Re-Evaluating the Legacy of LeBron James

So, as the clock ticks down and the Heat creep closer and closer to another title, LeBron James creeps towards his first. Rather, collides head-on at Mach 10.

I feel it only appropriate to write about this now, slightly before he wins the NBA Title. Whether it’s tonight, or Game 6, or even Game 7, he will win one. Whether it’s next year, or the year after, or his final year, he will win one. It wouldn’t be right to address this after he wins it, because by that point we’ll all know the story and we’ll all forget about how he couldn’t win the big game.

We don’t remember that Phil Mickelson was the best golfer to not win a Major, or that John Elway lost four Super Bowls, or that the Kings can’t win the Stanley Cup or put together a winning season.

Maybe we do remember, but it’s useless. It’s old news. It’s dead… extinct. Like Polaroid, newspapers, and the milk man.

So, why do you really hate LeBron James? (*And, don’t worry, we’ve been hard on him, too.)

Is it because of The Decision, that one-hour special which lead up to his announcement that he would join the Miami Heat with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, forming the NBA’s Axis of Evil?

Is it because he sold out in Cleveland to win a championship?

Is it because Miami rubs us the wrong way, while The Boston Three Party somehow slipped by unscathed?

Is it how LeBron and Wade and Bosh said they would win the NBA title multiple times? You know, “Not one… not two… not three… not four…”

Yadda yadda.

I’m not saying you should like LeBron, and I’m not saying your hatred for him is unfounded, even if it’s probably a little expired at this point. Hating LeBron is like hating Justin Bieber. It’s no longer trendy. You just sound like you have nothing else to say.

What really bothered you about LeBron’s arrival in Miami? Was it that he said he would win, like, 14 NBA titles, or was it that you actually thought it might be true?

Fear often leads to hatred, and this case is no different. Sure, LeBron treated Cleveland like his high school girlfriend who couldn’t quite keep up once he got some money and wanted to wear suits and talk to models. But, so what?

Isn’t that argument kind of dead, at least for this situation?

You can say whatever you want about the man or who you think he is, but he’s the best basketball player in the world, and probably since Michael Jordan.

This whole deal about him not being clutch or not being a winner is, pardon the French, horsesh*t. LeBron’s been to two NBA Finals, one with perhaps the worst final two team of all-time in 2007, and one with the Heat in 2011 where, admittedly, they all screwed up.

Everyone’s allowed one, and LeBron is 27 years old. If you’d like a compass to figure out where he stands, Jordan won his first when he was 28. And then, he won five more.

In 2007, James played out of his mind for the Cavaliers. How about that Game 5 about the Detroit Pistons, in the Eastern Conference Finals? Not only did LeBron score 48 points in a double-overtime stunner, but the dude scored Cleveland’s final 25 points.

ALL. OF. THEM.

Sure, you know what? Have won with this whole, “LeBron has no rings” thing right now. Enjoy it while it lasts. Something tells me you don’t have long, and something tells me he’s getting a few more.

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@KolbySolinsky