LeBron James brought Cleveland its first championship since 1964 last season, leading the charge in their comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Winning another this year would put him on the same level as Michael Jordan in the minds of many. In short, he’s the best player in the world.
Don’t think he doesn’t know it, either.
“I’ve been playing at the best for quite a while now,” James said, per Cleveland.com. “Since I was about 16.”
The general rule on athletes being cocky is that you have to back it up.
To say James has backed that up is an understatement. He dropped 39-6-4 with 71.4 percent shooting from the field (including 4/6 from 3) on the Raptors Wednesday night and didn’t even hit third gear.
“I just train my mind and train my body,” James said. “It’s the best part of the year. They say this is where legends are made and where you can make a name for yourself that can last longer than when you play the game, when you’re done. I just try to put myself into position where I can be best remembered when I’m done playing.”
Thanks to James, the Cavs can clown around during the second round of the playoffs and have no fear of losing.
He’s been in the league for 14 seasons and made All-NBA 12 times, first team All-Defense six times and won MVP four times. He’s led his team to the Finals every year since 2011 — something we haven’t seen since Bill Russell — and won three rings.
He’s earned the right to be cocky.