5 Lessons LeBron James Can Learn from Watching Tom Brady in Super Bowl XLVI

Super Bowl XLVI will mark Tom Brady's fifth chance to play for the Lombardi Trophy. It is also a day in which Brady has an opportunity to cement himself as the best quarterback to ever play the game. 

LeBron James will be busy as well, as he and his Miami Heat will play the Toronto Raptors in a fairly meaningless game. Win or lose, James should watch Brady carefully on Super Bowl Sunday and take notes. They might come in handy in June.

How to Shock the World

Maybe this slide should be titled, "How to shock the world in a good way." LeBron certainly did the unbelievable in the minds of many when he took his talents to Miami in during the 2010 offseason. This isn't to say King James hasn't shocked everybody with his basketball skills (see one-handed alley oop over John Lucas). But LeBron also hasn't done anything to particularly make him stand out, such as score 100 points in a game or win multiple championships. He did what was expected of him for years, and now critics say he needs to win a title, something Brady has three of, and maybe a fourth come Sunday.

When Tom Brady came into the league, no one had any kinds of expectations as he was a sixth round draft pick playing behind Drew Bledsoe. In 2001, when Bledsoe went down with an injury in week 2, Brady stepped in and began his historical career, en route to a Super Bowl win over 14-point favorite St. Louis Rams and a Super Bowl MVP award. That shocked the world.

Just in case you somehow missed it, here's the dunk of the year. Sorry Blake.

How to Play in the NFL

If LeBron James is genuinely interested in exploring his football options, who better to watch than Brady and the New England Patriots? We all know LeBron will dominate a flag football game, but what about his pro potential? At 6'8'', 250 pounds, he's two inches taller than Pats' tight end Rob Gronkowski and clearly has speed and an unfair amount of athleticism. Watch out for 'Bron and Gronk as the most dominant tight end duo in history.

How to Win Down the Stretch

Tom Brady has orchestrated two game-winning drives in the Super Bowl, both with less than two minutes left in the game. Granted, he did have the most clutch kicker of all time in Adam Vinatieri, but Brady was the pilot at the end of the game. Although LeBron has been spectacular in the playoffs throughout his career, he doesn't yet have a defining game which changed everything. Unfortunately, his performance against the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 postseason (48 points, 25 straight en route to a double overtime win) was in the Eastern Conference Finals and is therefore less memorable. James needs his defining moment, or perhaps moment of clarity, to once and for all silence his critics. 

How to Get a Supermodel

This is more of a life lesson for everybody. No disrespect to Savannah Brinson, but how can anyone really do better than Gisele Bündchen? When you're a superstar quarterback with three Super Bowl rings and GQ cover worthy, you still can't. The happy and egregiously well-off couple will soon celebrate their third anniversary. 

LeBron didn't do too badly either, recently getting engaged to his high school sweetheart Brinson. The couple already has two children together and currently resides in Coconut Grove overlooking Biscayne Bay. 

How to Win a Championship

LeBron James will win a championship one day, maybe even this season. But until he does he will still have masses of critics and doubters, which have never been much of a problem for Tom Brady. 

Fans and media rarely pick against Brady because he consistently wins, and wins when it matters. LeBron has yet to win a title and people will continue to have ambiguity towards him until he does. James has been one of the best players in the league ever since he came in and is now the best basketball player in the world.

It's to his misfortune that championships carry so much weight in regards to all-time rank, but his time will come. No one deserves it more than him, and he, too, will have his place in history as one of the greatest ever.