LeBron James: Why Alias Tells Us All We Need to Know About Superstar's Mindset

I'd like to say that all the criticism directed toward LeBron James throughout the years has been unfair.

But the truth is, he brings it on himself.

James, who is set to make $20 million in 2014, reportedly uses Gordon Gekko as his hotel alias, according to Sarah Schorno of NBC.

Schorno tweeted on Friday:

If you don't know who Gordon Gekko is, shame on you.

But for all of you who have watched the Wall Street movies, you'll recognize him as the money-hungry shareholder and corporate raider who was the antihero and symbol of greed, played by Michael Douglas in the original and in the 2010 sequel, Money Never Sleeps.

I'm not going to say using Gekko as his alias automatically turns James into an evil human being, but you have to wonder why he'd choose that particular alias. Honestly, I really want to know. I don't see any way of it being a good thing.

On another note, you'd think James would be careful about this kind of thing considering all the people he's aggravated and/or enraged throughout the years.

It is worth noting that his salary at the moment doesn't come close to Kobe Bryant's (Bryant is making $25.2 million this season, according to Forbes). But it's not like he's making chump change, either.

Using Gekko as his alias isn't exactly a way to bring him closer to the people.

What puzzles me about all of this is that I truly believe James actually cares what people think about him. He's backtracked after controversial things he's said or done numerous times throughout his career.

Maybe he really has no clue that what he does can be perceived negatively, kind of like a natural ticking time bomb.

Why didn't James make his alias Shia LaBeouf? Or LaBeouf's hero of a character, Jacob Moore? Why doesn't James do things that paint him in a positive light?

Perhaps only Gordon Gekko knows the answer to that.