The LeBron Redemption
Later on tonight, we might see a new NBA champion crowned.
The Miami Heat are one game away from besting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even
if they don’t win tonight, they should win in the next few days. According to
Stuart Scott and his lazy eye, no NBA team has ever blown a 3-1 series lead in
Finals history. In fact, none of the 30 teams who trailed 3-1 had even forced a
Game 7. History is on Miami’s side. We are also hours/days away from LeBron
James holding the Larry O’Brien trophy while thinking “Everyone can get off my
balls now.”
No one can argue Lebron’s basketball skills. You can nitpick
about certain parts of his game if you’d like, but no one can fully deny his
game. As a high school player, he was perhaps the most hyped teenager of
all-time not named Bieber. Yet, everyone knew the hype was warranted. James has
not disappointed in his NBA career. He was selected by his hometown Cleveland
Cavaliers and led the team to prominence. Once his rookie contract ran out,
everyone knew LeBron would be the most sought after free agent in the history
of professional sports. What people did not know was his signing would lead the
general public to turn on King James.
On July 8th, 2010, ESPN aired “The Decision”, an
hour-long special where James would announce which team he signed with. This 60
minute circle jerk could be best summed up by these nine words, “I'm going to take my talents to South Beach”. Many
people thought this was a very pompous move by James, especially when it came
out that the Cavs learned of his departure from the ESPN show. Sure, Cavs owner
Dan Gilbert didn’t do himself any favors by going on an insane rant afterwards
shitting on LeBron, but the tide was beginning to turn on James’ popularity.
Many among the sports media thought he pussed out for joining a team with
Dwyane Wade and the newly-signed Chris Bosh, rather than go to a team as the
alpha dog. They argued Michael Jordan or Larry Bird would have never done a
move like that.
Shortly after his
signing was announced, James, Wade, and Bosh appeared at their new home arena
and had a little pep rally. Pep rallys are fun when you are in high school.
When you’re dealing with athletes in their late-20s, pep rally are gayer than
fuck. Among this scene of douchebaggery, James proclaimed he wasn’t in Miami
just to win one championship. "Not two, not three, not four, not five, not
six, not seven", said LeBron, to the cheers of Heat fans. By the start of
the 2010 season, LeBron James was quickly becoming public enemy #1.
LeBron’s first
year in South Beach was deemed a failure by some because the Heat lost the
championship to the Dallas Mavericks in six games. That is how insanely high
the expectations were for James last year. Hoping to take his team to the next
level, he spent his summer working on improving his post game. No one can argue
with the results so far, as he captured his third MVP this season, as well as
saving the Heat’s season with a ridiculous game against the Boston Celtics with
his team facing elimination. His efforts in Game 2 and 4 in the Finals has him
one game away from reaching his dream of being a champ.
I am not a fan of
LeBron James. Some of it has to do with “The Decision”/pep rally I mentioned
earlier. Even James has admitted he would probably do “The Decision”
differently if he had to do it all over again (except he doesn’t regret the
millions it raised for charity). Most of my hate though is from pure frustration
as a Knicks fan. Perhaps part of me wished James announced he was taking his
talents to Gotham City. Perhaps part of me can’t stomach another Knicks game
where LeBron James goes batshit crazy in decimating my team. Perhaps my
thoughts of LeBron teaming up with his Big 3 makes me sad that the Knicks
version of the Big 3 includes a superstar ball hog, the tallest, blackest Jew
in the NBA who beats up fire extinguishers, and the novelty that was Linsanity.
Despite my hate,
I realized LeBron James is the most scrutinized athlete around today. Sometimes
it’s justified, but a lot of it has to do with filling time in today’s 24 hours
news cycle. James made himself available as a punching bag to the critics with
his previous cockiness, but the critics have taken it to an extreme. People
were trashing him when he looked to pass the ball in this year’s All-Star Game.
The game is a joke, yet it provided people with another chance to trash the
King. Is it frustrating that James doesn’t have the same drive as Jordan or
Kobe Bryant? Yea, but that’s not how LeBron James is. He has always been this
way. He came to Miami to model himself like Magic Johnson, a distributor first
and a scorer second. Just because he doesn’t have that drive doesn’t mean he
doesn’t care. You can see he cares in Game 4 where he played with cramps that
he wanted to do everything he can to get that win.
Sure, another
Heat win and the critics will begin to question if LeBron can win multiple
championships, like he promised two years ago. But in order to win multiple,
you need to win one first. LeBron James has done everything he could this
season to earn that ring. He has put this team on his back and has brought them
oh-so-close to the trophy. It is well deserved and everyone needs to chill out
about LeBron. Unless the Heat lose three straight, then we can wonder why God
hates him while we call him a choke artist and a big cunt pussy.
-Written by Marcus Boyd
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