LeBron James: Is ESPN Helping the Miami Heat Superstar Repair His Bad Guy Image?

Excuse the movie reference, but it seems LeBron James and ESPN go together like peas and carrots. It's become increasingly clear that the two might even be helping each other for two different reasons.

James instantly became the most hated man in the NBA, and maybe the world, before the start of the 2010-11 season. After he spurned Cleveland for Miami, his nice-guy image was finished around the NBA.

He went from a hometown hero, to a sell-out traitor who had quit on his team. That image is something LeBron can't like.

In ESPN's eyes, they understand that the "good" or "bad" guy LeBron James still draws attention wherever he goes and with everything he does. That means ratings and that's what drives the machine that you see before an episode of SportsCenter.

But can LeBron really repair his image? Well, ESPN is certainly trying to help.

In what I thought was bizarre, LeBron came out before the season and basically stated he didn't want to be the bad guy anymore. That interview happened on ESPN.

During Christmas weekend, we went home with LeBron James on SportsCenter and once again learned about where he came from and how he made it. It's a great story; that's not my beef. It's the fact that we've heard it before and it's getting old.

And it certainly seems planned in the midst of Lebron's dwindling desire to be looked at in a negative light. That takes the luster off the story and makes it more of a setup to a bigger goal. 

What's the goal in this case? A massive image-repair overhaul with the aid of the Worldwide Leader in Sports. Maybe ESPN feels they owe it to LeBron since it was the classless "The Decision" special that initially created a lot of the anger towards him.

James will never win back his former Cleveland Cavaliers fans no matter what he does. That doesn't stand a chance in any way, shape or form.

You might be surprised to learn that I believe LeBron can turn himself into the "good" guy again. It would take a playoff performance of legendary stature to turn the tables, with a championship being the result, of course.

Some could think that James will win back fans of the NBA with just a championship. But cruising to an NBA championship doesn't exactly draw the love of people who watch the game.

A memorable performance does.

How memorable? Maybe LeBron drops 40 points in Game 7 of the NBA Finals with either Chris Bosh or Dwayne Wade on the bench injured. He needs to prove he's the big-time player we've all heard about.

And up until this point, I haven't seen the confirmation of such a belief.

Sadly for LeBron, he doesn't have such an easy path to repairing his image around the NBA, specifically with fans. Nor does he have the choice.

So as much as James and ESPN will try to turn the tide against the wave of hatred his move brought, it will be futile until he can make himself a legend on the court.

But be careful. LeBron's biggest cheerleader, Brian Windhorst, will try to make you think otherwise.