Congratulations Cleveland, Congratulations LeBron

Fitting.

That's the only way I can describe the ending of the NBA Finals. It was fitting. The best player won. The team with the heart to come back from down 3-1 won. The city that had been tortured won.

Cleveland is a great American city. It's history is rich, and filled with stories of hard-working, blue-collar people. Their fans had not seen any championship since 1964, not by the Browns, the Indians, or the Cavaliers. LeBron had once left them, and won two titles while away, and their other teams had tortured them with let-downs in big moments throughout their history. A city that had taken such a hit from the end of the industrial age in our country, people in Cleveland truly knew how to suffer. In fact, I'd venture a guess that most of them thought the Cavs would let them down, somehow, in game seven. I couldn't be happier to see a city that had been tortured so often finally get to call a team of their own CHAMPIONS. Enjoy the parade, Cleveland.

As for LeBron- redemption is a powerful thing. After he bolted Cleveland for Miami, he was one of the great villains in all of sports. I cheered against him, every chance I got (including boo'ing him every time he touched the ball once at a playoff game in Philadelphia). Even when he won titles in Miami, his detractors noted that he was playing with first-ballot Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade and regular All-Star Chris Bosh. The only way he could right his legacy was to come back to Cleveland and win a title. In his first year, he played out of his mind good in the Finals, but he lost. When his team fell behind 3-1 in this series, a lot of people began criticizing him for meddling in personnel decisions, coaching decisions, and everything else he could get his hands on, in regards to the Cavaliers. LeBron was facing failure, and he stepped up to the plate and pushed it back. He won the last three games of the finals, seeming to will his team to victory. He won twice in an arena that the Warriors were 39-2 in this season. He won three straight games against a team that went 73-9 this season. He dethroned the reigning champions. He broke a 52 year curse on Cleveland. He did all of this as the young man who grew up in the shadow of the city, with all the expectations in the world. I'm done calling him very good, or even being mad at him for his younger-years' arrogance. LeBron James is an all-time great, an epic athlete that we should all enjoy.

So, people of Cleveland, enjoy. You earned this moment. LeBron, bask in the praise, you earned it. Respect is a hard-earned thing, and the Cavaliers of 2015-2016 should get it, from all of us.

LeBron James, Today's Michael Jordan

In January of 1999, Michael Jordan retired from the Chicago Bulls. In my view, while he did return until 2003 in Washington, the post-Jordan era began in 1999. In the time since then, there have been some really great players who have competed to be "the new Jordan." Certainly Kobe Bryant got well-deserved comparisons, playing a very similar game to Jordan's and winning five championships while becoming a top five scorer of all-time. Shaq spent some time as the most dominant force in basketball, actually being so good that the league changed the rules on centers in the paint to counter his power. Tim Duncan has been "Mr. Consistent" since Jordan left, winning five championships in San Antonio, and serving as the most constant force basketball has seen since MJ. Dwyane Wade has had his moments even, though injuries have kept him from ever being "that guy" for enough years in a row.

This past season, people started comparing Steph Curry to Michael Jordan. That is so ridiculous that it doesn't even deserve a rebuttal. The fact of the matter is, if there is one player in basketball today who deserves to be compared to Michael Jordan, it is LeBron James. It is the most complete player in the world today, who plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It is the man going to his sixth straight NBA Finals. It's the guy who is actually the most valuable player in the league, not the guy who won the award. LeBron James is the Michael Jordan of the NBA in 2016. Period. By a mile.

I spent most of LeBron's career saying he is not Michael Jordan. To be fair, I still feel that Jordan is the best basketball player of my lifetime. With that said, if you want to discuss LeBron with Jordan, Magic, Kobe, Duncan, and Shaq in that discussion, I'm happy to have it. He's earned it at this point. Six consecutive finals as the best player on the court is pretty amazing. I just hope his supporting cast holds up this time to get him championship #3, and to give him that epic chapter in the storybook that he really needs- to be the guy to bring a championship to Cleveland sports.

Sorry America- LeBron is Still the Best

I get why America loves Steph Curry. He's nice. He's a good dad. He wasn't the #1 overall pick. He's really good at basketball. His team is the best team in the league, and has one of the best rosters of all time. He won a title.

LeBron James is still both better and more valuable than Curry.

I know, you hate LeBron James. So did I when he went to Miami. I hated the ESPN hype, the potential for "super-teams" to dominate for an indefinite period, and that he predicted seven titles. I wanted Dirk and the Mavs to beat them, I wanted Durant and Westbrook to beat them, I wanted the Spurs to beat them- both times. I was anti-LeBron, right up until last season's finals. Then, he made a fan of me.

LeBron James is not a better shooter than Curry. That's about it though. Better passer? LeBron. Better rebounder? LeBron. Better at running the point for his team? LeBron. Better defender? LeBron in a landslide. Very few players in the history of the game were as complete of a basketball player as the man who has lead his last five teams to the NBA Finals. LeBron does everything, and he does almost everything better than anyone else on the planet.

Steph Curry does deserve his MVP for this season. He had a record breaking season for a record breaking team. He causes nightmares for opposing teams. He is always there in the big spots to hit the shots for his team. In the manner that we currently vote for an MVP, Curry was the best candidate from the best team. He deserves his award.

He's on a team that had two other candidates though, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. He plays on a team who's fourth best player is Harrison Barnes, and who brings an All-MVP caliber defender named Andre Igoudala off of their bench. The Warriors have the best roster in basketball. They are an incredible team.

If Steph Curry had missed this season, the Warriors would have still contended for the title and been a top three seed in the Western Conference. If LeBron James had missed this season, the Cavaliers might have contended for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. LeBron plays a #1 assignment on the defensive end and leads his team on the offensive end. Curry is charitably average on defense. If we're talking purely about value here, LeBron James is simply the most valuable player in basketball. I don't know that his team will beat the Western Champions, nor do I think he should have won the MVP based on the criteria we typically use now. I'm just stating the simple truth- LeBron James is the best and most valuable player in basketball today.

Sorry to rain on the parade, America.