“Riley ran the team, and Erik Spoelstra held them accountable, and it was ‘DWade City’” - NBA analyst says LeBron James had the biggest success in his career when he had the least amount of power

LeBron James, like most NBA superstars who also happen to be franchise players, holds considerable power and influence over every team he’s played for. He reportedly had a huge say in bringing Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook to play alongside him at the LA Lakers.

After the Westbrook experiment failed, and without James’ commitment to signing an extension, the Lakers seemed reluctant to give in to the four-time MVP’s requests. LA’s front office is supposedly pushing back on 18x All-Star’s desire to get Kyrie Irving to Hollywood.

Colin Cowherd, on his podcast, asserted that having limited power is what worked best for LeBron James in his career:

“When LeBron didn’t have power in Miami, that was most successful he was. Riley ran the team and Erik Spoelstra held them accountable and it was DWade City. The most successful LeBron has been was when he had the least power.”

In LeBron James’ four seasons with the Miami Heat, he led the South Beach outfit to four straight NBA Finals appearances. Miami was Dwyane Wade County and had the legendary Pat Riley as the head basketball executive. Erik Spoelstra wasn’t the big-time coach he is today, but everyone knew he ran a tight ship.

It was the slick former Showtime Lakers head coach who engineered the moves that brought James and Chris Bosh to Miami. He then surrounded the superstars with able role players who starred in their roles. At one point, the "Heatles" had Ray Allen, Shane Battier, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem on their roster.

LeBron James' four seasons with the Heat may arguably have been the only time in his career where he was just allowed to hoop. D-Wade sacrificed a lot to give his good friend more control of the team, but Miami was still his team.

The four-time champion won 50% of his NBA title haul when he was surrounded by the Heat culture. He didn’t have excessive power over the team and he was hugely successful in that setup.

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More power translating into more success could have been the narrative had LeBron James not run into the Golden State Warriors

LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers had no chance against the Kevin Durant era Golden State Warriors. [Photo: Blue Man Hoop]

Colin Cowherd’s claim of LeBron James having his best years in the NBA when he had the least control could have been so wrong. The history of the league and James’ career could also have been so different had the Golden State Warriors not turned into juggernauts.

In his second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James had even more control than the first time he played for Cleveland. It was at this time that the name “LeGM” really began to take root. He could have had more success during that spell at Cleveland had he not run into a buzzsaw called the Warriors.

When Golden State didn’t have the overwhelming edge in firepower, the James-led Cavaliers were 1-1 against Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The last two championships between the two teams almost turned into a mere formality after the Warriors added Kevin Durant.

Once Durant entered the equation, the Golden State Warriors were 8-1 in two championship rounds against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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