LeBron James: Don't Be Fooled by King James' Supposed Life Transformation

LeBron James is back playing where he’s the most comfortable: the regular season.

The Miami Heat bandwagon is already showing off its team’s 2012 NBA championship rings and LeBron’s outstanding play is a big reason why fans are so overconfident. James is supposedly a new person since he built his reputation as an egotistical maniac, but don’t be fooled.

According to Israel Gutierrez of the Miami Herald, James talked postgame on Sunday night after a 129-90 win over the Charlotte Bobcats about his transformation, saying:

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“This is a good point in my life right now.  I’m very excited about both on the court and off the court.  I’m a totally different person than I was last year.  Last year was overwhelming for a lot of people.  It was overwhelming for myself.  I am just back to loving the game of basketball. … Just a kid from Akron getting to play in the NBA.  I lost that last year.”

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LeBron is experiencing what we in the real world like to call a "good mood." A totally different person? I heard no apology, regret, or "this is how I would’ve done things different."

Yeah, James should be excited off of the court; he just got engaged. On it, he shouldn’t get too worked up. Miami is 5-0, but hasn’t faced off against any respectable competition up to this point in the season.

Dallas isn’t the same team without Tyson Chandler and the Celtics were without Paul Pierce. In two out of Miami’s next three games, they nearly blew ­easy wins against the Charlotte Bobcats and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder have played just as good, if not better competition than the Heat, are undefeated, but aren’t receiving nearly as much hype as Miami.

But back to Mr. I’m a New Man.

He admitted how overwhelmed he felt last season. Translation: how he cracked under pressure.  Well, I guess that’s a step in the right direction.

LeBron is back to loving the game of basketball because there is absolutely zero pressure on him right now. He and Dwyane Wade can throw alley-oops to each other for 66 games and laugh and giggle, but when it matters most, James won’t be the same 30 points, seven assists, eight boards-a-game player that he is now.

King James will never be able to play that Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Kobe Bryant role as a closer because he lacks a killer instinct. Luckily for the Heat, they don’t need him to with D-Wade in the same starting lineup.

What Miami does need from LeBron is to be the same dominant force as a scorer, playmaker and defender in the Finals that he is in meaningless games, to be the ultimate second fiddle.

James may claim that he’s a totally different person, but he must show exactly that. Until then, he’ll still be the same old LeBron.

David Daniels is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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