Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron James’ legacy and context
2013 vs. San Antonio
Six years later and a lot of evolving has occurred. In James’ second Finals match-up against the ageless Spurs, he’s established himself as the best player in the league and his run for dominance had begun. On the other end was the Spurs, who were playing their best basketball and looked rejuvenated to once again sit at the top of the NBA mantle.
Along with their stars, they also had a budding one in Kawhi Leonard. It also didn’t hurt they had Tracy McGrady at the end of their bench as well.
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With so much star power and a reinvented Spurs team, the series wasn’t very competitive three of the first five games. Despite a lack of proximity in scoring, San Antonio held a 3-2 series lead.
Game 6 of that series has been recognized as one of the greatest NBA Finals games ever. It had highlights for days; betrayal from fans; no-head band James; key mistakes and a career-defining moment.
The Spurs were up 94-89 with 28.2 seconds left in regulation. That’s how close they were from championship No. 5. In Miami’s next possession, Gregg Popovich took Tim Duncan out of the game which led to Miami getting a second possession for James to trim the lead to two. Ensuing Spurs possession and Leonard goes one-for-two at the line.
Then, madness ensued and it was a repeat of Miami’s possession all over again. No Duncan to catch a James miss led to Chris Bosh securing the board and making a pass to Ray Allen in the corner to tie the game.
From a momentum changing shot, Miami would win overtime and go on to repeat as back-to-back champions.
The catch is if Allen doesn’t make the shot, then James doesn’t have another ring. A select group of media personalities credit Allen “for saving James’ legacy.” It’s a narrative that’s still discussed to this day, and yes, if Allen misses then Miami most likely loses the series.