NBA Finals MVP LeBron James of the Miami Heat holds the championship trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 21, 2012 at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. AFP PHOTO / DON EMMERT AFP PHOTO / DON EMMERT (Photo by DON EMMERT / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — Winning is a universal feeling, and from an athlete’s perspective, there’s really nothing that compares to celebrating that first championship.
The greatest players will attest to it.
On Monday, the third and fourth episodes of The Last Dance that looked at Michael Jordan’s breakthrough championship with the Chicago Bulls in 1991 brought back memories of LeBron James’ crowning moment in 2012.
“Watching Episode 4. Watching/Seeing MJ hold that first 🏆 damn near had me tearing up! That feeling and level of emotions is unexplainable when you been through the 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥,” a hyped James wrote on Twitter.
Watching Episode 4. Watching/Seeing MJ hold that first 🏆 damn near had me tearing up 🥺! That feeling and level of emotions is unexplainable when you been through the 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 27, 2020
James, who now stars for the Los Angeles Lakers, won two more titles after 2012, including the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history in 2016 when he anchored the Cleveland Cavaliers’ rise from 3-1 down to stun the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
Jordan endured early playoff exits and painful defeats before hoisting his first of six trophies from 1991 to 1998.
And while Jordan had the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boys as his heated rival and tormentor in his path to the title, James dealt with the star-studded Boston Celtics.
Despite his greatness, Jordan didn’t win his first championship until his seventh season. James, meanwhile, wouldn’t reach the top of the NBA mountain until his ninth year in the league.