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LeBron James Must Win 2015 NBA Finals MVP

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LeBron James

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

As LeBron James walked off the floor Sunday night, he did so knowing that he now faces the daunting prospect of having a 2-4 record in the NBA Finals.

The reigning King of the NBA isn’t measured against any current players; he finds himself grappling with the ghosts of NBA folklore trying to cement his name amongst the transcendent players who became pillars of their respective franchises.

While LeBron’s record in the Finals may be scrutinized, his performance this year should only help add to his legend. When the season started and Kevin Love joined LeBron and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland the thought was that this big three would just be a younger, more explosive version of the one James spearheaded in Miami. Things started slowly but once the playoffs arrived it looked like all hands were on deck for the Cavaliers who came into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the NBA.

Then, Love went down abruptly in the final game of the first series against the Boston Celtics, and running mate Kyrie Irving slowly saw his knee fall victim to the wear and tear of the grind that is an NBA playoff run.

These injuries left LeBron with only one real option once the Finals began: himself. In his five Finals games thus far he is averaging 36.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and 8.8 assists in a little over 45 minutes of game time. These numbers are nothing short of Herculean and the fact that the Cavaliers are even still playing can be attributed solely to James putting the team on his back and carrying them night in and night out.

With the potential for Tuesday to be LeBron’s final game of the season the question has to be asked if he should be win the Finals MVP despite his Cavaliers team losing the series. The answer has to be a resounding yes.

In 1969 Jerry West was named Finals MVP in losing effort with his Los Angeles Lakers. Since then there has not been a single MVP from the losing team. West put up similar numbers to the stat lines that LeBron is recording this series but LeBron is doing so with little to no help at all, while also having to play all five positions on the floor at times.

If tomorrow is LeBron’s last game this season and the Cavaliers end up losing the series to a exponentially more talented Golden State Warriors team all eyes should go to LeBron James and appreciate just what he has accomplished this series. It’s usually true that there are no real winners on a losing team, but this is one time that trend is completely incorrect.

Douglas Ammon is an NBA Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DA76er

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LeBron Earns Technical Foul After Massive Slam On Knicks

LeBron James had a tough week, and he clearly took some frustration out on the New York Knicks on Saturday night as a result. During this particular sequence, James was called for a technical foul for taunting after throwing down a massive slam all over the Knicks' hopes and dreams.

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