The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

To think...months ago we weren't sure this was ever going to happen. No, not LeBron winning an NBA championship, that's always been a lock despite what Skip Bayless or the average Bahamian on twitter says...I'm talking about the 2011-12 NBA ever taking place.

During the lockout, players banded together against the owners, most noticeably seen in the "BBNS" (Basketball Never Stops )apparel campaign and set the tone for what was to come this season.

Fitting that the season began with a Derek Fisher loss at the negotiating table and ended with a Derek Fisher loss on the court. We had Kevin Love's gaudy numbers, lensless glasses, Linsanity, but the 2011-12 season will be remembered for one thing...but it all came to a head in the Finals, and the coronation of King James.

Lessons we learned from the 2012 NBA Finals:

• NBA players have a hyper sensitized fashion sense. They know that what they wear impacts their image and what it says about them. LeBron and Wade want to be GQ cover models, Durant and Westbrook want to be hipsters and Mario Chalmers wants to dress like a baller 24/7. You either get laughed at or get complimented, but the worse thing at the press conference podium is not getting noticed at all.

• Having a back is optional for playing basketball...see Mike Miller, game five

• Erik Spoelstra (hereafter referred to as Philipino Jackson) had his best coaching move, using Norris Cole to light a fire under Mario Chalmers. This may have won the Heat the series. Forget the fact that LeBron, Wade and Bosh are the unquestioned leaders of the team and the obvious reasons for the title run. They're also all married or engaged. The race to be the next best player, the next best single player, is the most important position battle in Miami not including Ryan Tanehill.

• Reports of Dwyane Wade's demise have been greatly exaggerated.

• Durant, Westbrook and Harden were not comforted by the "they're young, they'll be back here" consolation line. Nor should they be. After the Dolphins lost the '84 SuperBowl with a record setting 24-year-old Marino at the helm, everyone was positive he would be back to the big game. We know how that turned out.

• Philipino Jackson now has swag. He joined an elite list of active coaches to win an NBA title, joining Gregg Poppovich, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle. None of his players will bump him again, no one will shout at him again and he is officially no longer "the video guy." Pat Riley may even let him borrow his tailor. Ladies and gentlemen...the Philipino Jackson era has begun

• The Thunder missed Eric Maynor more than we'll ever know

• Spite and the desire to prove people wrong is the most powerful force on the face of the earth. In fact, that may have been "The Force" that everyone in Star Wars kept going on about.

• LIV has become the official celebration ritual for young black people in all walks of life. "I'm going to LIV" following the clinching game in the Finals will become the NBA's version of "I'm going to Disneyworld" for the SuperBowl MVP. Hopefully we see Barack Obama in LIV this November.

• Kryptonite causes quadricep cramps

• Nick Collison might be the most efficient player in the history of the NBA. I've never seen a player come off the bench and within 8-10 minutes is guaranteed to make four stereotypical "playing the game the right way" kind of plays. I won't use race here, I refuse.

• With the Heat and Thunder. We're locked into a possible Lakers-Celtics 80s rivalry to be played out over the next decade.

• Everyone's favourite joke is that Eddy Curry has more rings than (insert whoever you want to make fun of here). Speaks volumes about Curry and his inability to take any minutes away from Joel Anthony or Udonis Haslem. In the before time, the long long ago, we called him "Baby Shaq."

• Everyone from team USA is going to try and dunk on Serge Ibaka

• Insanely loud cheering fans have no appreciable value to wins. Sadly for fans this was hammered home by the "all-in" Thunder crowd versus the Heat crowd who were more worried about club bottle service while watching the game. The Thunder crowd was amazingly passionate, never stopped screaming for two games in Oklahoma City...and they really only dominated two quarters. So much for the crowd.

• Trina and the women of Miami deserve a share in the MVP award. When you're 23 and the options are Miami women or a chamionship...you choose Miami women 10/10 times, that's just a fact .You need a veteran team to go into Miami, beat the Heat and ignore the sights on South Beach. I've been 23, I know what its like...and the Thunder had no chance.