The NBA championship: Would a Miami Heat victory redeem LeBron James?

Basketball fans love to hate the three-time MVP, but an NBA finals victory could erase much of that ill will

The Miami Heat lead the Oklahoma City Thunder 3-1 in the best-of-seven NBA finals, putting villified superstar LeBron James just one win from his first NBA title.
(Image credit: Mark Halmas/Icon SMI/Corbis)

When LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003, he was instantly hailed as the next Michael Jordan. He was also a fan favorite, spending years trying to lift his plucky hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to an NBA championship. But that all changed in 2010, when James announced that he was taking his "talents to South Beach" to play with the Miami Heat, which boasted fellow superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. James instantly became the NBA's equivalent of Darth Vader, a calculating, morally challenged figure who would take the easiest and most dishonorable route to victory. Fans reveled in the Heat's defeat to an aging Dallas Mavericks team in the 2011 NBA finals, and James was maligned for his arrogance and inability to come through in the clutch. Now, however, the Heat are one win away from defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder for this year's championship, largely on the strength of James' spectacular play. Would a victory redeem LeBron?

Yes. James has played like a champion: The clock is winding down on America's hatred of LeBron James, says Dan Woken at Fox Sports. James' unstoppable performance in the playoffs "should be the ultimate redemption for him." He has "played with simplicity, force, efficiency, and desire," and carried an uneven team on his shoulders. He's come through in so many clutch situations that no one can accuse him of choking. After the "way he's handled this series, it's time to let go of all the anger and appreciate the player he's become, the champion he's about to be."

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