“Todos somos testigos (Spanish for Manu Ginobili).”
“Nous en sommes tous témoins (French for Tony Parker).”
“Tutti noi siamo testimoni (Italian for Kobe).”
And last but not least, “We are all witnesses (English for LeBron James).”
Those who have watched the NBA are witnesses to the revitalization of a league that was desperate for star power and a marketable “good guy.” At age 23, James has cemented himself as the face of the NBA. Keep in mind, “King James” has been in the league for five years now.
Never mind the typical first-rate puns that run alongside the King, because there is something more apparent at hand.
LeBron James should be the MVP for the 2007-08 season.
People will scream Kobe Bryant and plead for the baby-faced Chris Paul, but the statistics and facts simply beg to differ in favor of the NBA’s King.
The nay-sayers will talk about Cleveland’s record — which stands at 45-36 — or at its lukewarm four-seed in a mediocre Eastern Conference. Impressive? Hardly.
If the Warriors, who were eliminated from playoff contention in the tight-knit Western Conference despite recording 48 wins, were in the Eastern Conference, they would be the No. 4 seed instead of the Cavs.
Last season, the Cavs finished with 50 wins. Let’s think about it this way: what are five more wins to James and Co., really? Not that much.
Fans and critics wanted James’ head for not leading them to more victories last year, and obviously it’s the same old song and dance this season. But to those nay-sayers, I kindly lay these cards on the table: 30-7-7. No, that’s not the locker combo to Chris Paul’s gym locker. It’s James’ average stat line. That’s 30 points, 7.9 assists and 7.2 rebounds per game.
I vaguely recall only a couple of players in the history of the game who have put together that kind of a stat line — a guy named Oscar Robertson and some dude named Michael Jordan.
Granted, James is a varsity player on a junior-varsity team, but shouldn’t that help him rather than hurt him? Compare James’ right-hand men Wally Szczerbiak and Daniel “Boobie” Gibson to Kobe’s Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Or even Paul’s trio of Peja Stojakovic, David West and Tyson Chandler.
Give the guy a break.
Sure, Paul’s been remarkable for the league and city of New Orleans and Kobe has been Kobe, but James is having the same kind of year Bryant did two years ago when he was robbed by Steve Nash.
The fact is, what James is able to accomplish — be it in the Eastern Conference or not — is simply amazing.
Jazz fans saw what “The King” was capable of during Cleveland’s Nov. 7 visit to Utah. A 32-point, 15-assist and 13-rebound performance that included a game-tying 30-foot 3-pointer. Even though Deron Williams stole the ending to that show, the Jazz faithful left the building all thinking the exact same thing — we were all just witnesses.
