing two games in Oakland if he had hopes of winning a title, LeBron showed why he is the best player in the game and one of the best of all-time.
He was the same player Cleveland drafted in 2003, scoring in bunches and jumping out of the gym. When everyone else on the floor seemed gassed, LeBron ran the floor for wide-open lay-ins.
His consecutive 41-point games in Games 5 and 6 pushed the series to a seventh and deciding game, but even they will be overshadowed by the performance LeBron put together in Game 7.
It wasn’t the best game he has ever played, and he surely has better ones ahead of him.
But it was exactly what Cleveland needed. It was pure emotion and energy at times, and it was calm and surgical at others.
Most importantly, it was finally enough. After arguably experiencing more criticism than any athlete ever has, the King has finally done it. His promise is fulfilled, and the monkey is off his back.
LeBron will play next season with the target of a defending champion on his back, but it will not carry nearly the amount of weight the championship drought did.
Without that looming on his shoulders, it is hard to imagine what he may be able to do on the court.
As he was handed the Larry O’Brien Trophy, though, next season was the furthest thing from his mind. This one was well-earned, and this one will be well-celebrated.
For the Chosen One, this one was everything.