NBA Free Agency 2010: How Times Have Changed

In 1995, Michael Jordan simply said, “I’m back.” What has happened to our society when we allow ourselves to be hijacked by a single player like we are by LeBron James this summer (by even writing this LBJ lays claim to capturing my imagination)? Is he a megalomaniac? Is LeBron just a product of the American reality TV and celebrity indulgent culture? Is he more concerned with image and brand than basketball? The answer is "D", a little bit of all of the above.

During the 1994-95 season, rumors constantly surrounded Michael Jordan’s return from baseball. However, unlike LeBron, Jordan didn’t hold the American public hostage with innuendo and he certainly didn’t plan an hour-long ESPN special to announce his future basketball plans. Jordan simply sent a fax with two words, “I’m back.”

Now, we all know that players of Jordan’s caliber are going to have a large ego. But how did we get from “I’m back” to LeBronapalooza? The media has to have a stake in the blame for constantly hawking the summer of 2010 as one of the big stories in the NBA this year. However, the media hype can only get so big on its own. With LeBron buying into the hoopla, the media wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t cover the story.

So, how did LeBron get to the point where he would become so self-serving? LeBron has always been the best at everything. This breeds a culture where everyone tells him he is the greatest, surrounds him with yes men, and gives him an air that he can do no wrong. An “emperor is wearing no clothes situation.” His “camp” is essentially all of his boys from high school who have been in his ear since he started his rise to fame. Do you think they ever say no to LeBron? More likely they say “what do you think/want to do LeBron,” then say yes.

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, LeBron didn’t go to college. He never experienced the recruiting process. Now that he is the number one free-agent recruit, he is re-living the college recruiting process. The only difference is that now he is a proven professional commodity and is already rich.

This has a two-fold impact, where he can exert more control over the recruiting process: having all of the teams come to him versus visiting each city, and he has more leverage to influence how information is distributed e.g. the ESPN special “The Decision.”

I picture LeBron sitting at a table with hats of the Cavs, Bulls, Knicks, Nets, and Heat and making a contrived and dramatic selection of one of the hats, just like every high school All-American does on ESPN. You can’t tell me that situation is far fetched.

LeBron grew up in an American culture obsessed with reality TV and celebrities. Since LeBron was in high school Survivor, Newlyweds, The Osborne’s, and even Tool Academy to name less than one percent of all reality TV shows have driven celebrity and pseudo-celebrity culture.

Throw in TMZ and the billions of sports blogs and it is safe to say America is obsessed with celebrity news and “reality” driven dramas. Since the NBA Finals ended, the free-agent saga has been nothing short of reality TV gold. LeBron knows this, understands this, and most importantly knows how this can financially help him.

This brings us to the crossroad where everything intersects: LeBron the “Brand.” Jordan was the prototype for brand building. He was the first NBA mega-mega star and that made his burgeoning fame and subsequent image and brand seem to come organically. Today, the American public is much less naïve to how and why athletes market themselves.

In James’ case, the last two years have been a textbook brand building campaign, with this summer being the culmination. In the last two years LBJ has starred in the LeBrons commercials, had an ill-fated Kobe v. LeBron Nike sport, wore a Yankees hat at a Indians game, said his favorite team growing up was the Bulls, surrounded himself solely with his close friends from home, told us we all had to bear WITNESS' said he wants to be a billionaire, said he wants to be an icon, built a cult-like following in Cleveland and Akron; and most recently started a twitter feed, website, and his little ESPN special.

His freakish basketball talent, ability to self-promote, and America’s natural obsession with his celebrity all formed LeBron’s current image and branding.

What he hasn’t done is win when it counts. He gave up on his team this year against the Celtics. I don’t care why he did it or what was going on behind the scenes. The bottom line is that during Game Four of the Celtics series he withdrew from the game and stood in the corner. If he really cared about winning a championship he would have put everything aside and focused on winning. Icons like Jordan did that.

LeBron needs to learn that on court success and championships build iconic brands not contrived PR and self-promotion. Depending on where he goes tomorrow we will see what he really cares about: Cleveland (loyalty), Knicks (image), Heat (titles), Bulls (titles), Nets (image), or Clippers (image). The only thing about LeBronapalooza not shrouded in mystery is that the dignity and iconic nature of MJ’s “I’m Back,” will never be back again.