LeBron James Birthday: Has Any NBA Star Been More Revered for Doing so Little?
Before there was Tim Tebow, there was another. LeBron James took the basketball world by storm and stole a few million breaths away as well.
Hype is hardly ever earned. Rather, it's bestowed upon those athletes that invigorate us upon first meeting. For the millions that offer up their brain cells to Tebow allegiance, it was his warm smile, tremendous work ethic and clean-cut image. For LeBron James, it only took a glance at a young man that was built like a linebacker to know that he was special. It was at that point that the hype overtook the substance, and it hasn't stopped.
Now, it wouldn't be fair to ignore the vitriol amidst the hype that he has received. The public lashing that he has taken is tied to the public's thought that LeBron James is everything. The man was supposed to be a savior to a Cleveland Cavaliers squad that was hardly built to win.
He was then derided for taking his immense talents to South Beach, where it would reside next to other NBA stars. How dare he?
Amidst it all, the world failed to recognize that LeBron James is simply a great player that is content to share the rock and help the cause, not be the cause. And yet he has received treatment better suited for Michael Jordan, and that is where this comes from.
If we are going to treat James like the greatest, he has to not only win a title, but many. The trip he made to Miami from Cleveland covered thousands of miles, and the expectations mounted with each one covered.
By the time that he landed in Miami, every single NBA fan assumed the Heat would win a handful of titles. The fact that he and the Heat swung and missed last season was received as a crime.
To that, we ask why?
Why has James been so revered as a champion when he has shown time and again that he is not the type of player to shoulder the entire load. The man is built to share it.
Standing by him in every picture for the last season is Dwyane Wade, a player that goes absent many times in the discussion of best players in the NBA.
Yet, like every over-hyped athlete in the world, James gets the affection, vitriol and discussion. It may be Wade's team, but it remains James' world.
That continues to be a reason to scratch one's head. What has the King accomplished to have such a rule? The answer, going into his ninth season, is nothing.
