There is breaking news regarding LeBron James. However, the news is that there will be no news. But let’s be real, when isn’t LBJ a top storyline?
James announced he will not discuss whether he will leave the Miami Heat until after the upcoming season is completed.
The potential seismic shifting of superstars is newsworthy in all sports. But James’ history makes this ever more intriguing.
“The Decision” aired three years ago this past July. Cleveland Cavalier fans have made scarce progress in forgiving the hometown hero, who left and went to three NBA Finals, ultimately winning two of them.
Despite being an avid Chicago Bulls fan, I have respect for James, whose game and character have evolved and matured more in a Miami Heat uniform than they ever did in a Cleveland Cavalier uniform.
While much of his raw ability developed in Cleveland, his jump from being one of the league’s best players to simply being the best is more impressive than some of his high-flying throw-downs.
James was smashed during and after “The Decision.” He still is probably the most hated player in the league, and no matter what he does a significant number of those people will keep their feelings his whole career, or at least until he stops winning everything.
I will not defend all of James’ actions. Many of the criticisms from years ago were accurate.
He should not have been considered the best player in the league without winning a championship, and he created much of the media tornado he was viciously sucked into by handling “The Decision” in a less-than-professional manner.
However, where James won me back was one year post-decision.
The Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in six games and James averaged just under 18 points per game, which was 8.9 ppg fewer than his regular season average. He had proven his critics right. He gave the angry fans everything they wanted. On the sport’s biggest stage he averaged three points in the fourth quarter.
James started off his time in Miami embracing the bad guy role. He was relatively reasonable in the attempt because there were many minds he would never change again, so why not use the negative energy to fuel him in an “us against the world” mentality?
The problem is that James is not like Michael Jordan. Being arguably the greatest basketball player in the history of the planet is a title that required Jordan to play angry, without any regrets about it. I’m not making any comparisons basketball-wise (if I were, James would have a long way to go), but their personalities could not be more different.
James can’t—and never will—be a true bad guy. He laughs too much, he smiles too much, he has too much fun to keep up that persona.
After suffering defeat, James not only developed his game to be the best closer in the league, but his maturity drastically increased.
And that process began after a simple apology.
He saw how he was portrayed (it would have been hard to miss) and he no longer wanted to be the villain. He made a mistake and he admitted it. Who hasn’t done that before?
The full extent of how significant this apology was for James’ maturity will never be quantitatively explained, but his road to becoming the good guy again is a much more pleasant one.
How James handles the next decision of his career will be another milestone in gauging his character. I don’t mean what team he goes to or if he wins or loses, but if he takes his second chance and is able to make the decision respectfully and honestly, then he will earn back many of the fans he lost in 2010.
Do you think LeBron James will stay in Miami after next season? Does it matter where he goes and will he ever regain the support he once had in Cleveland? Tell Jonah what you think by emailing jbeleckis@dailycardinal.com.
