Has there ever been a more ridiculous circus around a player in the history of sports? Originally, I was entertained by the suspense of where LeBron James would end up. I am now appalled at how far these desperate franchises have taken their courtship of LeBron. To begin with, the guy hasn’t won anything. Not a damn thing. Two MVP awards certainly look good on his mantelpiece, but that means nothing to the Cavaliers, or to the next generation of fans who may remember LeBron as one of the most disappointing players ever. After all, MVP trophies don’t hang from rafters.
This situation exemplifies everything that is wrong with the sport today. LeBron shouldn’t have ESPN on hand for him to schedule his own Destination X press conference. While he is an extraordinary athlete and superior individual talent, LeBron has not succeeded in the NBA as expected. In fact, his only accomplishment as a member of an NBA team is an Eastern Conference title won when the conference was at its weakest. On the court, it’s Donovan McNabb minus three conference titles. Off the court, he is more obsessed with his brand and image than winning basketball games. Why couldn’t he approach this process the same way any other free agent would? fly to meet potential suitors, make a decision, appear at an introductory press conference a day or two later? Is he above it all, or is standard operating procedure too mundane for “King James”?
What an inappropriate name. I always laugh when I hear it. I laughed harder when LeBron’s first tweet from his new Twitter account referred to himself as “the King.” Up to this point in his career, he hasn’t performed like a king…or at least a very good one.
From a historical point of view, the great kings were brave warriors who conquered their opponents. Not showing up for Games 5 and 6 of Boston’s series in the 2010 Eastern Conference Semifinals didn’t exactly come as a warrior. Staring at your teammates and moping around the floor while getting your tail kicked by a veteran team didn’t qualify as brave either. The list of those he has conquered? He is empty. No, LeBron is not a king.
In fact, “King James” reminds me more of Commadus than Gladiator. Like Commadus, LeBron is a bit immature and needs attention. He needs to believe that the entire world will be waiting for him on Thursday night as he proclaims where the next chapter of his career will begin. (His camp of him says the decision is being made live on ESPN due to “unprecedented attention.” Translation: “I’m a big deal. I want everyone to see me decide.” Whatever.) Unfortunately, one team will give up their franchise. him and will undoubtedly hold the team, management and fans hostage for the next decade. Has any player, in any sport, been given so much after achieving so little? LeBron obviously didn’t go to college (where an upper-class student would have reigned in his ego), wasn’t disciplined by coaches in high school, and was never told, “This is how things are going to be. Deal with it’s”. Winning happens between the lines, in sweaty gyms, and when the cameras aren’t rolling. Putting on a show to announce his fate just goes to show that LeBron is more in love with being a global icon than he is with earning the legacy that comes with being an NBA champion.
If I’m a GM with money on hand, I’m giving it all to Dwyane Wade, not LeBron. Wade has shown that he has the competitive fire that Kobe has and Jordan patented. Wade single-handedly handed his city a title by attacking the rim with a reckless abandon for four games in a row, even as all five opponents prepared to stop him. Sure, he may have had injury issues throughout his career, but you can’t show what Wade has. He is not looking to become the next international idol or to be a billionaire businessman. Wade is sick of losing. He wants to win and he knows what it takes to do it. LeBron clearly doesn’t understand winning at that level, nor does he care that much. If he did, he would drop the global brand crap and focus on basketball.
Don’t get me wrong, LeBron is one of the best players in the league. Although, I hope for the sake of those little kids who will no doubt see on Thursday night that LeBron never sniffs out an NBA title. He has given him too much of a league that he hasn’t won yet. He has been given endorsements for winning when in reality he can only endorse charisma and physical superiority. The man is not a winner, and yet NBA front offices are creating cartoon sitcoms and international branding campaigns for this guy. Somewhere along the way, we as sports fans have lost our edge. Never before have we embraced someone with such unabashed adoration that he hasn’t won.
My favorite part of this whole scenario is that 15 years from now history will show that LeBron never lived up to the hype. In reality, he never earned the adulation that was blindly given to him. LeBron only has 5-7 years of basketball left. It doesn’t look like he’ll team up with Wade or Bosh, so there’s no guarantee he’ll even win a title. On top of that, there are still veteran teams like the Lakers and Celtics, as well as young, up-and-coming teams that will be fighting for titles.
One of those emerging teams is led by Kevin Durant, a pure scorer and a more capable leader. While LeBron has been strutting around luxury hotels being courted by billionaires, Durant quietly signed a multi-year extension while sitting on the bench rooting for the Thunder’s summer league team. Does Durant have to be in the summer league? Not at all, but he is there because he understands that winning requires more than just his own efforts. Winning requires a team, a culture, an idea that revolves around a leader more like Maximus than Commadus. Máximo hid from glory and conquered with strength and will. Commadus always wanted more, he wanted to be the center of everyone’s attention even though he had never done anything to earn it. LeBron falls in line with one of these characters. Unfortunately for whoever signs LeBron, they will learn that he is most similar to the one who achieved nothing, asked for more and ultimately only cared about the state of him.
LeBron is a public figure, an aspiring business mogul. He is not an NBA legend. He’s not even an NBA champion.