I’m not one
to talk about basketball much. I’m not a
huge NBA fan. I was raised as a Lakers
fan, which is a huge blessing in that I have not had to suffer with the
Warriors all these years, but outside of that, I haven’t cared too much. Basketball is pretty far down my list of
sports…and the NBA has always felt corrupt.
However, I wanted to write today on LeBron James.
I was very
outspoken after his ill-fated Decision broadcast, where he went on national
television to rip Cleveland’s heart out in front of the entire nation. At the same time, he also basically came out
and said he wanted to be dragged to a title by his talented buddies, rather
than stepping up to put a team on his back and take them to a championship
himself. For a player who is widely
considered to be the most talented player in basketball…the most raw, natural
talent, that is…this was blasphemy.
Could you imagine Jordan, or Kobe, or Bird not wanting to be THE GUY to
bring their team to the title? So, yeah,
I was hard on him. And I relished Miami’s
failures.
However, I’m
coming around on LeBron…and no longer think he deserve the hate he gets.
Yes, The
Decision was an awful miscalculation.
But otherwise, LeBron has been a pretty model citizen. He seems, for all intents and purposes, to be
a pretty fun loving, laid back guy. He
doesn’t get stand offish with the media or the fans. He hasn’t been in any police reports, hasn’t
cheated on his girlfriend (that we know of), and has generally kept his nose
clean. He hasn’t called out his
teammates for their poor play (as Kobe Bryant did twice this postseason). He hasn’t gotten his coach fired (as Dwight
Howard has). He hasn’t been fined for
criticizing refs; hasn’t asked to be traded, released or named general
manager. He seems like a supremely
talented superstar athlete who is actually a good person and a likable
figure. How often do these kinds of guys
come around?
Finally, he’s
played at a consistently high level.
Maybe he doesn’t have the killer instinct (although last night’s game
begs to differ)…but he’s always found a way to affect his games. He gets taken down for passing too much,
despite being one of the game’s best passers with the best court vision. He gets crap for not closing down the stretch…which
is hard for anyone to do (did anyone watch Kobe this postseason? Brutal…and he’s
considered a “closer.”). And I’m a huge
Kobe fan. It seems rather hypocritical
of me to chastise LeBron for things Kobe isn’t doing either.
And, lets
get this last bit out of the way…LeBron will never be Jordan. No one will ever be. And he shouldn’t be expected to be
Jordan. Jordan is the GOAT, will always
be the GOAT, and nothing will come close.
But LeBron is talented, and also a seemingly super nice guy who stays
out of trouble and gives very generously to charities and kids. Doesn’t this sound like the kind of guy we
should be cheering for, rather than cheering against?
I’m still
going to cheer for the Thunder in the Finals, as Kevin Durant has been one of
my favorite players since his days in Texas, and is a superstar in the LeBron
James mold (super nice guy, etc). But I’m
coming around on LeBron. I could see
myself not actively rooting for him to fail anymore.
OK, back to
ignoring the NBA!
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