Why i Never Got On The L.B.J. train… And never will
Before i start digging into this subject, i must say that i have the utmost respect for LeBron James. He earned my respect and he certainly deserves it.
What I’m about to describe is why i never really liked LeBron James and why i still don’t. LBJ is good and he has the numbers to back up just how good he really is. For me, it’s never really been about the numbers though. It’s always been about the fantasy and style of play.
I grew up watching Michael Jordan. He was my favorite player. I saw the second 3-peat from 95–96 to 97–98 when he was with the Chicago Bulls. I watched him dominate and eventually change the game in real time. Game after game, NBA Finals after NBA Finals after NBA Finals. He was magnificent to watch. He had style, grace, swagger, a fierce competitive nature that never let him quit or lose. He was my favorite player. When he retired for the second time in 98' i felt at a loss.
I think all basketball fans did, even if they are Knicks fans and aren’t willing to admit it. Suddenly i had to find a new favorite player. You would think I’d have chosen Scottie Pippen but something happened in those 3 championship runs for me. I grew up a bit more. I started playing basketball more instead of just watching it on T.V. The more i played, the more i dreamed of being on that level. Dream being a key word in that sentence. I’m every bit of 5'8 and never had bounce to fly high enough to get to the rim. Chances are i wasn’t gonna make team NBA. But, as Jordan was winding down, i was winding up and i wanted to study players that i felt like i could emulate. Enter Allan Houston of the New York Knicks. He was a pure shooter (I’m a shooter). He could dribble pretty well (i dribble well). He was my kinda player. The things that M.J. could do i knew i wasn’t going to be able to pull off no matter how hard i worked. So when Jordan left, i switched to Allan Houston and the Knicks. They were my team till Jordan came back in the early 2000’s for a last round, get-it-out-of-my-system couple years. After Jordan finally retired for the last time in 2003 here come’s the phenom… LeBron James. He was so hyped, so touted as “The next Michael Jordan”. He came straight from High School where he was a man among boys. Once in the NBA he did pretty well. I watched closely hoping there was another Jordan to root for. Another M.J. to take up the reigns and get behind.
But, for me, it wasn’t gonna work. No matter how good he was.
First off, nobody can replace Michael Jordan. He changed the league. He took basketball world wide. He made basketball shoes a “thing”. He was everywhere and we all couldn’t get enough. How are you suppose to come in and fill the shoes of that? I think everyone hoped that’s what LeBron James would do, but i don’t think anyone really expected him to actually do it. Michael Jordan was other-worldly. No mere mortal playing in Cleveland of all places is gonna step in and fill the gap.
Plus, Kobe Bryant was already on his was to being “the next Michael Jordan”. By this time Kobe had 3-peated with the LA Lakers with Jordan’s old coach, Phil Jackson. Kobe studied M.J. and knew all his moves, and played quite like Mike already.
LBJ was destined to fail. But maybe that was the point (stay tuned for my article… LBJ plays the villain).
The real reason i never got on the LBJ train wasn’t how he stacked up to M.J., it was his style of play. LeBron James plays what some call… Bully-Ball. As I’m going to be writing a whole other article just about Bully-Ball I won’t get too deep into it, but I’ll give ya the gist. LeBron bullies his was to the rim. He uses his size advantage to get to the rim and dunk or make a lay up. And it’s worked for him, for years… somewhat. The older he has gotten the more his game has progressed. He use to be a poor shooter (I like shooters). He wasn’t always that great at dribbling (I’ve always thought i could dribble well). He was more of a play maker down the stretch instead of taking the game over like Jordan. The more I watched LeBron the more i just couldn’t relate. So when M.J. left for the last time, i exited as well. I didn’t even watch basketball for a number of years. A lot goes into that statement. I moved, went through a lot of changes and watching basketball got shoved to the wayside. I still played a lot of basketball i just didn’t have a horse in the NBA race. So as LBJ was fighting to come into his own, i wasn’t really watching and didn’t really care. Then came The Move. LBJ “took his talents to South Beach”.
LeBron decided to ditch the small market Cavs and headed to the Miami Heat to team up with two other all-stars. The hate that LBJ went through for that move was enormous. I was on the sidelines as a passive spectator at this point. When i saw that “the next Michael Jordan” ditched his version of the Bulls and headed to greener pastures, i made my decision. LBJ isn’t my guy. Not my cup of tea. What got me to go from, not my cup of tea to full blown animosity was a couple of things…
Things LBJ had no control over (I write that like LeBron actually cares what i think ;). It had to do with LeBron’s new nickname.
LeBron James’ nickname…King James. I’m not sure if someone gave him that “title” or if it’s self-proclaimed but I don’t like it. I never have. I’ve never called LBJ “King James”. I’ve had a couple of other nicknames for him through the years. I always liked the one my mom used though… LaBaby. I didn’t use it much, but it is funny. She said she used that one because LeBron complained so much. I can see that. I’m a believer in Christ Jesus and I read the King James Bible, so to call this guy “king” James just never sat right with me. Even setting that aside, it’s like… What exactly are you “King” of? The NBA? You haven’t even won a Championship yet. How you gonna have a title (king) before you even win a title?
LeBron trying to take over after Jordan retired made me skeptical. Him leaving his version of the Bulls (the Cavs) gave me too much spicy and not enough sweet. Throwing in the biblical (at least in my mind) “King James” and being crowned a king before you even get a chance to win a title? It was all too much. I got to where I really did not like the guy. I won’t say hate because that’s a strong word. I came as close to it as i could before realizing… How can i hate someone I don’t even know? So it never really got to “hate” but it was close. What made the feeling of pure distain worse and worse was how the NBA treated him. Ask anyone and they will tell you. LBJ has been the “face of the league” for more than a decade. What does that mean exactly? Really what it means is that his name gets mentioned in EVERY BROADCAST. His name pops up in EVERY TELEVISED GAME. That’s just annoying. Here I am watching a Golden States Warriors game and they are playing whoever, the Knicks let’s say. And for no reason, other than to just say his name, here comes a conversation about how LeBron James is this or that. If you’ve ever watched enough Seinfeld you’ll know the episode where Jerry talks about salsa. Why salsa is the number one condiment… because everyone just like saying salsa. Only with LeBron James’ name it was more like name dropping and advertising. At the end of the day I got to where I’ve started feeling sorry for him a bit (after he’s been thoroughly beaten). I mean, he had such high expectations, such hype around him… could he ever live up to it?
No. The answer to could he ever live up to the hype… No. He couldn’t. No he didn’t. No he was not and is not the next Michael Jordan. No, he is not the greatest player to ever play the game. I don’t think he’s even in the top 5 maybe even top 10 greatest players ever. But, he has kept grinding it out and has played hard on the hardwood. That man has earned my respect over the years. Not only has he earned my respect, he’s shattered my hopes and dreams, broken my heart and ripped my guts out a couple of times. As I said, I’m a Warriors fan. 3–1. If you know basketball, enough said. If you don’t I’ll tell ya all about it some other time.
LeBron James is a great player. He has been one of the best if not THE best player in the NBA for more than the past decade. I just don’t like him as a basketball player. He seems like a terrific dad. I bet in real life, off the court, he’s a great guy. I just don’t like LBJ the basketball player, and I think I’ve made a compelling case here to back up that statement. I think LBJ is a great basketball player, and I think he’s shown enough over the years to back up THAT statement. He’s just not one of MY favorite players.
Make sure to check out the next part called “Bully-Ball”.
Until then, thanks for reading and as always, May God Bless You.
