I'm not sure where that picture above originated from, but I stole it from one of my Facebook friends and thought it was appropriate for how I was feeling throughout the championship series. While Oklahoma City is no doubt a great team and will definitely keep me in fits for several more years, I am satisfied at being able to say that the title of best team in the 2011-12 season goes to the Miami Heat!
Aside from the not wanting to the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics to win, I have to admit that I'm also grateful for Miami winning because they redeemed me from being 0-3 in championship round predictions this year. I had the Patriots beating the Giants in the Super Bowl, and Kansas over Kentucky in the NCAA Championship game, so by listening to my head and picking Miami over OKC, I showed that I do know a thing or two about sports.
The trends of history repeated itself in that experience did prevail. It didn't really happen in the way I expected, though. In my preview, I had written that I trusted the OKC role players a lot more than the ones for Miami, and boy, was I WRONG! Shane Battier was brilliant throughout, and Mike Miller's immaculate performance in Game 5 made sure Miami did not have to get back on the plane to Oklahoma.
When we look at the stars, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook really impressed me with their Finals play. From what I saw, I felt like those two played with the poise of veteran superstars, despite Westbrook's errant foul on Chalmbers at the end of Game 4, and despite Durant not getting enough touches in the end. Those two were simply amazing.
Still, the series belonged to the guy who solidified the opinion that he is the best player in the NBA, and that is LeBron James. James was the best player in the league in 2011, and he completely flopped against Dallas. Back to compete for his first ring for the third time in his career, James raised his game. He showed that he had learned from his past Final experiences, and now showed just how truly special he is. Heading into this series, I had considered LeBron James one of the 10 greatest players of all-time, even though he never had a ring. Now, I have absolutely no hesitation saying that he is one of the 10 greatest ever to put on an NBA uniform. James was simply too good to have gone another year without winning the title.
Finally, I want to talk about something that transcends playing the actual game itself, and that is sportsmanship. I feel that a good portion of the passion that stemmed from this Finals among fans around the country stemmed from hatred. I'm guilty of this myself. Cleveland felt betrayed by James and backed OKC, and Seattle felt betrayed by Clay Bennett and backed Miami. While the competition of sports stirs many emotions, both good and bad, it's important to remember that it's just a game. At the end of the day, it's important to carry oneself with class and grace. With that said, I share this video that I urge everyone to watch:
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