Situationally Speaking...

“Legacy” has become an overused term within the realm of mainstream media in the NBA. The word is brought up so often that reporters are beginning to ask superstars such as LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki how this season and these playoffs are affecting their careers. What are they expected to say? Are James and Nowitzki really thinking about their legacies as much as fans do as they vie for their first-ever NBA championships?

Legacies are meant to be talked about, written about, and placed within historical context. It’s something that’s meant to be disconnected from the superstar – an indirect connection between fan and athlete. The athlete is providing the entertainment; he shouldn’t have to draw conclusions on the outcome or become a part of our fanatical conversations.

Legacy impact is something I like to elaborate on about once a year, usually once the NBA season has concluded. Last year it was LeBron James, the season before it was Kobe Bryant. And just like any other fan, I wonder how those legacies will ultimately fit in the NBA history books. It may be an intriguing topic as we watch a superstar rise or fade, but never should conclusions be drawn. That’s the beauty of sports: We can talk about what we think is going to happen, or what we think a certain outcome means for a specific team or player, but we never really know until the dust settles and an actual result is presented.

What we can safely say about the 2011 NBA Finals is that the series will presumably have some sort of affect on the legacies of both LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki. Both players are en route to re-transcending their images because of the situations they’ve found themselves in.

By now, Nowitzki and James’ careers have been highlighted so many times that it’s making us wonder whether or not the Finals are between the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat or Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James. We know about The Decision. We know what LeBron has endured up to this point. We’ve heard “Dirk is the greatest European player in the history of the NBA and possibly the most underrated player in the history of the NBA” so many times that it’s unfortunately making some of us groan in annoyance. We know about the 2006 collapse the last time these two teams faced in the Finals. We know how infuriated Mark Cuban was during that series, as Dwayne Wade shot 78 free throws in the final 4 games. We know about LeBron and Dirk’s ring-less careers of not just failure, but coming up short when it matters most.

However, what you might not know is this: Both players have found themselves in pristine title contending situations. Just as with every great player’s legacy, it’s all about being in the right situation in the right place at the right time. Some players became victims of the eras they played in (Charles Barkley, Karl Malone), some thrived in auspicious times (Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor), and some became the face of an era by transcending the game (Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan). Nowitzki and James are finding greatness in an era where they each obtain an opportunity to leave an imprint.

For Dirk Nowitzki, his previously undermined career is now taking a leap because of the NBA’s popularity levels. The NBA is now more renowned than it ever has been, with more eyes drawn to the spectacle of premier talent and unprecedented drama than most would even realize. Not even Bird, Magic or Air Jordan held the capacity to bring this much attention to the sport in their days of glory.

Unquestionably, Nowitzki has raised his game to another level this postseason. He hasn’t been camping at the three point line, has been as efficient as possible in every shooting category (52% shooting from the field and from three, 93% at the line), and has been making a living with his back to the basket in the mid-range game. The spots on the floor where he makes a living and the skill set he exudes are purely incomparable to any other player in the history of the game.

Throughout his career, he’s only faced two problems: He’s a foreign player from Germany, and he’s had an admirably consistent career that never truly exploded at an apex. He won NBA MVP in the 2006-07 season, but it was virtually looked at as a resuscitation award, considering the breakdown the season prior. Nowitzki could never find a way to be thrown in the upper echelon with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James in that time period. American fans couldn’t connect with a foreign superstar whose team continued to fail in the postseason.

Now, Nowitzki is impossible to overlook. He was in the MVP conversation all season, was the epicenter of a Dallas sweep over the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals, and subsequently put the Mavericks on his back all the way to the Finals. A collection of performances have illuminated since then, including game 1 of the Western Conference Finals versus the Oklahoma City Thunder (12-15 from the field, 24-24 from the free throw line, an overall immaculate performance of efficiency that will forever be engrained within the NBA playoffs history books), game 3 of the same series (was quiet all night, then appeared and hit crucial shots in the fourth quarter), then game 4 (which was more of an epic breakdown by Oklahoma City, as they relinquished a 15-point lead with 5:04 remaining in the contest. Dirk hit a myriad of difficult shots in a 40-point performance and a Dallas series-clincher), and game 5 (hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:14 remaining and the Mavericks never looked back).

He’s playing the best basketball of his career at age 32 and the NBA’s largest audience is witnessing it all. I guess you could consider this his explosion.

As for LeBron James, he was the major force behind vaulting the NBA to where it is at the moment because of his decision to join the Heat. And now that he’s reached the NBA’s grandest stage with an NBA Finals MVP flanking him in Dwayne Wade, James finds himself in the most comfortable situation of his career.

Not only is James in a more comfortable ambiance in Miami than what he experienced in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals in Cleveland, but he's surrounded by personnel that – despite what most thought when analyzing the Miami Heat when they initially united – suits James most perfectly.

The Miami Heat have perfected the role of a high performing Ferrari. Once James found his role as the engine and Wade found his spot as the control man, everything started running on full cylinders. LeBron James is an all-purpose basketball player that takes risks late in games that seem uncalculated at times. When he gets a little out of hand, Wade slows the game down as the smooth operator. They may have seemed like similar basketball players on separate teams, but they differ so much in approach and demeanor that they complement each other as well as any tandem in basketball history.

LeBron James now carries the freedom he’s always wanted to attain without the daunting weight on his shoulders. At the end of games, he takes tough shots with hands in his face, drives to the basket through multiple defenders, and pulls up unexpected threes in crunch time. Shots that used to be confounding during his struggles as a closer are now surfacing as electrifying moments.

It started in this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics, when James scored 35 points and ripped off Miami’s final 10 points in game 5 as he punched the team’s ticket to the conference finals. It was his most illustrious playoff performance since game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference finals. Since then, he’s been playing magnificent basketball, highlighted by his game 2 performance in the Eastern Conference finals versus the Chicago Bulls (hit a huge three with over four minutes remaining, then another at the right elbow after catching Rose on a pump fake with just over three minutes remaining. He then made the game-clinching shot after retrieving a rebound off his own miss and laying it in. This game could also prove to be the turning point of Miami’s postseason, as Miami stole its first game in Chicago and head coach Erik Spoelstra found his “big lineup” of Wade, James, Mike Miller, Chris Bosh and the resurgent Udonis Haslem); game 3 of the same series when he recorded 10 assists and played with pure game-controlling poise; then game 4 (played immaculate defense on Rose in every one-on-one situation and shut down the league MVP like no player in the league has proven to do thus far. He also comfortably put the game out of reach with a powerful drive to the left side of the basket as he connected on a lefty lay-in over Joakim Noah. To top it off, he hit the game-closing shot at the left elbow); and lastly in game 5 (along with Wade, led a come-from-behind surge to seize the series. Following Wade’s four-point play with less than a minute left, James immediately came off a Haslem screen for a pure three to tie the game at 79 apiece. To cap it off, he hit a dazzling step-back jumper after deflecting a Derrick Rose pass on the other end. He closed the game out with another fantastic defensive performance on Rose).

Both LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki are concurrently performing at their highest levels as they enter the biggest stages of their respective careers. The 2011 NBA Finals is set to be the most grandiose stage in NBA history. With these two superstars on opposing sides, considering the situations they’re in, how does this year’s Finals not affect their legacies?

James will be looked at as the man who changed the NBA and simultaneously won a championship if the Heat win, and Nowitzki will be looked at as the man who vanquished the villains in the midst of it all if the Mavericks win. We’ll be witnessing two of the top-25, if not top-20 or even top-15 greatest players in NBA history guide their teams in search of their first NBA championships. They’ll both be vying to re-transcend their careers – this time as winners. Considering the situation, the eventual champion may have the potential to be something much more than that.