Let me start off by saying that I am a Boston native, and a loyal Boston Celtics fan. At the same time, I am a basketball fan in general, and a fan of the game and it’s history (yeah that’s right, you can love your team and still appreciate great athletes that don’t play for your city, it’s called not being a homer). From the year he was drafted in 03, LeBron James became my favorite player in the league, and what I’ve heard the most was “he’ll never win a ring” “he can’t do it by himself” “he never takes the big shot, always wants to pass” and more recently “he only plays 3 quarters, shrinks in the 4th” Well yes, LeBron didn’t do it by himself. Kobe didn’t do it without Shaq, Horry Fisher, Bynum and Pau, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett never did it by themselves, and last time I checked Michael Jordan suffered without a ring for 7 years at the hands of Detroit but didn’t play 1 on 5 either (Pippen, Rodman, Kukoč, Kerr, Horry, Grant etc) No one does it “by themselves” it’s a team game, and LeBron has always gotten his teammates involved, meanwhile averaging 28, 7 and 7 for his career.
Was the Decision a mistake? Hell yes, going on TV and leaving Cleveland like that was unprofessional and wrong, but he eventually owned up to it and apologized, move on. Can LeBron be an arrogant at times? Yes, from 18 he’s had a lot of “yes men” around him telling him he was the greatest before he accomplished anything, but he’s been loyal, and kept his same friends around him as his management team since his rookie year, took Cleveland to the finals, got swept, couldn’t get past Boston or Orlando with the team he had and realized he needed a better team because he wanted to win.
In these 9 years he has matured and grown into a leader. The pressure and scrutiny for one player? Unprecedented, some of it brought on by himself, some of it created by media hype and social media that athletes of other generations never had to deal with, but he took it all upon his shoulders. And for those of you who will try to compensate your disdain for accepting reality, you’ll say the usual bull shit: The refs were paid off, the Heat cheated, it took LeBron 9 years, he’s going bald… Well that’s ok, if that’s what you need to make yourself happy. All I know is that I’m happy, because my dude finally has 1. League MVP, Finals MVP, congrats to the King.
“It’s about damn time”
