LeBron James and the Miami Heat are in the NBA Finals again — this time on opposite sides
It’s as though the subplots have subplots in this NBA Finals, both teams’ histories are so tightly entangled.
At the top of the heap of angles: LeBron James’ tenure with the Miami Heat, which is why he was asked during media day Tuesday: “How do you feel about Pat Riley?”
“That’s such a broad question,” replied James, who’s previously described the four seasons he spent in Miami as his college years, all of which ended in trips to the Finals and, twice, with championship hardware.
But then, in 2014, James decided to take the job closer to home, opting to return home to play in Cleveland.
He went on to lead the Cavaliers to four consecutive Finals berths and to the franchise’s first title in 2016. The Heat, meanwhile, missed the playoffs three of the next six years and only escaped the second round again this season, when they’ve upended outside expectations with a dominating run back to the Finals.
Would it mean anything extra to James to beat the Heat?
“Absolutely not,” he said Tuesday. “It’s no extra meaning to winning a championship, no matter who you’re playing against. It’s already hard enough to even reach the Finals, to be in this position. If you’re able to become victorious out of the Finals, it doesn’t matter who it’s against.”
On the other side, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said there are no hard feelings, but he acknowledged that James’ departure led to some self-examination within the Heat organization.
“We went through the whole process,” Spoelstra said. “I went through my own six-week reflection period that summer. But then you get back to work …
“We really thought that we had a championship-contending team that next year. That’s how we approached it … We knew what we were losing. But when we made that midseason trade for Goran (Dragić), we made a promise to him that we would be competing for titles.”
They’ve maintained that commitment; their presence on the court in Game 1 on Wednesday proves it.
James, too, has stayed the course.
There was a blip last season when he was sidelined with a groin injury and the Lakers missed the playoffs in his first season with the team, interrupting James’ string of eight consecutive Finals appearances.
But James, now 35, is back for his 10th Finals appearance after leading these Lakers to the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
That’s just basketball as usual, Heat star Jimmy Butler said.
“I mean, you’ve had to go through him at 26, 35, probably at 49,” Butler said. “It’s not going to be an easy task these next couple of games. If anybody is up for that task, the Miami Heat are.”
James recognizes that, he said, just as he recognizes the winning qualities within the Heat organization, where he said he learned much from team president Riley and Spoelstra, as well as teammates Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem, among others.
“Being a part of that culture allowed me to grow, allowed me to see what it takes to not only compete for a championship but also to win a championship,” James said. “So it definitely put me in a position where I knew what it took. I saw what it took. But also I fit that culture as well because of how hard I worked. It was a perfect match for those four years.”
And what about Riley, the former Lakers player and coach turned executive, who’s on the record saying the James’ decision to go “just crushed us”? When James hears that name, what does he think?“When I hear Pat Riley, I think about one of the greatest minds probably this game has ever had,” James said. “He’s won at every level. I saw the stat the other day that he’s been part of a championship in four decades. This league is not the same without Riles. He’s a great guy, great motivator, someone that just knows what it takes to win, and he’s shown that over the course of, what, 40 years?”
LeBron James asked “How do you feel about Pat Riley?” pic.twitter.com/wDWJeRPfpI
— Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) September 29, 2020
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