Cult of Personality: Perceptions in the NBA (Pt 1)

I sell the things you need to be

I’m the smiling face on your TV

I’m the cult of personality

I exploit you; still you love me 

—Living Colour

Perception is reality in today’s NBA. A boy is crowned the once and future king—despite having never won a championship. 

Another is lauded as the ultimate player and the greatest of the game, while team members scoff, laugh, and silently judge.

Others are viewed as affable, gentle, giants—even as they burn bridges, smiling all the way to the forgiving arms of a new market and new fans to disappoint.

And some are elevated beyond the greatness of the game: They have the dubious distinction of being a part of social and racial symbolism that they never even wanted.

Of course, I’m referring some of the greats of the game of an era, and, in the scheme of basketball, they are.

And that’s where it should end.

But it doesn’t. It never has, and from the looks of things, never will.

We are subjected to half-truths—inflated to the status of mythical proportions—being subjected to the narratives of sportswriters, ESPN, Nike, Converse, Gatorade, Vitamin Water. All of which distort the reality of the people that we idolize on television.

In part one of this series, I choose to focus on the current personality that dominates the NBA. And that man is …

LeBron James

The King sits upon on a throne of media created hype, of a future promise of greatness yet to be delivered. He’s hosted the ESPY’S, Saturday Night Live, countless endorsements, two successful ad campaigns with the LeBron/Kobe puppets and his “The LeBrons” commercial series that had him mimicking Eddie Murphy more than Magic Johnson.

But the road to the media monstrosity that we now know as LeBron James was a long one. Something as contrived as this media campaign cannot be built in a day.

First we gave him time: Come on, he entered the league at eighteen! The Cavaliers are an awful team. Just give him a couple seasons!

The years passed. No results, yet the crown remained intact. Unable to cope with LeBron’s mediocrity, (and when referencing ‘mediocrity’ I mean this a purely superstar perspective; by any other account James is a phenomenal player, just not the undisputed “King” of the NBA) it was now time to look outward.

Deflecting the criticism away from himself and his notoriously selfish play when it mattered, LeBron and the rest of Cleveland turned on then coach, Paul Silas and GM Jim Paxson, trading them in for Mike Brown and Danny Ferry in 2005. 

In some ways, LeBron is less of a reflection of himself as an entity, but rather the unexpected byproduct—the entirety of ESPN culture.

He’s a horrible sport, as he refused to shake hands with the Orlando Magic after being defeated in the 2008-2009 playoffs.

Later during a press conference (while wearing a New York Yankees cap, no less) declared that he was, “a winner.”

Apparently shaking hands after a loss is not something a “winner” does. But it is something that a decent human being does. More recently his Riverdancing during a Chicago win at home finally proves one thing is clear regarding LBJ. 

Sportsmanship or humility is not something that he cares about.

His whining about calls, and the fact that he gets calls himself—most notably his now infamous first playoff win, that, during the final seconds of the game, hit a buzzer beater on what was obviously a travel—further illustrates just how childish and mentally unprepared LeBron James really is.

James has gotten special attention from the media. Peyton Manning is arguably the greatest QB of our generation. He was touted as one of the next greats coming out of Tennessee, and yet, the majority of the media surrounding him prior to the 2006 season was whether or not he will win a ring. Ever.

For one of the greatest quarterbacks of an era, a ring was never guaranteed in the eyes of the media.

LeBron James has never, never , been asked if he will win a ring. It’s already assumed. According to the media blitz, championships are a given for him. At this point, people only view it as a matter of time.

What other player in the history of the sport, or any sport for that matter, has been granted so much leeway without ever having done anything significant in the confines of the sport?

His most notable game of his career is Game 5 of the Eastern Finals against the Pistons where he scored all 25 points in double-overtime for his team and swung momentum back in Cleveland’s favor.

Yes, this game was amazing; of all the games I’ve watched in the last few years that weren’t Orlando Magic games, Game 5 of the 2007 playoffs is probably the most memorable on a personal level. That game was showcasing greatness. 

But that is it. One game during the Eastern Conference Finals.

We are told LeBron is unselfish. Yet at crunch time it’s LeBron’s number that is always called, regardless of coverage. During his only Finals appearance to date, San Antonio stuck on average three bodies on LBJ nearly at all times. Drawing that much coverage, the rest of the Cavaliers should have plenty of leeway on the court. Not so. 

For the time leading up to the Finals, ESPN and the rest of the sorts media force fed the American sports public with specials and TV spots that were one sided in favor of Cleveland. The stories said, “Cleveland” yet all the pictures, all the hype, only contained LeBron James.

His Finals experience ended not with a bang, but with a whimper. They were swept in the 2007 Finals by San Antonio, if anyone chooses to remember. NBA fans as a whole have a knack for forgetting the shortcomings of King James.

I remember watching Cleveland ESPN specials constantly. I did not once see a San Antonio Spurs segment. And they’re the team that ultimately was the favorite, and swept the fledgling Cavaliers.

We’ve been led to believe that LeBron James is not the evolutionary Jordan, but somehow that he is the next Magic Johnson. I get it. Magic was known not only for his unreal scoring prowess, but for his ability to distribute, and early in his career, he (like LeBron) was playing three or four different positions.

Let’s go back in time only six or seven years; before the hype, before the endorsements, before the media circus that is LeBron James. There was Tracy McGrady, there was Allen Iverson, and a slew of other potential greats. 

T-Mac was hailed as one of the next superstars, as was A.I. However, after years of adulation without success, ultimately their stars began to fade. They were still popular, yes, but their status as potential championship players began to dim.

Fast forward to 2008-2009. The Cavs have the best record in the entire league and with impeccable home record of 39-2, only one shy of having the best home record in NBA history. They acquired another scorer in Mo Williams to help lighten the load and things are looking good for Cleveland as they entered the post-season.

It was now time for ESPN, once again, to distort reality and create a narrative, not unlike 2007. This time, they managed to add another inflated personality in Kobe Bryant (I’ll be getting to him later). Interestingly enough, both men had strong ties to both Vitamin Water, and one of sports biggest powerhouses, Nike.

Interesting side note: After the Cavs were ousted by the Magic, Vitamin Water wasted no time in pumping out a commercial featuring Dwight Howard endorsing the product.

The 2008-2009 playoffs were bombarded with a LeBron vs. Kobe narrative for a Finals, that according to sports media was inevitable—even if the post-season was barely underway.

We were forced to watch back-to-back-to-back commercials featuring Kobe and LeBron drinking Vitamin Water, highlight reels displaying their Nike shoes, and even watching them concoct a bogus image of kid friendliness by featuring their likeness as two puppets.

What is more important about the 2009 playoffs isn’t his endorsements or his puppet—it’s perception. Think about this: what do you remember the most about the Eastern Conference Finals? The fact that Orlando soundly defeated the Cavaliers in six games with stout defense and a stellar three point game?

Of course not. All we remember is LeBron’s game winning buzzer beater well beyond the arc in Game 2.

In a way, Game 2 of the 2009 Conference Finals is a microcosm of his career so far: we are always left promised more, a better season next year, better teammates for him next year . We see stellar individual performances by an amazing basketball player, but in losing efforts. 

We perceive LeBron as this king in waiting, but in reality, none of this is guaranteed—but we are already prepared to give him the glory, the adulation of a champion without having actually taken the time to go out and earn the rings for himself. 

LeBron is treating himself like a champion without being one.

And we let him. 

For Part 2, we’re shifting to Shaquille O’Neal, whose affable nature has managed to hide his selfish nature, being able to go from team to team, and start the cycle all over again.