After he won his 4th title and 4th Finals MVP, LeBron James credited Heat for his growth
LeBron James understood exactly how Anthony Davis felt when the Los Angeles Lakers finished off the Miami Heat, 106-93, in Game 6 to win the 2020 NBA Finals on Sunday.
A decade ago, James came to Miami after spending seven mostly frustrating seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award twice and went to the NBA Finals only once, so he left for South Florida, hoping the Heat could push him to another level. In 2012, his decision was rewarded with his first championship.
“I had seven years my first stint in Cleveland, I felt like I couldn’t get over the hump,” James told ESPN. “I felt like I needed some help.”
Like James, Davis spent seven years toiling with the New Orleans Pelicans and only got out of the first round of the NBA playoffs once before he joined the Lakers last year. James wanted to do for Davis in Los Angeles what Dwyane Wade and Miami did for him.
“I know what it means to have have seven years where you feel like you can’t get over the hump,” James said. “I felt like I needed someone to push me and that’s when I was able to go to Miami. And get pushed by D-Wade, and [Chris] Bosh and that franchise. And so to be able to get him, and push him and let him know how great he is, which is making him see better basketball and be part of something that’s special, that’s what it’s all about.”
When James first came to Florida, he was title-less superstar who needed the boost. Wade won the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award in 2006 when the Heat won its first championship and James learned from the superstar shooting guard. In 2020, James got to play the same role for Davis.
On Sunday, James won his fourth NBA Finals MVP Award after averaging 29.8 points per game, 11.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists in the 4-2 series win in Lake Buena Vista. The point forward received all 11 votes for the accolade and now only Michael Jordan has more Finals MVP Awards.
James is also the first person in history to win Finals MVP with three different teams. The 35-year-old won two with Miami in 2012 and 2013, and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. He has been the MVP in all four of his Finals victories.
James and Wade had famously great off-court chemistry together with the Heat, and they’re still close friends a decade later. James’ relationship with Davis is also tight and he got to pass on everything he learned in Miami to another of basketball’s young superstars.
“To be able to put him where he is today, that means so much to me,” James said, “and the fact that he trusts me means even more.”
This story was originally published October 12, 2020 at 12:13 AM.
