We should have seen this coming...
For the last 7 years, we've had plenty of glimpses into what kind of a person Lebron James is.
We should have known when he nicknamed himself "The Chosen One" and tattooed it on his back.
We should have known something was wrong when he was asked what he wanted for his career and he responded with two words; "Global Icon."
Not to mention the 5 times he referred to himself in the third person during " The Decision."
We should have known when Lebron ( a child of the 80s such as myself) revealed that his favorite teams were The Bulls, Cowboys and Yankees. or ya know the teams that won almost EVERY championships while he was a kid. Cleveland should have seen the signs when he didn't support a single team from Ohio.
How about the two consecutive early playoff exits, followed by Lebron walking off the court without shaking hands?
Or how about the complete lack of effort in Game 5 of The Boston Series this year. A classic " I'm waiting for the offseason." game.
The problem is partially our expectations. Because of his talent, WE wanted Lebron to be Magic, Jordan, and Bird all rolled up in one and we ignored the type of player we were watching...
We ignored when Lebron would consistently shrink in the final moments of a big game. We ignored the nail biting, the lack of leadership and the fact that having fun always seemed like more fun than actually winning.
Lebron burned his legacy on Thursday like fans burned his jersey in Cleveland.
And the thing is the choice was NOT about winning. The choice was about getting help. The choice was about giving up the burden of being a franchise player and the savior of a city.
The choice was about Lebron wanting to be paid and treated like a franchise player without actually having to be "The guy" every night.
The real winner in all of this D-Wade. Wade gets a longer max contract, gets to save his body during the first 42 minutes of every game, before taking over in the last 6. While remaining the face of the franchise.
Lebron will NEVER be the face of the Heat because Wade brought the championship there in 06 and as he reminded us a few years ago when he hit a game winner against chicago; Miami is his house.
Take a second to think back through the GREAT players the NBA has seen throughout the years from Mikan to Russell, to Kareem, To Magic, Bird, Jordan, Tim Duncan and even my arch nemisis Kobe Bean Bryant. None of them would have shirked their responsibility to a franchise the way Lebron did.
In fact Duncan even had the chance in 2003 to flee for a super team in the state tax free city of Orlando. If you recall the Magic had already signed Grant Hill and Tracy Mcgrady to contracts. At the time Duncan had already won a title for The Spurs and had nowhere near the local ties Lebron had to Cleveland being from The Virgin Islands.
But Duncan stuck it out, because that's what true Superstars do. Superstars are supposed to be wired differently.
Lebron thinks his decision was about "taking his talents to South Beach", but really his decision was to step down from the Superstar pedestal and become just another All-Star.
JS
Seriously dude... We're talking about grown men who get paid to play games. Can everybody pick their balls up off the the floor, stop acting like whiny biotches and talk about something/anything slightly more important. I heard there's some hot Russian spies somewhere, also the east coast is really hot in the summer. Next.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really like Kobe Bryant before this whole thing, but now I have the utmost respect for him. During all of this, he has seriously taken a back seat to the so called "king", when in reality, he is the much better player. It's just not fair, and the fans or players need to stay something about this. I at least respect Kobe Bryant's game. Lebron really told me alot about who he was in that "Decision". He needs to get over himself. Go ahead Lebron, win that title in Miami. It just wont be the same...
ReplyDeleteI still don't like Kobe or think he's as good as the media makes him out to be.
ReplyDeleteBut he's better than Lebron.
Jon,
ReplyDeleteThe media doesn't make Kobe out to be anything. He doesn't really get that much exposure. He's not better than Jordan, but I will say this...If the Lakers meet the Heat next June, and Kobe wins his 6th title by defeating the Heat, I'll still say Jordan is better, but I will have to say Kobe is RIGHT THERE.
Good post, But his decision to leave Cleveland does make me wonder how long he would have to put up with losing in Cleveland, they had him for 7 years to build a winning franchise and the organization still couldn't do it. The only reason I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't a bad choice for him to leave personally is that if he wants to win a championship then the best opportunity seems to be in Miami. It kind of reminds me of Kevin Garnett, he worked so hard with the timberwolves and it wasn't til he went to Boston that he would finally win a championship.
ReplyDeleteHowever, you're right that he isn't the chosen one, all that talent and he rather sit in the backseat than take the wheel which seems like a very chumpish thing to do, considering how many people would kill to be able to play like him.
Late to the show, but I think your observation about his favorite teams being Bulls/Cowboys/Yankees is the best analysis of who he is as a person.
ReplyDeleteDuncan was already on a championship team. There were other factors that led to his daliance with Orlando. His staying in SA had nothing to do with being the right kind of "superstar". The whole notion is just ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteLBJ owed Cleveland exactly what he gave them He showed up for work pretty much every day for seven years and performed to the best of his abilities in all but one game, if you want to discuss Game 5. That's it. Would it have been nicer if he'd handled the exit differently? Sure, but at the end of the day he didn't do anything that was so terrible that he deserves the kind of flack he is getting.
And by the way, Kobe did try and "shirk his responsibility" to the Lakers twice, not to mention his shirking of his responsibilities to Charlotte who drafted him. He nearly left for the Clippers in FA and demanded to be traded twice, enarly being dealt to the Bulls.
This nonsense is only coming up now because people hate that LBJ came to the Heat. That's it. Period. End of story. I never heard this nonsense about you have to win under only certain conditions to be considered great. IT's a joke.