LeBron James has won four NBA titles in 10 NBA Finals trips in his illustrious career. In his first trip to the Finals in 2007, LeBron's Cleveland Cavaliers were overwhelmed in a four-game sweep by the San Antonio Spurs. Though the Cavs didn't have nearly enough firepower to compete with the juggernaut Spurs at the time, James believes they were possibly one piece away from stealing that title.
Michael Redd, who was close to signing with the Cavs in 2005, recalled a conversation that he and LeBron James had on “what ifs” had Redd signed with Cleveland:
“You know, me and LeBron had that conversation over the years and we probably would’ve won a championship,” said Redd to Heavy Live With Scoop B.
Redd had the Cavs on his radar during the 2005 offseason, but he elected to remain dedicated to helping the Milwaukee Bucks rise through the ranks. Looking back, though, Redd realizes that his time with the Bucks may have been best served with LeBron James if he ever wanted to win a ring:
“At that point, my career – and LeBron was great back then, but he was not who he is now. His savviness, his experience what he learned from D-Wade in 2011, 2012 and 2013 he became a different player from the 2005-2007. But I think still though, with the cast that he had I think we would’ve won a championship. I would’ve taken the pressure off him.”
Redd even addressed how he and LeBron James could have taken down the Spurs:
“They would put Bruce Bowen on me, or whatever which we had great success against San Antonio for whatever reason in Milwaukee. It was certain teams that we had success against and San Antonio was on our radar which was a team that we could be for whatever reason. So LeBron who he was back then, being just a machine that he was and then the scoring ability with myself – that’s a hard combination to tackle so, obviously no doubt San Antonio had the savvy; they won championships. Coach Pop…it would’ve been a heck of a series for sure.”
It's bit of a stretch to say Redd would have swung the series from a sweep in the Spurs' favor to a win for Cleveland. However, it likely would have been more competitive.
LeBron James, of course, finally won his championship in Cleveland in 2016.
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