Windsor: Cavaliers' comeback proves LeBron James is best baller ever

The Cult of Michael Jordan took a hit Sunday night. Not from within the cult, of course. That would require perspective, and when it comes to Jordan, we don’t have much.

The hit came from without, from those of us who view LeBron James as the better overall player.

Yes, we are out there. Have been out there. Maybe afraid to say we are out there. Not unlike the folks who discovered the planet wasn’t flat.

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Radical ideas often begin with a murmur. Then with a bold proclamation, of which I am about to make … again:

LeBron James is the best overall basketball player in the history of this game.

That was evident a year ago in defeat, when he dragged his injury-depleted Cleveland Cavaliers to within two games of an NBA title. It’s certainly evident now, after James just secured his third championship ring in an unprecedented comeback from a 3-1 deficit.

Two seasons ago, James returned home to Cleveland and rejoined a team that was in the lottery the season before.

Yes, the lottery.

And would likely be in the lottery again if he left.

He matters that much. More critically, he controls that much.

When his Cavs played the Golden State Warriors in the Finals a year ago, they didn’t have Kevin Love — he’d ripped his shoulder apart in the first round. Nor did they have Kyrie Irving — he’d broken his kneecap at the end of the first game.

What did James do?

He played point guard, scoring guard and power forward. He coached. He quarterbacked the defense. He slowed the game down and dictated the pace of nearly every Cleveland possession.

Jordan tried doing similar things when his Bulls didn’t have a fully-formed Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant. You know what happened? He lost. Didn’t even get to the Finals. And no one said a word, because basketball folks thought of the those Bulls as a one-man team.

Well, so were last year’s Cavs in the Finals. And so were the 2007 Cavs that beat the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals and then lost to the Spurs in the Finals.

And so were the 2014 Miami Heat that lost to the Spurs in the Finals. The year that Dwyane Wade suddenly looked old (he was injured) and Mario Chalmers looked slow and Chris Bosh looked overwhelmed.

Yet, all three of those teams were playing in the Finals — thanks to James.

The truth is James is the greatest modern force the league has seen. Wherever he goes, his teams compete for a title. When he leaves, his former team misses the playoffs, just like the 2015 Heat did.

When Jordan retired the first time, his Bulls got to the conference semis and missed the Eastern Conference finals by a few points. Yes, Jordan’s end-game steeliness and shot making would’ve made the difference. After all, he’s arguably the best winner ever.

He’s just not the best player.

James is.

For many reasons, we’ve been slow to accept this. He was anointed too soon. He was given massive shoe contracts before he’d won anything. He was the face of the league even as he struggled to win his first title.

We resented that. All of it.

Besides, he was huge, cut from stone, and the fastest player on the floor. It was almost as if his physical gifts undermined our perception of how dominant he really was. Of how thoroughly he controlled the floor.

A friend of mine recently wondered what Magic Johnson would’ve been like if he’d had LeBron James’ athleticism.

Easy.

He’d be LeBron James. The player who just gave us three of the most spectacular performances we’ve ever seen in the Finals in Games 5-7. Against a team which won 73 regular-season games. To win his third NBA title in seven overall trips, including the last six in a row.

Seven overall trips.

There’s never been anyone like him.

Not even a cult can keep us from seeing that now.

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Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.

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