Lebron James was not in a good spot after the 2011 NBA Finals. He was often scrutinized by fans (I was one of them) for leaving the Cavaliers for the Miami Heat. I wasn’t actually mad that he left the Cavs, I was left at how he was doing it. In this big, televised decision. It was just extra. I get it, he is the best player of his generation, but even then, it was mad whack. Since that decision, he was the villain for a while, a title he wasn’t used to at the time. Lebron and the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games. It was one of his worst, if not the worst, finals performances ever. After the Heat lost game 6, Lebron mocked his critics:
“All the people that were rooting for me to fail… at the end of the day, tomorrow they have to wake up and have the same life that (they had) before they woke up today,” James said. “They got the same personal problems they had today. And I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things I want to do.”
The 2011 NBA Finals continues to be one dark spot on his legacy. The Miami Heat were heavily favored and Lebron was supposed to get his first championship in his careers. However, Lebron was getting outplayed by Jason Terry and the Heat lost in 6 games. Lebron James bounced back and won 2 championships in the next two years. He eventually grew into his role as the villain and flourished wonderfully. He went back to Cleveland and won a championship there to make amends, and now is with the Lakers trying to win a championship there. It’s safe to say that he found his love for the game again after that tough loss.
