June 18, 2013: Diverging Fate

MIAMI - Down by three in game 6 of the NBA Finals, his Miami Heat seconds from elimination, Lebron James got the ball in his hands behind the arc, rose up for a 3-pointer, and missed.

Had the story ended right there, how different would James' legacy be? Had that missed three fallen into the hands of one of the San Antonio Spurs players, James would have lost in the NBA finals for the second time as a member of the Heat, for the third time overall. Even his staunchest defenders would have started to have some doubts then. Was he capable of winning the big one? Was he a true legend? Would he ever pass Jordan?

It wouldn't have mattered, of course, that he had a triple-double in Game 6, his second of the series, and that he had played at an often sublime level throughout most of the playoffs. It wouldn't have mattered that he was the unquestioned best player on the floor most of the series. It would have only mattered that he lost again. And just think, if the story had ended with that missed 3-pointer, James would right now be staring at a personal 1-4 record in NBA finals (assuming, of course, that the Spurs would have annihilated the Heat in 2014 again, which they likely would have). A legend isn't born out of a 1-4 finals record. 1-4 makes you Wilt, the player who was extremely talented but couldn't close the deal.

But the story didn't end after James' miss. Chris Bosh got the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Ray Allen, the best pure shooter of his generation. And Allen did what he did best, draining the 3 from the corner and tying the game. Instead of being choke artists, the Heat were clutch performers, coming back from being down 5 with 30 seconds to play. The yellow rope was already on the sideline in anticipation of a Spurs celebration when James made the first big three pointer; the rope was gone by the time Allen made his. It didn't come back out until Miami clinched the series two days later.

Game 6 of the 2013 NBA finals is going to be long remembered for its crazy finish. James' miss, Bosh's rebound, and Allen's bomb were just part of the story. There was San Antonio, somehow getting one last shot off before the buzzer. There was the overtime, where Bosh came up with two huge blocked shots, including one in the dying seconds. It was a crazy game, crazy in how close the Spurs came to winning the title, only to end up losing it. Crazy how the third- and fourth-best players for Miami were the ones who ended up coming up the biggest. Crazy that Gregg Popovich made a rare coaching mistake, leaving Tim Duncan on the bench for Miami's final shot and thus leaving the rebound there for Bosh's taking.

It was a crazy game, and one that will have a lasting effect on Lebron James' legacy. Because even though he missed, he still won the game and the title. A two-time champion looks a lot stronger than a one-time champion. Two-timers get remembered more.

One more crazy what-if from a crazy game: After Allen's shot, the officials went to the television monitor to make sure he was behind the line. While they huddled, the Spurs put Duncan back into the game, even though they shouldn't have been allowed to since they didn't have a timeout. It became a moot point since Tony Parker's potential game-winning shot came up short, but if Parker had made that shot to give the Spurs the title, all hell would have broken loose. Since Duncan was in the game illegally, the shot would not have counted. If the officials had not noticed until after the game was over, there could have been an awkward situation where the Spurs would have been handed the trophy, then told "never mind," and had it taken back so they could replay the final six seconds legally. It's an almost unfathomable situation that came perilously close to happening.

But it wouldn't have happened if James had just made that 3 to begin with. It's always Lebron's fault.

Lebron's first, one year later

MIAMI - In the end, with the finish line in sight and his legacy in line, LeBron James found another gear. And when he finds another gear, as the Oklahoma City Thunder quickly found out, there are few players who have ever played who can keep up with him.

On June 21, 2012, James finally answered his critics, winning his first NBA championship in his ninth season, dominating the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 15-point Game 5 victory. James had help, of course - Mike Miller rose from the dead to score 23 points in 23 minutes, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each had more than 20 points - but James was the story. He got a triple double - his first of the season - and finally lived up to the promise he had shown since even before he entered the league.

In leading the Miami Heat to their second title, James also helped to vanquish the potential dynasty before it could even begin. During the 2012 Finals, a lot was made of how Oklahoma City's Big Three of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden could provide a foil to Miami's Big Three for years to come. Instead, after the Game 5 annihilation, the Thunder panic-traded Harden, convinced they couldn't afford him in the offseason. What should have been a potential great East-West rivalry was nipped in the bud.

The Heat rode James to another championship the next year - with James carrying even more of a load as Wade started to break down after years of charging the lane. If it was possible, James was even better in the 2013 Finals than he was in 2012. He tasted a championship, and it made him hungrier, and better. It's possible that his win in the 2012 Finals was just the start, was the beginning of his famous promise "not 1 title, not 2, not 3..." After winning in 2013, anything seemed possible.

So the question becomes, does this Game 5 get on the list as the greatest June 21 moment in American sports history? Miami's Game 5 win was monumental, and as the years go on and James' accomplishments continue to grow, this game might take on additional importance. But it still doesn't top the chaotic Game 7 of the 1988 Finals as the greatest June 21 moment of all time. James was great, Miami was dominant, but the game doesn't compare to a Game 7 that ended with one hall-of-famer body checking another as fans flooded the court.