Is LeBron James the Azor Ahai of Ohio?
The rich, detailed world in Game of Thrones we’ve come to know and love on HBO is built on a long history full of mythology, heroes, and villains created by George R.R. Martin.
One of the most significant backstories from the books that has become increasingly relevant is the legend of Azor Ahai, a warrior and messiah worshiped by followers of R’hllor, the god of fire and Lord of Light. According to the prophecy, Ahai is reborn amidst smoke and salt as “The Prince Who Was Promised” to prevent an endless winter called “The Long Night” from taking over the world. To stop that from happening, he creates a flaming sword called Lightbringer to defeat his rival, “The Great Other.”
In the current NBA landscape, only one player fits the bill as this legendary hero. Here are 5 pieces of evidence that prove LeBron “King” James is the Azor Ahai of Ohio, ready to fulfill his destiny as “The Prince Who Was Promised” and lead the Cavaliers to an NBA Championship in 2016.
EXHIBIT 1: A HERO IS CHOSEN
“Darkness lay over the world and a hero, Azor Ahai, was chosen to fight against it.” — A Song of Fire and Ice
EXHIBIT 2A and 2B: SMOKE and SALT
To transform into the champion he was born to become, our hero must be reborn amidst smoke and salt. When LeBron left Cleveland to join the Miami Heat, that’s exactly what happened. Jerseys burned and fans cried, but it’s not simply because fans were sad about a player leaving their basketball team, it’s because LeBron is more than just a basketball player.
“You see a king. You are both wrong. He is the Lord’s chosen, the warrior of fire. I have seen him leading the fight against the dark, I have seen it in the flames. The flames do not lie, else you would not be here. It is written in prophecy as well. When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.” — The Red Priestess Melisandre, A Storm of Swords
“Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart. People there have seen me grow up. I sometimes feel like I’m their son. Their passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give them hope when I can. I want to inspire them when I can. My relationship with Northeast Ohio is bigger than basketball. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now” — LeBron James, I’m Coming Home (SI)
EXHIBIT 3: THE GREAT OTHER
If LeBron James is our Ahai of Ohio, for this to work there needs to be a candidate for “The Great Other”, the antithesis of Azor Ahai who is essentially in charge of all the evil, frozen, undead “winter is coming” Game of Thrones white walker terror that looms beyond The Wall over everything else unfolding in the story.
No matter what happens in the rest of the world, at the end of the day, in order to win and survive, “The Great Other”, the Night King, and his army of winter soldiers need to be defeated.
Is there someone currently playing in the NBA that fits this mold?
- Who beat LeBron last year in the Finals?
- Who is Lebron obsessed with?
- Who stole LeBron’s limelight and replaced him as the face of the NBA?
- Who has strengths where LeBron has weaknesses?
- Who leads a team full of old, over the hill “undead” players including Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguadala, and Leandro Barbosa, seemingly reanimated as their best selves ready for battle at a moments notice?
Answer Key: Steph Curry, Steph Curry, Steph Curry, Steph Curry, Steph Curry
Yep, Curry qualifies as the antithesis of LeBron’s Azor Ahai. His team came back from the dead and overcame almost impossible odds, a 3–1 deficit in a best of 7 series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, to win the Western Conference and reach the NBA Finals. In a conversation we had weeks ago, Neil Miller, the editor of Film School Rejects who happens to love the Cleveland Cavaliers and Game of Thrones, unintentionally planted the seeds for this idea.
“I’d rather see Roose Westbrook and the Thunder in the finals than the White Walker Warrior army and Steph “Night’s King” Curry.” — Neil
EXHIBIT 4: LIGHTBRINGER and NISSA NISSA
So what else makes LeBron the “Prince Who Was Promised” beyond this existing evidence? We are all witnesses, as his Nike ad campaign says.
Azor Ahai’s legend unfolds in three parts:
“To fight the darkness, Azor Ahai needed to forge a hero’s sword. He labored for thirty days and thirty nights until it was done. However, when he went to temper it in water, the sword broke.”
In the 2007 NBA Playoffs, a 22-year-old LeBron James, with all of the hype in the world behind him and four seasons under his belt, carried the Cleveland Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals in the team’s history. The faced the San Antonio Spurs and were swept in 4 games.
“The second time he took fifty days and fifty nights to make the sword, even better than the first. To temper it this time, he captured a lion and drove the sword into its heart, but once more the steel shattered.”
In the 2015 NBA Playoffs, LeBron took the Cavaliers to their second NBA Finals, returning to Cleveland after a short, extremely successful stint playing for the Miami Heat, where he became a true Lord of Light believer and felt the power of the flame.
These past four years helped raise me into who I am. I became a better player and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go. I will always think of Miami as my second home. Without the experiences I had there, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today. — LeBron James, I’m Coming Home (SI)
After winning two of the first three games against the Golden State Warriors, they lost three straight and the series, 4–2. The city of Cleveland felt the warmth of summer for a fleeting moment, a taste of what their savior experienced in Miami, closer than they’d ever been to a NBA title, before it was snatched away.
“The third time, with a heavy heart, for he knew beforehand what he must do to finish the blade, he worked for a hundred days and nights until it was finished. This time, he called for his wife, Nissa Nissa, and asked her to bare her breast. He drove his sword into her living heart, her soul combining with the steel of the sword, creating Lightbringer.”
This year, LeBron’s Cavaliers find themselves in the NBA Finals for the third time, down 0–2 in their series against the Warriors. Earlier this season, LeBron sacrificed the closest thing he’s ever had to a wife on his own team, Anderson “Nissa Nissa” Varejao.
I can’t wait to reunite with Anderson Varejao, one of my favorite teammates. — LeBron James, I’m Coming Home (SI)
Varejao has been a member of the Cavaliers since LeBron’s first NBA season in 2004 and is the only constant through his previous two failed attempts at glory. It’s only fitting that Varejao was sacrificed and is now a member of the Golden State Warriors.
EXHIBIT 5: GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
The Game of Thrones creator is an avid sports fan. In 2013, he joined Sports Illustrated for a podcast, and LeBron James became a topic of conversation.
SI.com: The athlete atop our athlete power list is LeBron James. Who is the equivalent of LeBron in your universe?
Martin: Well, LeBron James is the greatest active basketball player I suppose so the parallel in Westeros would be who is the greatest active swordsman.
He may not be “active”, but who is a better swordsman than Azor Ahai? He’s responsible for winning one of the most significant battles to ever unfold in these stories and uses a legendary sword he created himself to make it happen!
I think it’s safe to conclude that LeBron James really is the Azor Ahai of Ohio and The Prince Who Was Promised. After a 52 year championship drought for the Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers, fans in Cleveland, Ohio will soon have reason to celebrate. The wait is over.
In the 2016 NBA Finals, The Cleveland Cavaliers will defeat the Golden State Warriors in seven games.
