Conquering the NBA with three different teams proves LeBron James has a winning formula and highlights his greatness, according to former team-mate Joel Anthony.
James and the Los Angeles Lakers crushed the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Sunday to claim their first championship in 10 years.
The four-time NBA MVP was in typically fine form, breaking the record for most playoff appearances with 260 as he posted an 11th Finals triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. The win sealed a fourth ring for 16-time All-Star James, who made history by becoming the first player to be named Finals MVP with three different franchises.
Having previously won the championship with the Heat (2012 and 2013) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2016), helping the Lakers back to the top of the pile was his ultimate goal upon joining in 2018. Anthony, who was part of James’ Heat team that lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy in successive years, believes the 35-year-old’s greatness is summed up by succeeding with three different sides.
“To me, he’s always been a winner,” Anthony told Stats Perform News. “He’s always played on really good teams, for the most part, except for early on in his career where he was still trying to figure things out.
“He’s always been able to win but once he took that next step and he was winning championships, I feel he’s definitely figured out the type of formula and gets it. He gets it. “He knows truly what it takes to be able to win at the highest level. It shows, the fact that clearly the man’s been able to do it with three different teams. That in itself explains how much he understands and knows what it takes. “I would say one of the biggest things about him is his mind. Physically, obviously very impressive, and even more so impressive because he’s been able to do it for so long. “He’s averaged close to 30, 10 and eight in the finals. Mentally, where he is, to be able to keep his mind sharp and to be able to also lead and inspire those guys, that’s the biggest thing to me. “Even if he was able to play at a certain level, to be able to bring his team along that journey and to be able to lead them, I feel, is what’s really impressive because that is an extremely difficult thing to do.”
