Rick Reilly on LeBron James

One my daily duties during the Finals has been to defend my pick, the other day, of LeBron James as MVP of the playoffs so far. Next time I hear that I'm just going to forward along the sage words of Rick Reilly, who writes:

I'm the last guy that wants to write a glowing column about LeBron James. I hate how he conspired to get to Miami, hate how he took a short cut to a ring. But you'd have to be visually impaired not to see that James is playing gorgeous, selfless, complete basketball.

He is defending first, passing next, screening third, and shooting fourth. The man had nine assists in Game 3! If anything is shrinking, it's whichever poor Dallas Maverick he's guarding. Have you seen the line on the Mavs' No. 2-scoring option, Jason Terry, in the Finals? Thirty-eight percent shooting, four 3-pointers, total, and no buckets in five tries in the final quarter vs. TCO (The Chosen One). James has been on him like scales on a flounder. Terry has to leave the building just to get a full breath.

Eventually, LeBron James is going to win enough rings to start a pawn shop. He may win them by scoring like Wilt. He may win them by passing like Magic. He may win them by defending like Russell. What's your point? Aren't they all shiny?

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/29954/rick-reilly-on-lebron-james

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