Lebron James is a great player, should people just give him a break?

At a young 26 years of age, Lebron James is one of the best players in the NBA. However, following his Miami Heat's crushing loss to the Dallas Mavericks in six games, James has been taking some heated criticism for his on court play and off court antics.

Having concluded his eighth NBA season, King James was named Rookie of the Year after being highly touted and drafted number one by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was also the league's Most Valuable Player for two years straight from 2008-2010.

In addition, he led the Cavaliers, perennially in the NBA lottery, to five consecutive playoffs appearances including a 2007 appearance in the NBA Finals, where they lost to the San Antonio Spurs.

Among James' other accomplishments are the Gold Medal he helped the USA win in 2008 at the Beijing Olympics.

However, despite James' accomplishments at such a young age, he has been routinely criticized for not having won an NBA title.

James had his chance this year, but his Heat team fell apart against the Mavericks, despite leading 2-1 in the series, and being dubbed as the overwhelming favorites.

The Heat team was put together as an unstoppable trio with James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh after James' infamous ESPN broadcast of his departure from Cleveland known as The Decision.

In the NBA finals, James was a series-worst -36 in the +/- category. This means that the Heat overwhelmingly outscored the Mavericks if James was sitting on the bench, not a factor in the game.

In fact, James' worst performance was in the final Game 6, where he was -24 for that game alone. James also scored only 18 points in the combined fourth quarters of all six games.

It can be concluded that James was the sole reason why the Heat lost Game 6 and perhaps the entire series.

James has also had his numerous off-the-court problems, besides his infamous The Decision. James and Wade mocked Nowitzki following his illness in Game 4. After losing the series, James lashed out at his critics, telling them in essence to get a life.

James has had a lot of accomplishments in his young career and also a lot to criticize. As one of the best players in the NBA, should people just give Lebron James a break?