So after giving this thing three whole seasons worth of thought I am now an official Lebron hater. I can’t hold out any longer. I tried to give Lebron the benefit of the doubt but the evidence is just overwhelming. The way the guy went about announcing his decision to leave Cleveland was just bush-league. You would think after six years he’d have some loyalty to the organization and give them some sort of advanced notice that he intended to leave. Sure teams trade and release guys all the time without giving them notice. I mean how many guys have stepped off the team plane after a long road trip to find out they were traded by some reporter shoving a microphone in their face and asking if they are excited about going to play for Sacramento. Who does Lebron think he is a team owner? I know we tune in to ESPN to watch high school kids play musical hats before announcing where they are going to attend college but “The Decision” special on ESPN was way over the top. Who does this guy think he is the biggest basketball star on the planet? And then to top it all off he has the nerve to donate all the proceeds to charity once again making it all about him by assuming that the Boy’s and Girl’s club even have a need for the mere hundreds of thousands of dollars he raised. But that’s not the worst part of this whole deal.
What really got me on the Lebron hater bandwagon was the idea that this self-centered jerk left the city of Cleveland to go play in the middle of nowhere. He obviously couldn’t handle the limelight. Why else would he choose to go to an international hot spot like Miami? I mean what does Miami have to offer a 26 year-old superstar athlete that Cleveland doesn’t have? Beaches, star-power, nightlife, South Beach, women of all ethnicities and nationalities on said South Beach in bikinis? That’s nothing compared to Cleveland! The guy couldn’t handle the bright lights of the big city so he packed up and ran for the brighter lights of the bigger city. What a coward! But there is more.
Being on a Cavalier team where he was a great player surrounded by NBA benchwarmers was too much for his ego. I mean on that team he was the unquestioned team leader and could do as he wished both on and off the court. But was Lebron happy…of course not. His ego couldn’t stand just being the man so he decided he needed to bolt town for Miami where he could share the spotlight with another superstar and a perennial all-star. I mean the nerve of this guy not wanting to be a one man show and choosing to share the spotlight as a part of a team. If this isn’t the epitome of an ego unchecked I don’t know what is. How selfish of Lebron to want to be in a situation where he didn’t have to be the man night in and night out and could play his style of basketball where he is a facilitator passing, rebounding, playing defense and making his teammates better. How self serving! But that’s not the worst of it.
In coming to this decision I am now in agreement with the rest of the LBJ haters that this decision ruined any chance of Lebron being considered as an all-time great. An all time great would not need another superstar and all-star to win. Larry Bird didn’t need Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge, Robert Parrish, and Dennis Johnson. That would be two all-time top 50 players, a hall of famer and two all-stars. Okay that was a bad example. Magic Johnson didn’t need James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Cooper, and Byron Scott. That would be two top 50 all time players, two perennial all-stars, and another bad example. I’ll just use the guy LBJ is most often compared to and is undoubtedly chasing for the title of best ever. Michael Jordan didn’t need Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Horace Grant. A top 50 all time player, a hall of famer, and a perennial all-star. Well at least they didn’t decide to team up as free agents. Seriously, who does this guy think he is playing out his contract in Cleveland, becoming an unrestricted free agent, and then deciding to pursue a better opportunity? The idea that a “free agent” would choose where he wanted to play is disgusting, selfish, and has no place in sports. The Celtics and Lakers put their championship teams together the right way…through trades. Sure the Lakers got Pau Gasol for a bag of peanuts and a Sprite and then added Ron Artest for good measure. And, so what if the Celtics got Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett for a handful of Skittles. At least they didn’t get them through (gasp) free agency.
I’m sorry folks, in my opinion Lebron is forever going to be known as the egotistical, self-centered, me-first, attention whore who defied the two-year prodding of the media and spurned the Knicks and the unmatched celebrity that goes along with being a superstar sports figure in New York City, gave up a situation where he was a one man show and had free reign to do as he pleased in Cleveland, worked his butt off for his former team for six years even leading a collection of CBA players to the finals, did everything the right way on and off the court, and then ruined it all by choosing to join his good friends and fellow superstars, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami in the hopes of winning a team championship. I hate you Lebron, and anyone who doesn’t is a darn fool!!!
