LeBron James Facing All the Hurdles of Being Cavs' Leader

CLEVELAND — LeBron James stood at his locker, towel draped around his shoulders following a dominant 109-97 win over the Atlanta Hawks in an early-season Eastern Conference showdown Nov. 21.

The Cavaliers, who controlled almost the entire game and had leads of 20-plus points, improved to 10-3. James nearly had a triple-double, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Despite what appeared to be an overwhelmingly positive night, here he was, apologizing.

"I blew a gasket," said a humbled James, referring to a bizarre moment where he benched himself in the middle of a play without a sub ready to go. "I apologized to my teammates for it."

While this was but a blip on the radar of his career or even his season, it signified a change in the winds.

Despite all his physical talents, humility and leadership haven't always been James' strong suits. Entering the NBA at 18 and being expected to carry a franchise at such a young age brought its challenges.

Now, as the leader of yet another championship-caliber team in search of the promised land, James' ability to lead may be tested more than ever.

But if recent events have taught us anything, he's ready.

Beyond the Box

James has always been able to fill up the stat sheet. He recently became just the second player in NBA history—after Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson—to be ranked in the top 25 for career points and assists.

This season, he's averaging 25.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 6.7 assists, nearly identical to his career marks of 27.3, 7.1 and 6.9.

For James, who's set to turn 31 next month, it's pretty clear what to expect statistically.

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He'll consistently provide 25 to 30 points while flirting with a triple-double—numbers that are nearly impossible for others to achieve, but ones that we tend to take for granted from LeBron.

"Just the understanding of the situation, the moment," Cavs head coach David Blatt told Bleacher Report when asked what's making James so good now. "He can have a damn-near triple-double after having a very quiet first half. When he has to, he can turn it on."

On this night against Atlanta, James didn't score his first points until halfway through the second quarter. For Cleveland last season, this would have been a death sentence for the team's chances of winning. Yet here the Cavs were, already up double-digits, even without a single basket from their leading scorer.

This is the evolution of James and the Cavaliers.

LeBron has his fingerprints all over the organization. His face is plastered on everything from hallways to elevator doors inside Quicken Loans Arena. This isn't new, but the leadership style that James demonstrates in his everyday voice, practice, game and off-court activity is.

Staying Hungry

The Cavaliers are off to an 11-3 start to the season, leading the second-place Miami Heat by 1.5 games.

Through 14 games last year, Cleveland sat at just 7-7 and was still figuring out what it was as a team.

Now, James knows exactly where the Cavs are, or better yet, who they're still looking up to.

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After an NBA Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Cavs had a lot of positives to take away. They stormed through the Eastern Conference playoffs, going 12-2 in the first three rounds, even without the services of Kevin Love or a fully healthy Kyrie Irving.

Even the Finals remained competitive, as Cleveland managed a pair of victories—the first in franchise history—against a dangerous and healthy Warriors team.

Despite this disappointing loss, Cleveland has been the one playing with a sense of entitlement this season.

The Cavs have dropped road games to the Detroit Pistons and Milwaukee Bucks, both of whom may not even reach the postseason. They've looked sluggish against other inferior opponents, including the 0-16 Philadelphia 76ers.

There are stretches where the Cavaliers have appeared to be going through the motions, letting teams hang around before ultimately stepping on the gas.

For a team trying to practice championship habits, this simply won't do.

This is where James' leadership is now being put to the test.

Urgency and Respect

Last season was all about patience for James. As he noted in his Sports Illustrated letter back in 2014, "We're not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I'm realistic. It will be a long process, much longer than it was in 2010."

That Heat team also failed in its first trip to the Finals before coming together stronger in Year 2 and ultimately capturing the title.

Now in his second season back with Cleveland, LeBron's patience has been replaced with urgency.

He hasn't been afraid to publicly call out his teammates as a whole if he's deemed it necessary, either to the media or during games.

The difference between James and other star leaders around the league is that no word he utters will fall on deaf ears. He excels in so many different areas, but he may excel most in terms of the respect he's earned from his teammates.

"What he does an incredible job of, his feel of the game is like no other," Irving noted in a recent Fox Sports Ohio game broadcast. "We judge him on so many other things, but he brings us all to another level just based on his feel. He's a great leader, he's a great scorer, a great leaper, a great defensive player, but his feel of the game is like no other."

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This is a far different situation than in Miami, where James truly began his leadership transformation. There, he had Dwyane Wade, Udonis Haslem and others who had won a title. While veterans like James Jones, Richard Jefferson and Mo Williams can lend their voices in the Cavs locker room, there's no Wade-like star to back James up.

If the team needs a pick-me-up, an example to follow or a simple kick in the rear end, James has to use his trademark versatility to accomplish all three.

Luckily, his leadership improvements can be seen and felt all over.

James set up team workouts in Miami before the season started, inviting every one of his Cavaliers teammates. For team unity, he was the ringleader of the November mustache project and organized a heavily attended Halloween party. Pregame player introductions were passed over in favor of extra prep time. LeBron has even publicly backed Blatt, which was a rare sight in Cleveland last season.

Of course, as he demonstrated against the Hawks, James can take a step back and display some humility as well.

This is all part of his transformation as a leader.

Setting an example. Keeping players focused throughout an 82-game regular season. Preparing every day for what could very well be a Finals rematch against the Warriors.

This is James' greatest test yet, and it will forever define his legacy as a leader.

Greg Swartz has covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and NBA for Bleacher Report since 2010. Follow him on Twitter, @CavsGregBR.

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Stats via Basketball-Reference.com and are current as of Nov. 25.