LeBron James: It's About To Get a Little Hotter In Miami
Sources close to LeBron James indicate he will sign with the Miami Heat, according to ESPN’s Bob Holtzman.
More power to him.
Amidst blog-bashing and other media crucifixions, this fact remains: James is under tremendous pressure.
Anointed the next Michael Jordan as a senior in high school, and after reaching the NBA Finals only to be shown the door back to the drawing board, James is in a precarious position that nobody, not even Kobe Bryant or other high school phenoms, can relate to.
Speaking of Bryant, he did James a pretty big favor in Game Seven of this year’s NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
He struggled. And his teammates had to pick him up.
While he did score 23 points, most of them came from the line, Bryant shot 6-for-24 from the field and 0-for-6 from beyond the arc. He also had four turnovers and just two assists.
If Bryant had the supporting cast that James was provided in Cleveland throughout his career, Boston would have prevailed, given Bryant’s lackluster Game Seven performance.
Instead, it’s James who is criticized as not being elite enough of a player to win a title on his own.
Jordan needed Scotty Pippen. He also had Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, and a handful of other capable NBA players to help run the floor.
I take nothing away from Jordan or Bryant. They are incredible talents, perhaps among the top-five greatest of all time. Sure, there’s Bill Russell, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and a host of other legends, but Jordan is clearly No. 1, and Bryant’s five titles are right in his rearview.
I agree with the general blogoshpere assessment: James is a diva.
Why else would he need a one-hour ESPN special to do what other players have done via a simple interview or a tweet? It’s an ego thing and it’s an attention thing. Spare me the Boys & Girls Club charity gimmick. While it’s a tremendous gesture, it’s just a scheme to misdirect the public’s attention from his true motivation: Self-promotion.
But it’s 2010, and just about everyone is a diva.
Kevin Durant is the exception. He’s a class act, and he’s also a tremendous talent. He’s on his way to an excellent NBA career and perhaps a title or two. But even he has young talent to surround him in Oklahoma City.
Still, Bryant not showing up for Game Seven proves that nobody can do it without help. Paul Pierce needed the Big Three to form to win a title. Dwyane Wade needed Shaquille O’Neal. And so did Kobe. After Shaq left Los Angeles, Kobe did not win another title until the Lakers acquired and developed Pau Gasol into the top-tier NBA player he is today.
Everybody needs a little help.
If the rumor is true, and James joins Wade and Bosh in Miami, I will not only support it, I will make the four-and-a-half-hour drive down I-75 South and ride Alligator Alley through Florida’s everglades and down to South Beach to see it for myself.
When push comes to shove, and apparently it has, James will do whatever he has to do to win a title.
If going to Miami is what it takes, I’m sure he would rather be one of the greatest players of all time with a handful of titles won with the help of a couple of other all-time greats than have to explain in his Hall of Fame induction speech why he couldn’t live up to expectations by never delivering a title to Cleveland.
If the rumor is true, it’s about to get a lot hotter in Miami.
