You could see it in his eyes, and this time around, you could see it in his play.
LeBron James is ready to win a title, and that fact became apparent after James scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Miami's 92-84 win over Dallas in Game 1 of the 2011 NBA Finals on Tuesday night.
This isn't the LeBron that we've seen before - the one who allegedly quit on the Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs or who caved at the end of games.
No, not this time around. The time has finally come for James. The ring is his at long last.
While it's only been one game out of (potentially) seven, but you could see that James had the will to win on Tuesday night in South Beach. After all, LeBron did come to Miami to win a championship (not one, not two, not three...you get it).
And when the best player in the world makes such a bold statement like that, you'd better believe him. It's clear now that this version of James is different than the one we saw in the 2007 NBA Finals when his Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
In the '07 Finals, James was a virtual no-show in Game 1, scoring a mere 14 points. LeBron rebounded in Games 2,3 and 4, scoring 25, 25 and 24 respectively. Still, it was clear that James just didn't have the wherewithal to win that ring.
But from the looks of his performance this postseason (averaging 26 points and 8.9 rebounds through the first 15 postseason games), and his play on Tuesday, it's clear that there is no stopping this man.
Sorry Dallas, but you'll just have to wait for that first championship ring.