With both NBA playoffs series tied 2-2, the San Antonio Spurs of the Western Conference could take on the Miami Heat of the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
Miami was in the championship series last year, losing to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. Many believed that forward LeBron James faltered in that series. He will probably have a chance to redeem himself this year, if Miami gets to the championship series again.
Of course, LeBron could falter again, and might even falter in the present series with Boston. However, let's speculate that Miami and San Antonio reach the championship round. The Spurs have won four previous NBA titles with an all-for-one-and-one-for-all philosophy. The Miami Heat have taken one previous title, but none so far with its present cast featuring LeBron James and Dwyane Wade and their philosophy of two-for-all-and-all-for-two. Chris Bosh, the third member of Miami's Big Three, is out with a stomach strain but could return.
Will the two-pronged attack of James and Wade prevail against the team approach of the Spurs? And will James be the leader down the stretch that he needs to be to win that first championship that has so long eluded him? This is a question that I, as a sports psychologist, ask myself.
Throughout history, there have been players that have broken records and won countless awards, but have had trouble winning a championship. Dan Marino broke nearly every quarterback record, including those involving season and career yards and touchdowns, while playing for the Miami Dolphins, but he never won a Super Bowl. John Elway, while amassing statistics and accolades and winning more regular-season games than any other NFL quarterback up until his time, spent 14 years hearing the buzz that he choked in the Super Bowl, especially after he lost in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Finally, coach Mike Shanahan came in and gathered a great Denver team, and Elway belatedly won two Super Bowls in succession in 1998-1999.
The NBA's Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks was a great basketball star who never won an NBA championship. He swiped a college championship at Georgetown University, and was expected to do the same in the NBA, but it never to happened.
From a sports psychological point of view, I wonder why great players seem to fold when it comes to playing championships. The reasons may not always be the same, but they are probably similar.
It appears to me, in the case of LeBron James, that the hype that has surrounded him since he came to the NBA after a spectacular high school career, has put added pressure on him. And, in addition, more recently, he has added even more pressure.
First of all, there was the media frenzy over his decision in the summer of 2010 about what team he would choose as a free agent, and the infamous half-hour television soap opera in which he announced his decision. Then there was the interview when he bragged that he and the Big 3 of Miami--he, Wade and Bosh--intended to win more than seven championships.
Whenever you count your chickens before they hatch, it never seems to work out. By making such a rash statement following his television drama, he only succeeded in putting pressure not only on himself but also on his team.
He had failed to win a championship in seven previous seasons in Cleveland, where he was accused by owner Dan Gilbert of "quitting" in the playoffs. Indeed, in LeBron's one Finals appearance while with Cleveland in 2007, he was swept by the San Antonio Spurs, and his scoring average went down from 27 to 22 points per game. So he has never proven he could win a championship and then, in the summer of 2010, he was predicting seven or more championships. In Cleveland, he could blame his losses on not having other great players around him. However, in Miami's championship final with Dallas last year, with Wade and Bosh at his side, LeBron again seemed to withdraw into himself, displaying a reluctance to score in the fourth quarter, when he was needed the most.
When a player puts pressure on himself, as James has, he makes the game into a chore. When he is in that final moment he plays scared. "What if I lose?" he may ask himself. "What if I don't do what I said I was going to do? Then I'll have egg on my face." It may well be that James has indeed played scared in his finals. When you play scared, your body is locked up with fear, your muscles are tight with responsibilities and expectations, your mind is doubting rather than daunting. You're not having fun. It's that moment when champions step up, but for James it may be the moment he steps back.
Fortunately, James has Wade and possibly Bosh. They could carry the day, even if James falters. It happened that way for Elway. His teammates finally carried him over the hump.
Maybe three-for-all-and-all-for-three can do it.
Gerald Schoenewolf, Ph.D. is a licensed psychoanalyst, professor of psychology and author of 20 books. He is also an avid sports fan.
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