LeBron James and Miami Heat Aim To Blaze Their Own Trail To Glory
The time has come. The Heat's new constellation of stars survived the summer long tsunami of negative backlash and are now ready to focus on basketball.
"There's been a lot of talk all summer long,'' LeBron James said. "I'm tired of the talk. I'm excited that we're getting started. I feel like I'm the one in control now." He then softly said, "We'll see what happens now."
Appearing before a large contingency of media personnel Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James sat together and answered questions at rapid fire pace.
The entire time one theme seemed to persist; these guys are genuinely good friends. The manner in which they answered the questions proved these guys are all fully aware that they must sacrifice for the greater good.
At the same time LeBron made clear that he's not there to take away from Wade's game or playmaking abilities.
"You're going to see the same from him," James interjected, when Wade spoke of the potential need to defer. "I wouldn't have come here if he was going to be a different player. I don't want that. I want the same D-Wade that I competed with for seven years."
Another thing that will stay the same is James pregame baby powder tossing.
"That's part of my ritual right there, baby," James said, when asked if would abandon the routine since his move from Cleveland
Dwyane Wade then stated he too would continue to his pregame ritual of blowing baby powder through his hands and raising his arms to fans at the scorer's table, "I'm going to keep my same ritual," Wade said.
So what about Bosh, who doesn't have a pregame ritual which fans identify with.
"I'll make something up," Bosh said as he laughed. "I'll watch film [of] his chalk throwing and getting the crowd ready and I'll go to some other corner."
You can see it now. The three Heat superstars, like WWE wrestlers, each take one side of the court/arena and play to the crowd in order to hype them up.
When asked about all the cynics and critics who have spoken out against his "Decision," LeBron said, "I don't want to keep harping about what people have said about me, but personally, I'm motivated by what has gone on this summer."
James then elaborated by saying that, "It's funny how things happen in life and how people react. It seems like a lot of people try to tell you what to do with your life and most of the time they don't even have their own life in order. That was just funny to me. So I'm really excited for this opportunity for this franchise, getting an opportunity to bring my game to this city."
Regarding the Hall of Famers who have also criticized his choice to join Wade and Bosh, LeBron said, "I make my own decisions. I still respect Mike, I still respect Magic and Charles and the rest of those guys. Those are unbelievable basketball players and they did a lot for the game and they did a lot for me, Dwyane and [Bosh]."
"They paved the way for guys like myself to be able to do what I do on and off the court. But I can't live through those guys. I have to make my own destiny. I thought coming here was the best move for me."
For this James should be applauded. He chose to check his ego at the door in order to try and create something historical. He could have stayed in Cleveland content to win an MVP every other year for the rest of his career, but instead James chose to strive for something bigger and more important than individual accolades.
"We all understand this is the ultimate team sport," James said. "No one can win it all by himself. I know that by example."
This shows the level of commitment and desire which LeBron will be putting forth this upcoming season. He realizes that to remove the title of "King Nothing," he must finally be the one hoisting the trophy at season's end.
"The game of basketball is fun," James said. "The game will always be fun to me. I can't wait to get out to practice tomorrow. But it's all about business for me. It's less antics and more about the game of basketball. We're ready."
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