LeBron James: Is He the Alex Rodriguez of the NBA?

The NBA is on hold for who knows how long and that means one thing. We don't have much to talk about in the way of LeBron James. So I took the opportunity to look at him in this light.

There is maybe one thing that LeBron James and Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez don't have in common. A-Rod has a ring, LeBron does not.

Other than that, it seems as if these guy's careers mirror each other step for step. Not necessarily in terms of on-field production because we all know how difficult it is to compare statistics cross-sport, but more in the light of how their actions and demeanor on and off the field affects their reputations, teammates, and legacies.

Let me start with this.

Ten years prior to LeBron James being taken with the first overall selection in the 2003 NBA Draft, another high school phenom named Alex Rodriguez was the talk of the baseball world, having too been taken first overall in the 1993 MLB Draft.

Both players hyped higher than any player in their sports history, both expected to produce come day one.

Do you remember the feelings you had when that 18-year-old kid from Akron, Ohio was being called "The Chosen One"?

Hell, he hadn't even done so much as participate in a Final Four like fellow draft-classmates Carmelo Anthony and Dwayne Wade. It was the same way in 1993 when Rodriguez was entering his draft.

Plain and simple, he was considered the best high school baseball player to play the game. Ever.

The hype they burdened is what ultimately led to their demise. Not as athletes and in their skill set, they're fine in that regard. Their roles as leaders and as pioneers of the game slowly gave way to the external pressures of championships and numbers.

Both guys are poster children for how not to handle the media at important moments in their career. It's what makes fans LOVE to hate them.

Not to mention their continuous displays of immaturity have far out-weighed public expectation; everything they do is under a microscope.

Alex was implicated and then admitted steroid use in 2009. On top of his numerous bouts with infidelity and patronizing prostitutes, he followed it with posing shirtless in front of a mirror for a magazine looking less than 'manly'. He let it get to his head.

The whole superstar aura got to his head, he played the name for too long. When it all came crashing down, he cried, played for the desperate support of teammates, and the forgiveness of the fans.

LeBron, on the other hand, hasn't cheated on his fiancee, hasn't used performance-enhancing drugs, and hasn't been seen in risque or suggestive poses for the camera.

But who are we kidding, he's nowhere near an angel. Just less than a month ago, he was on video making fun of Dirk Nowitzki for faking an illness. That's the definition of immaturity.

We all remember "The Decision", and we remember it clearly. Now think of the The Decision in juxtaposition to Alex Rodriguez in 2004.

It's frighteningly similar.

LeBron fled Cleveland when the times weren't even that tough. He couldn't finish, so he ran and got help from fellow superstars to get himself over the hill. He became the face of basketball's 'Holy Trinity,' while also being a leader in the sport's great migration.

Did Alex Rodriguez not walk away from a team that gave him sport's most historical contract for a more talent-laden roster in New York? He won MVP awards with Texas, but not rings. Gold Gloves but not World Series MVP's.

He even moved from Shortstop to Third Base, when by the time it was all finished, he would have been a top three SS of all time.

Both players have been considered not clutch performers when the pressure's on throughout the duration of their careers.

For example, until 2009, Alex Rodriguez could have been heard in discussions by aliases such as "The Cooler" or "A-Fraud," largely in thanks for his sub-.200 batting average in the playoffs.

LeBron, similarly, becomes complacent once the postseason rolls around. Despite the Cavaliers having the league's best record in 2009 and 2010, the team failed to win a conference championship. LeBron's lack of domination was pinned as being the reason for this.

In essence, both players sacrificed their role as "the man," the leader and the face of a franchise at the idea of potential victory.

This sacrifice is what LeBron James will ultimately be remembered by. He simply gave up on winning a championship in front of his home fans and along with it, sacrificed his chance of being the greatest player to ever play the game.

He had that in his grasp and let it slip away with a moving truck and starry eyes.

It ended when he took his talents to South Beach.

So, you ask me if LeBron James is the Alex Rodriguez of basketball.

I respond: Yes. Just as soon as he wins a title.