Will a Game 7 victory be enough to silence LeBron's haters?

Last June, during the Cleveland Cavaliers' six-game loss in the NBA Finals to these very same Golden State Warriors, an article by Ken Berger of CBS painstakingly detailed the recovery regimen LeBron James underwent on cross-country flights during the Finals.

The story was simple - James had been the sole carrier of the Cavs for two months with Kevin Love and later Kyrie Irving going down to injury. Along the way he flirted with a historic usage percentage, and single-handedly took two games from the Warriors. The article was a testament to what high-level athletes go through to fuel their bodies in trying to win.

In the end it wasn't enough as the Dubs were crowned champs. For his trouble, James took questions about his legacy. Specifically, how a guy who was supposed to be one of the greatest players ever could sport a sub-par 2-4 all-time series record in the NBA Finals.

This, was of course, never to mind that Magic Johnson - often compared to LeBron and still beloved even though he's the most obvious tweeter in social media history - also lost four Finals.

James' curse, aside from an ill-advised choice to televise something six years ago, is simply the fact that he plays sports for a living. Right or wrong, all greats are compared against previous greats. Nuance, as often happens everywhere else in society, is lost easily.

"How could LeBron James be better than Michael Jordan?" the clickbait question goes. After all, MJ was 6-0 in the Finals.

Does it matter that no opponent Jordan's Chicago Bulls played in that era was anywhere close to their equal? Of course not, that would require critical thought.

And so here we are again.

This time, James has his supporting cast present (well, maybe not Love the last five games) and he's still carrying the Cavs on his back. For the second straight year, he's averaging close to a triple-double in the NBA Finals. This time, he's not far off a 5x5 either. In Games 5 and 6, he averaged 41 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, six blocks, and four steals.

Ultimately, it makes no difference what naysayers think. If James went out and scored 68 points in a Game 7 win Sunday, there would still be those who would hate, masses who would call him nothing more than a mercenary, and the detractors looking to takeaway from the legacy of one of the greatest to ever step foot on the court.

That's not the point though. The unfortunate narrative comes if the Cavaliers lose - and not just because it would mean another sad-sack moment for Cleveland. It would mean a Lake Erie full of hot takes and tone-deaf ramblings about a 2-5 record.

So like it or not, and as hyperbolic as it sounds, Sunday is probably the biggest game of James' career.

There has almost been a palpable sense in the last fortnight that many are now pulling for The King. Whether that's due to an expiration date on Golden State's "golden boys" status, or simply respect for the best player of his generation, is hard to pinpoint.

James has been admirably defiant regarding the legacy question, curtly dismissing questions regarding it and going so far as to wear a Kermit sipping tea hat on Saturday.

Kermit sipping tea actually feels a little tame. You'd think LeBron would feel more like this guy:

James will probably be in the mood for a drink one way or another late Sunday night.