OT NBA Finals: The Coronation of King James

Submitted by Blue boy johnson on

Miami rolling late in the first half. LeBron should get his much deserved title and Finals MVP shortly

TheLastHarbaugh

June 22nd, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^

In Cleveland, yeah, but no one else will care. 

People have already stopped talking about it over the past year.

In two years, it has already gone from, "One of the worst things an athlete has EVER done in the HISTORY of sports!" to, "Yeah, it was unfortunate, and looking back he probably should have done things differently."

TheLastHarbaugh

June 22nd, 2012 at 2:01 AM ^

The hate is out of control and absolutely unbelievable.

If I came to you and was like, "Did you hear about these three guys who took significantly less money, and sacrificed their egos, all for the sole purpose of winning?" you'd be like, "Wow! Those guys are what sports are supposed to be all about! Team first, and winning above all else!" 

Then when you mention that's exactly what Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh did, people start foaming at the mouth and having a hater induced spaz attack.

Stephen Hawking

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:36 AM ^

He toiled away in Cleveland for 7 years. They never made a serious effort to build around him; they expected LeBron to carry them to a title. He realized that he needed a change of scenery to a title-contender. Was "The Decision" tacky? Absolutely. But LeBron has grown a lot since last season. He's a different person now.

orobs

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^

oh, please.  Lebron asked for help in cleveland, and all he was given was a 40 year old obese shaq with broken knees, and antawn jamison.  He realized his only way to get a supporting cast was to do it himself.

The Shredder

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:34 AM ^

I'm not crazy about Lebron either but get over it. The dude has a right to sign with other teams WHEN HE IS A FREE AGENT!! He played the games, he does put in work in the off season and won.

Since you hate the NBA so much then don't click the fucking topic. 

MDubs

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^

Um, you realize all NBA teams pay their players quite a bit of money right?  I'm too lazy to look up, but I'm guessing Heat aren't heads & shoulders over the soft cap. 

Now, if you want to talk Yankees/Bosox we can have a discussion...

Phil Davison

June 21st, 2012 at 10:33 PM ^

If he wins one, he wins one. But the King James nickname is the most absurd thing in sports. Try catching up with MJ, Kobe, Bill Russell, Bird, and Magic then we can talk about a coronation.

go16blue

June 21st, 2012 at 11:03 PM ^

My gut said the Thunder would fold and that's exactly what's happening. The Heat have been here, they know how important each game is and they've been playing with a sense of urgency all series. The Thunder seem to just go out and play basketball as if it's a regular season game, they're good enough to get this far by that alone but they were not prepared for a game this important against a team this good.

Jivas

June 21st, 2012 at 11:17 PM ^

I refuse to live in a world where the Miami Heat (and LeBron James) are NBA Champions, so I'm taking matters into my own hands: I'm going to start running really fast in the opposite direction of the earth's rotation in an attempt to reverse time so that none of us have to live in this hell. Wish me luck.

JBE

June 21st, 2012 at 11:22 PM ^

This thread is awful. if you don't like/watch the NBA don't fucking comment.

Big ups to Juwan. He deserves it.

M-Wolverine

June 22nd, 2012 at 12:07 PM ^

Ratings were up, but they weren't huge.Thursday's Game was a 12.6. It was on pace to be the highest rated in awhile, but now their numbers somewhere in the 11's are somewhere around catching 2010 or 2004, depending on how the final numbers come in.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/06/nba-finals-draw-strong-tv-rating-for-game-5/1#.T-SWihd6sfU

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2012/06/22/heat-win-in-nba-finals-generates-ratings-boon-for-abc/

Now they're definitely up from the dark days, but huge numbers would have to at least approach the glory days of the NBA...and there's still a long way to go.

 

Table of NBA Finals average Nielsen ratings since 1976
Net. Year Series Rating
CBS 1976 Boston Celtics 4, Phoenix Suns 2 11.5
CBS 1977 Portland Trail Blazers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2 12.7
CBS 1978 Washington Bullets 4, Seattle Supersonics 3 9.9
CBS 1979 Seattle Supersonics 4, Washington Bullets 1 7.2
CBS 1980 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2 8.0
CBS 1981 Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets 2 6.7
CBS 1982 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 2 13.0
CBS 1983 Philadelphia 76ers 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0 12.3
CBS 1984 Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 3 12.3
CBS 1985 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2 13.7
CBS 1986 Boston Celtics 4, Houston Rockets 2 14.1
CBS 1987 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 2 15.9
CBS 1988 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Detroit Pistons 3 15.4
CBS 1989 Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers 0 15.1
CBS 1990 Detroit Pistons 4, Portland Trail Blazers 1 12.3
NBC 1991 Chicago Bulls 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1 15.8
NBC 1992 Chicago Bulls 4, Portland Trail Blazers 2 14.2
NBC 1993 Chicago Bulls 4, Phoenix Suns 2 17.9
NBC 1994 Houston Rockets 4, New York Knicks 3 12.4
NBC 1995 Houston Rockets 4, Orlando Magic 0 13.9
NBC 1996 Chicago Bulls 4, Seattle Supersonics 2 16.7
NBC 1997 Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz 2 16.8
NBC 1998 Chicago Bulls 4, Utah Jazz 2 18.7
NBC 1999 San Antonio Spurs 4, New York Knicks 1 11.3
NBC 2000 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Indiana Pacers 2 11.6
NBC 2001 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Philadelphia 76ers 1 12.1
NBC 2002 Los Angeles Lakers 4, New Jersey Nets 0 10.2
ABC 2003 San Antonio Spurs 4, New Jersey Nets 2 6.5
ABC 2004 Detroit Pistons 4, Los Angeles Lakers 1 11.5
ABC 2005 San Antonio Spurs 4, Detroit Pistons 3 8.2
ABC 2006 Miami Heat 4, Dallas Mavericks 2 8.5
ABC 2007 San Antonio Spurs 4, Cleveland Cavaliers 0 6.2
ABC 2008 Boston Celtics 4, Los Angeles Lakers 2 9.3
ABC 2009 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Orlando Magic 1 8.4
ABC 2010 Los Angeles Lakers 4, Boston Celtics 3 10.6
ABC 2011 Dallas Mavericks 4, Miami Heat 2 10.2