Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

So LeBron James has now won a championship. Now what?

It feels like for the past five years or so, so much of the energy we put into watching the NBA was all whether or not LeBron was going to win a title.

LeBron received more heat for not winning until this season than he probably deserved. He was criticized for The Decision and then mocked at after choking in the 2011 NBA Finals.

The haters are supposed to go away now that he has won. The stupid LeBron criticism is over. Now it’s time to take a step back and look at what this really means for his legacy.

Well, it doesn’t mean anything yet. Winning one title was never LeBron’s destiny. He doesn’t now deserve a crown. This was simply inevitable and it happened right around the time it should have, maybe a year too late.

He played his ninth season this year and is 27 years old. Michael Jordan got his first ring in his seventh season and was 28 years old. So it’s not like he took that long to win a title.

When he came to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, it was to start a dynasty. They talked about it in their introduction party. They don’t want to win just one.

Two years in, they’ve been to two NBA Finals already. The fact that they have accomplished that so soon isn’t a surprise though or a testament to how great they are.

They should have done what they have so far. The balance of star power in the NBA right now is perfect for LeBron to start winning titles.

Who is his greatest competition? It’s 23-year old Kevin Durant and despite the Thunder already making it to the Finals, no one really expects them to start winning titles just yet.

Other than Durant, Kobe is on the way out, Dwight Howard is a mess and Derrick Rose is in the same boat as Durant.

This is how the NBA works. For the most part, you have to wait until it’s your time. So rarely does a team as young as the Thunder win a title when someone like LeBron is in the league, in his prime.

If the Heat just win this one title, in a lockout season, in a season where Derrick Rose tore his ACL, they and LeBron would be considered a failure and rightfully so.

How much do they need to win to not be considered a failure? Two might be enough, three probably should and four would truly silence any possible critics. Four out of seven seems about right.

The window is smaller than people may think for the Heat to become a dynasty. If anything, after watching their first two seasons and the way the team has looked, it doesn’t feel like they will be a dynasty capable of winning four titles.

Rose and the Bulls are right on their heels in the East, although it remains to be seen if they could beat the Heat in a series. Durant and the Thunder have frightening amounts or potential.

LeBron may only be 27 now but Wade is already 30 and considering the way he plays and how injury prone he looks, the window for him playing at this level isn’t much longer.

The Heat have some time though to figure some things out. They will need to improve next year to potentially repeat and protect their title. No one repeats without getting better. The second straight title is always the toughest.

Improving means getting some better pieces to surround LeBron. It worked well this year considering the matchups Miami had but this core is far from complete. They know it though and if they are fortunate (and every champion is) they will find the pieces.

So for now, LeBron’s legacy is closest to Moses Malone, a top 15 player ever most likely. If he gets only one more, he’ll be compared to Wilt. A third and he will be right next to Kobe and Duncan.

If LeBron gets four, he will approach Magic and Bird. And he’s not touching Kareem, Russell, MJ.

Remember, Magic and Bird needed each other to reach their greatness. If we’re lucky, the same will be said one day about LeBron and Durant.

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat matchup is a dream come true for NBA fans as it pits arguably the two most talented teams against each other with the two most talented players.

LeBron James vs. Kevin Durant.

It’s the matchup we always wanted: the two best players in the NBA to lead their teams to the NBA Finals and square off.

One of the special things about this matchup is that LeBron and Durant play the same position. They will be guarding each other throughout the entire series. And each has advantages against the other.

LeBron is of course the ultimate athlete with his strength and power being his greatest advantage. Durant has traditionally struggled somewhat against more physical defenders with LeBron fitting that exact mold.

Durant is taller than LeBron, listed at 6-foot-9 but may be closer to 7-feet according to many NBA players. He can give LeBron trouble using his length. He can play off him on defense and entice LeBron into shooting jumpers.

LeBron is the better all-around player and was the MVP this year rightfully so but he’s not better than Durant at everything. Here are their numbers from the regular season and then the playoffs.

It’s not that common for the two best players in the NBA to meet in the NBA Finals. It’s also not common for the two best players to play the same position.It doesn’t get much better than that. But is it the best individual matchup in NBA Finals history? It’s closer than you think.

We always hear Bird-Magic as the greatest matchup ever but the truth is those two rarely guarded each other. Not taking anything away from those ‘80s Celtics-Lakers series because they were the best NBA Finals’ ever.

Even looking back in 1991 at Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson matching up. They didn’t quite play the same position or guard each other much either. Magic vs. MJ might get the edge in LeBron vs. Durant in how big the names were, LeBron vs. Durant will be better in a lot of other ways too.

The only matchup in NBA Finals history that really is better than what we are about to see is Bill Russell vs. Wilt Chamberlain.

It sounds a little silly already comparing LeBron-Durant to Russell-Wilt but it really could be the beginning of the next great NBA rivalry.

The Thunder aren’t going away for awhile. They look like a team that could be dominating the West for 5-6 more NBA Finals appearances.

The Heat and LeBron are the same way. If the Thunder and Heat manage to meet in the Finals three or four times over the next five years, LeBron-Durant has the potential to turn into the greatest rivalry of all-time.

The first chapter begins Tuesday in Oklahoma City.

Durant averaged 28.03 points per game this season and becomes the youngest ever to win three scoring titles. Only Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain won four-straight scoring titles. Jordan was 25 years old when he won his third scoring title. Durant is 23.

Bryant finishes the season playing eight less games than Durant and averaging 27.86 points per game. Bryant would have needed to score 38 points to pass Durant tonight.

Durant passed Bryant in points per game Sunday when the Thunder lost 114-106 in double overtime to the Lakers.

Durant extended his lead in the scoring race scoring 32 points in each of the Thunder’s last two games at home.

Durant scored less than 20 points only five times this season. He scored over 30 points 25 times, over 40 points four times and his season-high was 51 points.

Durant increased his scoring average this season to 28.0 from 27.7 last year. Two years ago Durant averaged his career-high of 30.1 points per game.

Durant was the most efficient in his career this season however shooting .496 percent from the field, .387 percent from three and he tied his career-high with a 26.2 PER.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Kobe Bryant has a chance to catch Kevin Durant for the scoring title when the Lakers play at Sacramento tonight.

Kobe is averaging 27.86 points per game in 58 games this season. Durant has now played all 66 games and has averaged 28.0303 points per game. If Kobe scores 38 tonight his scoring average will rise to 28.0339 giving him the edge over Durant.

Kobe has scored 38 or more points seven times this season.

If Durant hangs on to the lead he will become just the seventh player ever to win three-straight scoring titles.

Michael Jordan did this twice most recently from 1995-98. The others are Wilt Chamberlain, George Mikan, Neil Johnston, Bob McAdoo and George Gervin.

It is amazing that Durant’s competition this season is the 33-year old Kobe. Even more amazingly, Kobe has won the scoring title just two times total in his career.

Durant has been the more impressive scorer than Kobe this season. Durant has played seven more games, shoots .496 percent from the floor compared to .430 for Kobe and averages 19.7 shots per game while Kobe is taking 23.0 per game.