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LeBron James Decision: Is His Legacy Ruined by Leaving Cleveland?
July 9, 2010
LeBron James was supposed to be the chosen one, the one to end the Cleveland title drought, the next Jordan, and many other things.
Now, he's the most hated man in Cleveland.
LeBron bolted from Cleveland to join the Miami Heat after playing seven season for the Cavaliers. The furthest he has gone in his career with the Cavs have been a loss in the NBA finals.
Considering he hasn't gotten any other legitimate players to play alongside, he's done great for the city, and the Cavaliers should be grateful for what he's done, rather than burning his jerseys.
It's not like he owes the city of Cleveland anything.
I don't blame him for leaving, the Cavaliers have failed over and over again to surround him with good players. LeBron wants to win, and he felt that he didn't have that opportunity in Cleveland anymore.
As a fan, it's obviously frustrating seeing your best player walk, but if you put yourself in his shoes, would you rather play alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh or Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison?
I don't even need to answer that.
LeBron doesn't care about money, he doesn't care about stats, he only cares about winning.
On the other side of the table, will it be the same if he wins in Miami? Will it feel as sweet knowing that he didn't have the pressure on his shoulders?
Winning a title with the Cavs would have been much harder, and it seems like he just gave up on doing that. Now, no matter how many titles he wins, it will always be with the help of two other superstars.
LeBron will never win a title on his own.
No great player ever has. You look at Jordan, he had Pippen, you look at Kobe, he had Shaq and has Gasol, you look at Magic Johnson, he had Wilt and Kareem—this list goes on and on.
But at the same time, LeBron will be known to have quit on the Cavs, giving up and proving that he can't do it on his own.
He might not even be the clear cut number-one option on the team anymore, and won't be able to dominate games like he did in Cleveland.
And this will hurt his legacy, but not enough to make him anything short of one of the greatest ever.