Wild Ride on Offseason Rollercoaster Makes LeBron James Stronger

The King’s last three months have had more twists and turns than the best vomit-inducing, scream-producing rollercoaster could provide.

The Cavalier Express, a public relations machine that took the NBA’s best all-around player on a wild ride, may have strengthened LeBron James’ resolve to win his first NBA championship.

His ascent began pleasantly as the Cleveland Cavaliers completed the 2007-08 season with the best record in the NBA, winning a franchise-record 66 games.

The Cavs swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs, and the player called The Chosen One was selected as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player.

The ride continued to travel skyward as James lifted his team to another sweep, besting the overmatched Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cavs were 8-0 in the postseason and supposedly headed for a star-studded match-up with the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.

Here the coaster took a swan dive.                                 

James and the Cavs finally lost a postseason game—and all their momentum—when the Orlando Magic shocked Cleveland in the first game of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Like any exciting amusement park attraction, the Express made an unexpected, 180-degree turnaround and headed north, as James hit a miraculous game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat Orlando by one point in Game Two.

But just as you catch your breath, unthinkable happens, and the Cavs go on to lose the ECF four games to two, and James leaves the arena without shaking hands with his opponents or speaking with the media.

Nike puppets, network executives, and Vitamin Water marketing wizards joined NBA fans everywhere in lamenting the loss of a dream face-off between the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, the 2007-08 MVP, and James.

James didn’t sail into the sweet surrender of a quiet offseason away from all the media pressure. During the NBA Finals, Commissioner David Stern fined James $25,000, and apparently there was no end to the descent.

The best part of the excursion came in June when Shaquille O’Neal, a four-time NBA champion, was traded to the Cavaliers. Cleveland finally made a major deal to give James his most legitimate shot at a championship since he arrived as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

LeBron, who advanced to the NBA Finals in 2007, can’t squander another major opportunity to win a title. Although his stats are comparable to those of the greatest players in NBA history, he’ll need a championship ring to bolster his legacy.

The lowest point of the adventure occurred on July 6, in a game at his LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, OH.

A college sophomore, Jordan Crawford, converted a two-handed slam against James’ team. Reportedly, Nike confiscated all amateur footage of the dunk, but video of Crawford’s jam surfaced on the Internet this week.

Nike’s valiant effort to conceal the video turned an everyday occurrence into a complete frenzy, as the saga quickly became an urban legend in our fast-paced, techno-driven society.

Ironically, Shooting Stars, an autobiographical book co-written by Buzz Bissinger about James’ youth basketball experiences with his friends and teammates in Akron, revealed that James smoked marijuana.

Apparently, LeBron’s love of the game makes him want to conceal basketball embarrassments—hiding the video of Crawford’s dunk; refusing to address media after the Cavs’ playoff elimination—but embrace opportunities to prove how much he has matured since his self-proclaimed “arrogant” ways as a high school superstar.

For a basketball player hungry for a championship and conscious of his role model status, that might not be a bad thing.  

The highs and lows of a polarizing offseason continue as the 24-year-old hopes to finally have his coronation in 2010—by peace with championship in Cleveland or by mutiny with a free-agent signing in New York.

His journey hasn’t been the worst offseason venture a basketball player has ever had. In fact, his experience may be the impetus to help the most complete player in the league bring glory back to a long-suffering Cleveland sports community.