LeBron finally takes care of business

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's London Calling) - He came, he saw and after stumbling in the NBA Finals before, he conquered.

LeBron James can breathe a sigh of relief because at long last, he is an NBA champion.

That was assured after Miami’s 121-106 Game 6 wins in the NBA Finals against Oklahoma City on Thursday night.

Let’s see here, NBA MVP?

Check.

Olympic gold medal?

Check.

NBA title?

Check.

A basketball phenomenon before he played a professional game, the player that signed a seven-year endorsement deal with a certain shoe and apparel company straight out of high school worth $90million , can say he's done it all.

Michael Jordan had to wait seven years before he won a title with the Chicago Bulls.

LeBron James, now 27, had to wait nine years for his.

From an international basketball perspective, King James' finest hour came in Beijing.

And that is going to be hard to top in London.

The USA had Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade and numerous other superstars in their team, but James had a presence that was more commanding than all of them.

No team really came close to the USA in 2008 until they faced Spain for the second time, the gold-medal clash.

The game ranks as one of the best ever played at an Olympics.

The Americans won 118-107, although the contest was much closer than the score indicated.

After breezing through the Preliminary Round and romping to big wins in the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals, the United States had to pull out all stops to deny Spain.

James had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals in that game.

You know what he’s like in action, when he’s playing in the NBA?

He’s the same LeBron with Team USA.

What stands out most about James on the court is the power in his game.

You see this when he’s in the open floor and especially when he’s flying towards the basket with the ball.

One has to be a brave man to try and block a LeBron James dunk.

James’ most commanding performance at the 2008 Olympics, though, came in the press conference after the Americans’ gold-medal win.

He went so far as to tell his teammates, including Wade, where to sit before the assembled media began peppering the players with questions.

James was the unofficial spokesman for that USA team that day, not shy about answering questions or telling the world about the accomplishment of the team and how everyone had pulled together.

He also had kind words for Spain.

The respect that Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski had for James grew at the Beijing Games.

On Thursday, Coach K spoke about his the Team USA leader.

Coach K, a university coach and therefore a teacher, understood that even with all the money in the world, and the individual accolades and the gold from Beijing that James had lacked fulfillment because he’d yet to win that NBA crown.

"I'm proud of LeBron and where he's at right now, and I do think that when you're that great a player, that great a talent, that you learn openly," Krzyzewski said.

"You don't go learn in private. You're out there while you're learning, and while you're learning, you're going to be criticized for the things that you're in the process of learning. ...

“There's some things you cannot learn unless you're in that moment. Like, you can't rehearse it.

"You can't feel it until you're in the moment of a finals, a gold medal game, a seventh game, a national championship. He's been in two of those moments, and I think he's shown in this series that he's learned from those moments."

After pouring in 26 points, handing out 13 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds in Game 5, James was named the NBA Finals MVP.

He deserved the title and the award.

Now USA fans and the rest of the world are in for another treat.

LeBron James, no doubt after giving countless interviews and taking a well-deserved holiday somewhere, will finally turn his attention the Olympics.

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

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