Miami Heat forward LeBron James realised his dream by leading his team to the NBA championship on Friday (AEST) and the man nicknamed 'King James' completed his coronation with the series most valuable player award.
James, who also picked up the regular season MVP honour for the third time in his career, led the Heat to a 4-1 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the best-of-seven championship series that was capped off by a 121-106 victory.
The dominant player throughout the series, James scored 26 points, pulled down 11 rebounds and doled out a game-high 13 assists in a brilliant all-round effort in the finale.
For Oklahoma, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 51 points, but it was nowhere near enough, as Miami clinched the game and the title with a 36-22 third quarter.
The Thunder tried to come back in the final quarter, but could only claw back nine points on the Heat.
"This means everything," the 27-year-old James said after being presented with the MVP trophy by Celtics great Bill Russell.
"It's a dream come true."
James, who averaged 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists in the series, won his first NBA ring on his third trip to the finals.
His Cleveland Cavaliers were swept in four games in 2007 by the San Antonio Spurs, and the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games last season.
It was the first NBA title for Miami since the 2005-2006 season, when the team beat the Dallas Mavericks four games to two.
"Losing the finals last year put me back in place, it humbled me a lot," said James.
"Today is the happiest day of my life."
Reuters/ABC
Tags: sport, basketball, united-states First posted June 22, 2012 14:11:14
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