Miami Heat forward LeBron James is truly a sensational player to watch. In fact, valid arguments can be made that he’s the best player in the National Basketball Association – better than Kobe Bryant, better than Dwyane Wade, and better than Dwight Howard. Scariest of all, is that, at 26 years old, LeBron has accomplished enough to land him a spot in the Basketball Hall of Fame, yet, he’s probably got at least 10 years of basketball left in him. In 2003, the Akron, Ohio native was coming out of Mount St. Vincent High School and entering the NBA Draft.
The hometown Cleveland Cavaliers had the first pick, and didn’t hesitate to select him. As a rookie, he averaged 21 points, six assists, and six rebounds a game. Those numbers are a far cry from the numbers we see him posting today on a nightly basis, but it was obvious that LeBron James was on the fast track to being a special player. In 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, he led the Cavaliers to the playoffs, and won two MVP awards.
Year after year, LeBron would dominate the regular season – as well as the postseason – but not quite enough to win a championship. His 2009 season was particularly…intriguing. Of course, LeBron was excellent during the regular season, winning his second MVP award, and in the playoffs, the Cavaliers beat Chicago, but in the next round, lost to the Celtics. The way they lost was uglier than losing itself. In game five, the Celtics won by a 120-88 score, and LeBron was 3-of-14 from the field with 15 points. He appeared to have quit on his team. The normal hustle and tenacity and fire that we as fans love about LeBron…it was somewhere else.
In game six, he was better, with 27 points and 19 rebounds, but you could tell he was too tentative and not willing or wanting to take the game into his own hands, when as a leader, he knew that was his job. After losing to Boston, he didn’t look particularly upset. In fact, he ran out of Boston Garden in a very upbeat matter, shaking hands with Celtics players and smiling. You can tell he wasn’t taking it too hard if he was willing to meet the guys who defeated him seconds after the game. And then came the offseason. The dramatic, ugly offseason. For about a month, he disappeared from the public eye, giving no indication as to where he would be next year – if he was even leaving.
On July 1st, 2010, he became a free agent. He received interest from Cleveland, the Clippers, Miami, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and Dallas. A week later, on an ESPN special called “The Decision” aired for the sole purpose of LeBron saying where he would be next year, LeBron said he would ‘take his talents to South Beach to play for the Miami Heat’. Obviously, I’m not going to get too much into that spectacle, because it was a long time ago. My main issue is the issue everyone has – the way it was handled. People who say LeBron isn’t a competitor because he ‘teamed up’ with friends and fellow NBA superstars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh also have a valid point.
Think about it – if Michael Jordan had a chance to team up with Charles Barkley and John Stockton, do you think he would have done it? Absolutely not, Michael was too loyal. If anything, he would’ve persuaded one or both of those guys to play in Chicago, and would’ve left it at that. He would never leave his team. Also, Michael has said when asked about LeBron’s situation that he wouldn’t team up because he ‘wanted to beat those guys’. And to think LeBron calls himself ‘King James’. If he was really a ‘King’, he would’ve recruited Bosh and Wade to Cleveland, and if they didn’t want to play with him, he would’ve been hungrier to beat them in the 2010 season.
In the interview, which was truly a sickening display, he talked about how he can’t get into how he’d address Cleveland fans. On ESPN, literally 30 minutes after the announcement, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon showed LeBron video of Cavaliers fans burning the ‘King’s’ jersey. He said he gave seven great years to Cleveland – an undeniable fact. And he said he allowed Cleveland fans to see LeBron grow from ‘an 18-year-old kid to a 25-year-old man’. Not so fast.
LeBron, for the first six years of his career, was a likeable human being. Sore loser? Sure. But Michael Jordan was, too. And he was referred to as a fierce competitor, shouldn’t LBJ get the same label? However, from 2009 onward, LeBron has turned into a well-respected basketball God to a despicable follower.
LeBron is a fantastic player. Let’s not kid ourselves.
However, I think, after the 2008 season, something changed. It’s hard to put my finger on it. I think it’s very possible LeBron got tired of subpar supporting casts – understandable enough, but he still has a commitment to his team. Game five of the 2009 series against Boston was, in a word, pathetic. Not even the biggest LeBron apologist who blames the Cavaliers management and the city for him leaving, or still insists he’s a ‘King’ can say he gave all he could in that game. It appeared that everything fans loved about LeBron was left in Boston Garden in game three, where he had 22 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists – an efficient game, at least.
Seemingly, LeBron said to himself before game five: “OK, the series is tied 2-2. If we win tonight, we can get a lead going back to their house with momentum and….oh screw being a leader, I just want to leave this place.” He looked, in game five, like a terrible basketball player. That’s why, I think, supporters of Kobe Bryant have plenty of merit. Kobe would never quit on his team – it doesn’t matter the situation – especially not in the playoffs when you have a chance to go back to the NBA Finals. To me, game five was just as bad as leaving Cleveland itself because that’s when he turned his back on the fans – not just of Cleveland, but of basketball.
Up to that point, everybody who didn’t like LeBron were purely jealous or just thought he was a ‘choker’ in the playoffs – not accurate, but it comes with the territory of being a superstar on a team with no championships. After that game, there was a strong disdain amongst many for LeBron – and it was very much warranted. Leaving for Miami was just the icing on the cake.
Has it gone well for LeBron in Miami? I guess. The Heat are 52-23, and he’s having a normal LeBron year (26.6 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6.9 APG), and I’d say the Heat are a pretty average team without him. That’s not the issue with him. To me, the thing with LeBron is, he’s got a lot more growing up to do than he and his friends think.
Of course, no true leader quits on his team in the playoffs against an intense rival. No true leader hangs his team to dry for a whole offseason and smacks his former organization across the face on national television. And the latest debacle – the player introduction incident. On a Tuesday night game against – you guessed it – Cleveland, LeBron and the Heat were coming to town. Can’t imagine LeBron would be getting any hugs from fans or blow-kisses from cheerleaders.
Nobody in America – outside of Miami – wants the Heat to win. During the player introductions, the Cavaliers P.A. announcer was ready to announce LeBron first – might as well get the boos over with – “at 6’8”, the forward from St. Vincent Mary’s High School, LeBron James.” LeBron was nowhere to be found. What’s more, he wasn’t even present for the singing of the Star Spangled Banner – not that I care, but it is a sign of respect.
So let’s get this straight. LeBron leaves the business that bowed down to him for seven years without consulting them, embarrasses them on national TV, joins forces with a great team to take the easy way out to winning a championship, skips the national anthem and player introductions because you don’t want to take the boos, and quits on his team when they need it most – yet, he’s somehow a King and as he has said in interviews with Kobe Bryant, also an “ultimate competitor”. I think it’s a stretch to even call LeBron admirable.
There’s a saying I live by: “you aren’t what you say you are”. Name the great athletes in sports over the last 10 to 20 years. Well that’s easy. Michael Jordan. Kobe Bryant. Wayne Gretzky. Alex Ovechkin. Tom Brady. Peyton Manning. Ray Lewis. Roy Halladay. Derek Jeter. Lionel Messi. All great at what they do, all fierce competitors. All are more accomplished and have stuck longer. Between them, there are 28 Championships. However, none of those guys have an overly egotistical name that they refer to themselves by. Michael Jordan is just MJ. Kobe Bryant is just Kobe. Wayne Gretzky is “The Great One”, but he doesn’t relish it.
Alex Ovechkin is also “Alex The Great”, but he comes from a modest background and even with the fame, it remains such. Tom Brady, Ray Lewis, and Peyton Manning don’t even have nicknames, and combine for five Super Bowls. Roy Halladay is nicknamed ‘Doc’ for being a strategical pitcher, but, again, he doesn’t relish it. Jeter and Messi don’t have nicknames either, and Messi is the greatest soccer player in the world at 23, and Jeter is one of the most famous players in the history of his franchise that has 27 World Series Titles.
Those guys are more accomplished than LeBron. Have won in the playoffs – followed through when it was needed, and they are actual team leaders. LeBron, in fact, doesn’t even ride the team bus for Miami. I guess it would be too much of a hassle for him to you know, get to know the guys he hasn’t even been on a team with for a year yet. How could he even bother?
Is LeBron a good person? I never said he wasn’t. Is he a fantastic player? Unquestionably, I could make a valid case he’s a better player than Kobe. There’s no denying LeBron is a special athlete, and we might not see a guy come out for the draft for a long time. However, in some ways, that’d be optimal. LeBron, physically, is probably the best player the NBA has seen since Jordan. Mentally, his makeup could and should be questioned.
Is LeBron a true leader? Nope. Does he quit from time to time? Absolutely. Is he a bit of a whiner? You bet. Does he have some growing up to do? He does. Ironically enough, in researching what LeBron has to say about some things he’s done, he doesn’t appear regretful, remorseful, or even apologetic.
I will admit that in a November ESPN article, he said he would have changed some aspects of how ‘The Decision’ went down. Well, the sky must be blue. “If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different. But I’m happy with the decision I made. There’s always going to be a misunderstanding. I don’t know what I would [have done], but I definitely would have changed it,” James said. Part of me thinks he said this out of peer pressure; he said this to repair his image. If he said no, he’s the most despised player in the NBA by a wide margin – as if he isn’t already. If he says he’s a bit regretful, then maybe some fans will sympathize – not all, but some – and will realize, ‘hey, he made a mistake, he recognizes it, and he’s willing to live with his consequences publicity wise.’
However, not even two months later, he claimed he had no regrets about any event in 2010 – The Decision, slapping Cleveland and Akron in the face, leaving a few organizations in limbo, and of course, quitting.
And of course the player introduction incident. Think about it honestly. What great athlete doesn’t get booed in an opposing stadium? To name a few… Derek Jeter gets booed everywhere he goes. Does he hide? Nope, if anything, he embraces it. He got so famous for embracing the hatred, that he did a commercial and even said, ‘that sounds like victory’. He’s got a point. If you’re getting booed in an opposing team’s stadium, you must be some kind of player. Ray Lewis gets booed everywhere for…being Ray Lewis, for one, and of course, most NFL fans on opposing teams rib him for his murder accusations in 2000. They also refer to him in a racist connotation, which is considered the standard in NFL games. Ray doesn’t hide either. If anything, he feeds off it. It’s a fuel to his fire.
Lastly, what would Michael Jordan… That comparison is almost laughable to me. If Michael got booed, not only would he take it, he would feed off of it, and then drop 40+ points and silence the entire crowd. LeBron? He hid and then let his team lose by 12 to one of the worst basketball teams in recent memory. Pathetic. Just pathetic.
Every indication from teammates say LeBron is a fun guy to be around… hard working, serious, committed to his craft, but a loose, relaxed guy who likes to have fun. That’s nice, but calling him a leader or fierce competitor is like calling the sky pink and a dollar bill blue. It’s just…horribly false.
Let’s not forget his infamous “bumps” with both of his coaches – Mike Brown and Erik Spoelstra. Doing that is just horribly disrespectful. If LeBron wasn’t as great as he is, and if Spoelstra wasn’t a younger coach still trying to make his way in the NBA, I’d bet James would be benched and possibly even fined.
My main question for LeBron is… where are you? Amidst all the criticism he gets, he doesn’t confront it or embrace it. After the infamous ‘quit’ game, all he could talk about was how “inconsistent” the team was playing and how he “wasn’t worried” about the series. Not once did he admit he is the guy for games like that, and when he doesn’t come through, the whole ship sinks.
After the player introduction incident? He said he was ‘in the bathroom’. Now he’s just insulting the fans’ intelligence and compromising their knowledge. Anybody with half a skull knows that the only reason he wasn’t there is because he couldn’t take the heat – no pun intended. And missing the Star Spangled Spanner is just disrespectful. Yet still, there is no word of him apologizing to the team – which is the least he should do. Hell, he let his team lose to the worst team in basketball. If he feels as if he’s the leader and it’s his team, he should feel compelled to apologize or at least take responsibility.
Funny thing is, there have been times where he’s tried – diligently – to act like a leader. Before a stretch of key games for the Heat against 11 teams above .500, LeBron tweeted: ‘I have no friends at war when beside my soldiers’. Before I address what happened after that Tweet, I’d love to know what his ‘soldiers’ in Cleveland think of him now and thought of him after game five.
His exact words were: “20+ games left in phase 2. I’m ReFOCUSED! No prisoners, I have no friends when at WAR besides my Soldiers.” Ah, another athlete who thinks he’s a warrior and takes himself far too seriously.
The funniest part is what ensued – four consecutive losses. On a Sunday loss to the Chicago Bulls, Derrick Rose essentially won the MVP with that game, coming up big when the Bulls needed it. LeBron scored 26 points, with eight rebounds and six assists, but it was a shot he missed with six seconds left that all but sealed Miami’s fate for that game.
At 52-23, Miami has an excellent record, and they can’t be expected to be championship-caliber right away. They’ll make the playoffs – probably as the third team in the East – but what are LeBron’s apologists going to say after the next disappointing playoff exit? Are they going to blame it on Miami’s weak bench? Are they going to single out Wade or Bosh, and blame them for their shortcomings, but not dare criticize LeBron… God forbid if someone had anything negative to say about King James.
Chicago, Boston, Orlando, New York, San Antonio, Dallas, Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Denver. Those are ten teams. Ten teams who can beat the Heat in a playoff situation.
Chicago has owned Miami in head-to-head matchups, and are a better team. They developed talent like Derrick Rose (who had better be NBA MVP) and Joakim Noah, and signed Carlos Boozer after LeBron spurned them. Right now, they are the best team in the East. Boston also has the scheme to beat Miami – pressure, pressure, and more pressure. The Heat have shown they can’t take the…heat. Orlando, thanks to mid-season trades, is stacked with an MVP candidate in Dwight Howard, and are 2-2 against Miami. Outside of their first matchup, which Miami won, Orlando has controlled the games for the most part.
New York isn’t a spectacular team, but respectable, and have dominated matchups with Miami. They proved that, unlike most video games, you can’t add a superstar onto a team and gel immediately. In fact, the Knicks looked awful at times after trading for former Nuggets superstar Carmelo Anthony. However, you can see they are starting to work together as a team more, and imagine what they could do to Miami with a more comfortable ‘Melo.
San Antonio, Dallas, and the Lakers are all deeper teams, straight up. And in a best of five series, those teams would eat the Heat for lunch. Oklahoma City has the firepower, with Westbrook and Durant, to defeat Miami, and Denver, thanks to great coaching and ball movement, can beat just about anybody in the NBA.
In conclusion – I know, finally – LeBron James is a fantastic player. Perhaps the best basketball player since Michael Jordan. However, mentally, he’s not there. He lacks the leadership Jordan had and that Kobe has, and that’s what’s going to make him just another “wannabe Mike” but never the “next Michael Jordan”.
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Hm Who said Miami could not make it to finals?i think they going to FINALS and thanks to LeBron James,Wade and Bosh