The LeBrachelor
I haven’t written a blog post in a VERY long time but I feel the need to post one right now about the biggest topic of the summer in the sports world, unfortunately: Where the hell is LeBron James going to play basketball?
It has taken over sports news ever since the NBA playoffs were over. No wait, it’s been on the news even BEFORE Kobe won his 5th ring. I know, many of you were rooting for the Lakers and I was for Boston, but can’t deny what happened there. Kobe did win his 5th ring and guess what? There was no hoopla about that. There were no specials about him or his career. Same goes for Phil Jackson. Everyone wanted to know where he was going to coach, or if he was even going to coach at all. Was there a special for that decision on ESPN? No. He just mentioned that he was going to remain coaching the Lakers. How hard was that to say? Better yet, what about Kevin Durant? He decided he was going to stay with the Thunder and he mentioned that via Twitter. Less than 140 characters is all it took to inform us of his decision. But no, folks, LeBron has to say some things on a much grander scale that requires a whole damn one-hour special on ESPN, dubbed “The Decision.”
While I was chowing away like a fatass at Wendy’s, I read an article by Bill Simmons, an ESPN columnist and writer of “The Book of Basketball,” a New York Times best-seller. I will be referencing the article heavily, so here’s the link to it in case you’re confused about what I’m saying: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100708
The article discusses some rumors about Bosh/Wade/James teaming up together in the future, red flags about how Wade and Bosh made everyone believe they were playing for other teams because of all the meetings and how all three would play together considering all three of them are big-time players whom demand a lot of playing time. Fast forward though to points #19 and #20. This is what really spoke to me
Simmons is 100% correct: Sports has changed. Instead of it being about winning and competing, it’s now about being a big celebrity, getting as many endorsement deals as you can and having your face all over the world. Now, I’m a firm believer in national heroes (because I have plenty) but in the end, it’s all about winning championships. It doesn’t matter how good you are individually. If it did, then LeBron should be playing basketball all by himself for 48 minutes, no break and nobody to hand the basketball over to. But no. He didn’t sign up to play 1-on-1. He joined the NBA so he could help to build a team and win a title. Has he done that? Hell no. He quickly grabbed endorsement deals thanks to being overhyped and put his name all over the world as “King James.” How the HELL can you call yourself that when you haven’t even proven yourself? Did you ever hear Kobe or Jordan refer to themselves like that? NEVER! Jordan had plenty of nicknames, but he never EVER called himself the greatest or the King (even though he rightfully is the King of Basketball). Sure, he had deals with Nike, but he never let his popularity bring him down. He stayed focus with his core in Chicago and alongside Phil Jackson, won six NBA titles, in three-peat fashion twice. Phil Jackson has to be the greatest NBA coach ever because he never let his superstars destroy themselves with an ego. Instead, he told them to never let that grasp you otherwise you will lose focus in the game. That is exactly what LeBron James has done. And now fast forward to this summer.
Honestly, this is the LeBrachelor. He’s just dwindling down teams one by one and will pick the team which he can build a championship-winning circle around, right? Wrong. He’s going to pick the team based off how he can live a glorious lifestyle, whether it’s roaming the streets of New York, Miami or Chicago. If he stays in Cleveland, I’ll be shocked. I know he wants to get out of there because honestly, what’s so great about Cleveland? Losing sports town, not as fabulous as the other three cities that want him. Of course he wants out. He’s going to betray his loyal fan-base in Cleveland all because they aren’t as glamourous as the others. What a piece of crap. Who does that? Someone who wants a truckload of money that they don’t really deserve. I’m honestly getting sick and tired of this crap. A one-hour special on ESPN….”The Decision”…..come on. All he needs to do is announce where he’s going via a statement. That’s it. Boom. Done. No TV special, no special treatment. Obama deserves a one-hour special because he’s the President of the United States. LeBron doesn’t need a special. This is all ridiculous. Just focus on playing the damn game of basketball, just like all the greats have. Learn from them, Prince James. No, you aren’t even deserving of the Prince title. You’re just LeBron James, from Akron, OH.
