The King? Not Quite
Is this the first time we see the Real Lebron James?
Everyone has an opinion about The Decision, mainly because it is impossible not to. It’s just one of those stories that no one can escape. This is on par with Tiger’s sex scandal, steroids in baseball, and OJ’s white Bronco. But still, this one is more unique than the others. Not only was this one broadcast live, like OJ’s ride through LA, but this one hit its climax, its landscape altering climax, so quickly. One minute we’re listening to Jim Gray babble about LeBron’s missing the opportunity to go through a true recruiting experience, then at roughly 9:30 everyone’s night went something like this:
…I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and…
(Eruption of noise and pandemonium)
If you were actually able to hear him finish off that sentence, you were probably watching The Decision alone.
It has been pretty interesting to listening to the different opinions and reactions of the people involved in the sport. It’s not just that they agree or disagree with his decision to go to Miami. For everyone who watched Thursday night, a different part of the night resonated with them more than any other. Obviously people are surprised that the move actually happened (though we were clued into it hours before the special that night). Then you hear people talk about how self-centered and “narcissitic” the whole thing was. Others criticized him for seemingly using the Boys and Girls Club as a prop to justify his self-promotion. There is talk about how big a hit the “LeBron James” brand took because of how bad he looked, both from a character standpoint and physically, down to the shirt he wore and the Abe Lincoln beard. A great deal of the opinions from that night were negative but not all of it was. Most of the people who liked the decision commended the move as unselfish, because he left millions of the table in the pursuit of winning. The following day, both Chris Broussard on SportsCenter and Michael Smith on Around the Horn expressed their support for the commitment to winning, and got noticeably upset when the analyst opposite them criticized the move. (As a side note, isn’t it curious that not a single one of his former teammates has spoken up in support of either Dan Gilbert or LeBron James? You would think that if those teammates really did feel like his friends and a part of his family, even though hurt by the decision, that they would have stuck up for their friend and family member if these accusations of quitting were completely untrue.)
The point that stuck with me is how Lebron James set his legacy into stone that night, and more than anything else, his legacy will become associated with disappointment. James Dolan said it best when he said, “It takes courage to play where the lights shine the brightest.” On one level, Dolan was clearly disappointed that James didn’t choose the Knicks. But he’s right in the sense that choosing the Knicks, a team that’s not in the best basketball position after signing Amar’e Stoudemire, would have taken courage. From day one we were led to believe that James, like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant (or even Dwayne Wade), was someone who would possess that courage. Even when he was still at St. Vincent – St. Mary, he was dubbed the Chosen One, the heir apparent to Jordan’s throne at a time when we weren’t so sure if Kobe was worthy it (with five rings in hand, we now know he is). It was probably unfair to place that kind of pressure on a high school junior, if it weren’t for the fact that James embraced and fueled that that idea from day one, too.
I have a lot of sports-hate for LeBron James. It’s the same kind of sports-hate that I reserve for Alex Rodriguez, Tim Tebow when he was with Florida (not so much anymore), any female athlete who entertains the idea of one day “playing with the boys”, and more recently Shelden Williams. I hate the way James gets away with four-step crab dribbles. I hate the way he stomps around after yet another dunk dropped by the Akron Hammer. But most of all I hated him because of the way that his (former) fans ate it all up. This bothered me the most, because it seemed like they wanted to believe in him so badly that they were blind to the fact that, maybe, he never was meant to fulfill that destiny.
In my eyes, LeBron James has always felt a bit… fake. While his size, speed, and freakish athleticism are undeniable, I thought the way he carried himself around was more for the cameras and less an expression of who he actually was. It all just seemed so predictable. The way he would stare down the fans in the front row after swatting a shot off the backboard. Or the little production him and his teammates would have before games, pretending to take little pictures of themselves. James, more than any other athlete, knew when the camera was on him and how to act accordingly. The goal for him has always been to push his brand. To do that, he would ultimately have to win championships. But in the meantime, while he was waiting for those championships, the easiest way to push his brand was by being likable. Somehow the topic of conversation surrounding LeBron was always about basketball and never about the type of scandal that we would hammer other athlete’s about (how is it possible we still don’t know who LeBron’s dad is?). Every pose, every stance, every politically correct interview was just one preplanned step for LeBron James to fuel that idea that “Yes, I am the King”. There have only been two separate events where LeBron’s actions made us think, “He might not live up to our hype”. The latest and most famous one was Thursday night when he made his announcement. The first?
Flash back to Game 2 of the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals when, down by 2 with a few ticks left on the clock, James catches the inbounds pass and makes his first game-winning shot of his playoff career. People will point to this moment as proof that yes, he is destined to greatness. While the shot gave us a little glimpse of how good LeBron might actually be, it was his reaction after making the shot that gave us real insight into the mental makeup of James. You see, his reaction to this great play was very different from every other one of his highlights. His reaction to that game-winning shot, the first of his playoff career, was one of genuine surprise and shock. Nothing about it said, “I knew I could hit that shot.” Compare his reaction to those of Jordan or Kobe. When they win games, whether its in the playoffs, regular season, or pickup at a skills camp, the look on their faces is simply venomous. They knew all along that they would hit the shot and they’re pissed that you doubted them– even for a second. They don’t run around shocked that their prayer was actually answered, because their shot wasn’t a prayer.
Look at Dwayne Wade and the way he reacts after this game-winner. The great ones know that they’ll hit the shot. And after they do, they stand there surprised that it took you so long to figure it out.
