Duke basketball: LeBron James doesn’t win titles without Blue Devils

Whenever LeBron James wears a crown, a Duke basketball face must be nearby.

Maybe LeBron James could guide a squad to an NBA championship without a Duke basketball product as a teammate. However, the 35-year-old three-time champ hasn’t proven able to do so thus far in his 17-year pro career.

And that’ll again be the case this week if James and the Los Angeles Lakers turn their 2-0 NBA Finals lead over the Miami Heat into a ring (Game 3 is set for 7:30 p.m. EST Sunday, on ABC, inside Orlando’s Disney bubble).

Sure, Quinn Cook — a 2015 champ with Duke and a 2018 champ with the Golden State Warriors — is a pure benchwarmer, seeing only 83 seconds of action between the first two games against the Heat. Yet the third-string point guard, who’s averaging 5.1 points and 1.1 assists in his first L.A. campaign, still looks to become the fourth Dukie to celebrate an NBA title with James.

Plus, like 2001 Duke basketball champ Shane Battier, who played a significantly larger role in helping King James claim back-to-back crowns with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, Cook is known for his positive vibes on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

Speaking of Battier, however, without the brainy forward’s inspired defense and 6-for-8 clip from downtown during Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs in 2013, James might have one less Larry O’Brien Trophy to his name these days.

And speaking of clutch performances during a Game 7 to aid James in a championship quest, we have to talk about point guard Kyrie Irving.

ALSO READ: The 10 greatest NBA Blue Devils of all time

If not for the legendary 3-point dagger from the ex-Duke basketball one-and-done against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 — not to mention Irving’s average of 30.0 points across his team’s four wins in that series — James might never have blessed the Cleveland Cavaliers with the franchise’s first title.

Plus, it didn’t hurt for James and those Cavaliers to have on their side a lockdown defender and emphatic finisher in former Blue Devil Dahntay Jones, even though the chiseled forward didn’t play in Game 6 or Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Warriors.

Does LeBron James now team up with Duke basketball names on purpose?

Yes, it’s no wonder that James, who seems to have dictated rosters for every franchise he’s played for the past decade, has enjoyed at least one Blue Devil on each of his past nine teams. Note that the streak started after the seven straight years without a Dukie teammate that preceded his getting over the hump (he played his rookie year with 2001 Duke champ Carlos Boozer).

To be fair, though, as the Fox College Hoops Twitter account recently pointed out, Miami, Kansas, and Georgia Tech have also each seen at least one former player on every championship roster with James. That said, of those three schools, only Kansas has one of its own as part of the current Lakers bunch (Markieff Morris).

Finally, add in that both times James took home gold from the Olympics — 2008 and 2012 — Duke GOAT Mike Krzyzewski was the head coach of Team USA.

With all this in mind, in a few years, James may have a chance to properly thank the Blue Devils for all their contributions to his résumé over the years. He could do so by putting in a good word for Duke when it comes time for his namesake, four-star 2023 combo guard Bronny James, to choose a college.

Just saying…

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