For the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2015 season was one to remember. Despite losing to the Golden State Warriors in this year’s NBA Finals, the team can now hoist up another Eastern Conference Championship banner, and proudly boast its first Finals victory (finally!), after tallying two this postseason. Even with all-star Kevin Love falling to injury in the first round against the Boston Celtics, the Cavaliers lost only two games prior to their matchup with the Warriors. Yet, somehow, people still manage to call into question the greatness of LeBron James, the demigod who carried his team through an unforgettable ultimate series.

Despite being one of the best players in league history, the King still had shade thrown at him from NBA followers across the world that found solace in yet another Finals failure.

“He’s not clutch. He can’t win the big games,” they say.

Even with injuries to his two all-star teammates, James somehow managed to push this memorable Finals to six games. And with what? Behind James, there was Matthew Dellavedova, the one-game wonder, and then there were the two best players from this season’s New York Knicks team (save Carmelo Anthony, of course) in J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert (wait, they were the second and third best players on that team? Yikes...) Honestly, James had less in this Finals than he did in last year’s with a deteriorating Dwyane Wade and a Mario Chalmers who is still trying to fit in with that Miami Heat team.

“But a loss is a loss, and LeBron is now 2-4 in the Finals,” you might say.

Sure, you win some and you lose some. But, it is never that simple.

Before I continue, please take note of this minor (perhaps major?) disclaimer: I am a diehard Kobe Bryant and Lakers fan (notice which came first); the former is the reason why I even acknowledge basketball. But, for people who call themselves fans of basketball, of the NBA, it is blasphemous to put this amount of blame on James, and not acknowledge his situation. Let me tell you why.

As we travel back in time to the beginning of the 2014 postseason, we see this Cavaliers team sitting snug at the No. 10 spot in the East with a 33-49 record. That team finished 22nd in points per game (98.2), 16th in opponent points per game (101.5), 22nd in offensive rating (104.2), and 19th in defensive rating (107.7). And, in case you didn’t know, being in the 10th spot means you didn’t make the playoffs.

Fast forward to present day, where the King made his glorious return, and today's Cavaliers are preparing to hang up another Eastern Conference Championship banner. This time, the team finished the regular season as the No. 2 seed with a 53-29 record. In every single one of the aforementioned categories, this team improved: 8th in points per game (103.1), 13th in opponent points per game (98.7), third in offensive rating (111.1), and 18th in defensive rating (106.3).

Now, let’s briefly look at this year’s playoffs run. After a physical but sweeping bout with the Celtics, the Cavaliers dropped two of the first three games to the Bulls, but rallied back to win the series in six games. With Kevin Love out, the Cavaliers used the momentum from their three-game win streak to topple the No. 1 seed Atlanta Hawks in four games.

Before I go any further, let’s think about that for a second: The Cavaliers did not even make the playoffs the year before, and in the following season, James returns, and the team is suddenly in the NBA Finals as the eighth-highest scoring team in the league, and lost only twice getting there. How many players can you think of in NBA history can have this kind of [immediate] impact on a team? Think about that for about five minutes before you move on, please.

Now...to the Finals. LeBron James averaged a near triple-double in the Finals. He recorded 35.8 points per game, 13.3 rebounds per game, and 8.8 assists per game. James also played an average of 46 minutes per game, which is about two minutes of rest in each game. If we combine the averages of the other six players (Matthew Dellavedova, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Tristan Thompson, Timofey Mozgov, and James Jones) that played for the Cavaliers in the Finals, we get 8.8 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, and one assist per game (I did not include Kyrie Irving, who was injured in overtime of Game 1, but tallied 23 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and an overtime-forcing block, nor did I include Mike Miller, who might have played 30 seconds.)

Some might point to James’ 41 percent field goal percentage and say he shot way too much and didn’t get his team involved enough, but when the four other “shooters” on your team combined for a shooting percentage of 29 percent, you tend to take things into your own hands. Perhaps the most consistent, non-LeBron players were Tristan Thompson, who averaged a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting, and Timofey Mozgov, who averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 55 percent shooting.

On the other side, there were the Golden State Warriors, who were, on paper, one of the best teams of all time. They finished with a 67-15 regular season record and the No. 1 seed. They were also first in points per game (110), 15th in opponent points per game (99.9), second in offensive rating (111.6), first in defensive rating (101.4), and had lost only three times at home all season (including the postseason) prior to facing the Cavaliers in the Finals. This team was also versatile in that they could play teams with both big and small lineups. Did I mention they had the league’s MVP, who led the league in three-pointers made the past three seasons? Yeah, that team was pretty good.

Alas, we finally get back to James, who tallied two triple-doubles, and was one assist away from a third. He is accompanied by only three other players who have had multiple triple-doubles in the same NBA Finals: Wilt Chamberlain (1967), Magic Johnson (1984, 1985, 1991) and Larry Bird (1986). James and Johnson are the only two players to do it in multiple Finals.

I’m not arguing that the Cavaliers lost the series and the Warriors didn’t win it; in fact, I predicted the Warriors would win in five games (and that was with Kyrie Irving.) All I’m saying is give credit where credit is due—on both sides. The Warriors had the regular season MVP in perhaps the best shooter of all time, Steph Curry, the do-it-all-guy, NBA Finals MVP in Andre Iguodala, and a generally good all around team. But, when we look back at this series, let’s acknowledge the greatness and the strength James had to put this Cavaliers team on his back, and carry them to the Finals.

This year's Finals would have been nothing without the best player in the world.