Just like everyone else, I’ve got the Madness that comes around every March. It’s my favorite time of year; the weather gets nice outside, and I spend all day inside watching college basketball. But instead of having this be the 80th article you have read about March Madness, I want to approach another basketball topic that, dare I say it, is almost just as important.
The Miami Heat have won their last 23 straight games, and with an relatively easy upcoming schedule, they look to be on their way to beating the NBA record 33 straight wins set by Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and the Lakers during the 1971-72 season, a record that many thought would remain unbroken forever.
The Heat had one of their closest scares against the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night. The Heat trailed by 27 points before storming back to win the game The main reason should not surprise anybody: LeBron James.
Forgetting that the Cavaliers are NBA bottomfeeders who happened to be missing their top three players, including phenom point guard Kyrie Irving, this comeback was an impressive feat. After being outplayed in the first half by Daniel Gibson and company, the Heat stormed back behind a Lebron triple-double. This is the largest comeback by any LeBron-led team.
James has been absolutely dominant as of late, averaging 26.9 points, 7.6 assists, and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 57 percent from the field during the winning streak. He further asserted his dominance this past Monday, as he tallied 37 points, 12 assists, and 7 rebounds. He also capped the win with an awe-inspiring dunk, absolutely posterizing Celtics guard Jason Terry, who ended up helpless on the ground. James then proceeded to stand over Terry, which earned him a technical but served as the perfect symbolic moment for how unstoppable and powerful he has been.
It seems as though winning a championship last year has done more for LeBron than any of us could have imagined. For years, we questioned his clutch play, whether he could win it all, whether he could make the last shot.
After the train wreck that was “The Decision” as well as the declaration that the new Heat would win “not five, not six, not seven” championships, James was not only doubted, but ridiculed for his over the top antics and inability to produce on the highest stage. And for all those years it seemed to break him down a bit as he struggled to get over that final hump and prove the haters wrong. It has to be one of the main reasons he felt pressured to choose the super-team in Miami rather than take over a team that would be unquestionably his. But he has finally got that huge monkey that kept asking those questions off his back, and now it seems as though he is poised to enter his prime—as if he wasn’t good enough before.
This sort of play from James and the rest of the Heat is the type of dominance that should strike fear in opposing teams not just this year, but for years to come. To compare him to Jordan is obviously a stretch at this point, but LeBron’s current career trajectory matches up almost eerily well with MJ’s.
Both started off their careers with little to no help from their squads, which led to great individual accolades but no titles. But, once they got some support—Jordan’s from Scottie Pippen and James’ from Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh—they started to not only thrive individually, but also win.
If James stays in Miami and Wade keeps his health for a few more years, it’s hard to imagine that this team won’t continue to win titles. Of course, they’ll have competition from Kevin Durant and the Thunder, and perhaps even the Clippers, Bulls, and Knicks, but none of them seem capable of keeping up with LeBron.
I realize this streak’s only a month long and it’s easy to get excited about such a talented player, but history may well look back on this coming record as the moment James stopped being simply a superstar and became a legend. And for a guy who has already won the MVP Award three times, that is a scary, scary thought.
