Let’s be real here. It should have stopped last year. Let’s give it a break at the very least.
For the last three years, the entire sports and entertainment media circuit has been waving their tiny spoons, mimicking the flight of an airplane, essentially breast feeding LeBron James with sickening levels of adoration and praise.
“King James.” “The Chosen One.” “We Are All Witnesses.”
What have we really been “witnesses” to? His freakish unmatched level of athleticism? Sure, I’ll give him that. And please, correct me if I am out of bounds with this one, but isn’t a “King” supposed to have at least one crown, err, ring? Last time I checked, LeBron has…wait, let me count. Oh right, there’s nothing to count.
Since when is a superstar catapulted into the upper echelon of “greatest of all-time” talk without having won a title or even come close for that matter? I mean, the guy got swept out of the only NBA Finals he’s ever been to.
I’ve got to believe that the sports world has not become so insanely saturated with awe towards LeBron’s physical abilities that its forgotten how to truly measure the greatness of a player.
Championships, championships, championships.
I mean come on, at least get to the Finals again. Not that I’m counting, okay maybe I am, but Kobe is vying for his seventh NBA Finals appearance and third in a row.
Since the world loves comparing Kobe and LeBron, I’d say it’s a rather fitting time to engage this nonsensical conversation, you know, seeing as how the Lakers are appearing in their third straight Western Conference Finals while the Cavaliers are…well, they’re certainly not dancing anymore, that’s for sure.
NEXT: Kobe vs. LeBron – Sportsmanship
The origins of my dissent towards LeBron James can be traced back to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals from 2009, just under a year ago. I know this is old news, but bear with me as I’ve been waiting for so long to thumb my two cents to more than just a few friends.
For someone who so explicitly boasted to the media about how every member of the “Redeem Team” cared for each other and respected one another as “brothers,” to not even give Dwight Howard so much as a look in the eye following his defeat is something that I personally cannot overlook or forget. As my good friend texted me last night, “LeBron is a fraud.”
It’s one thing to blatantly disrespect another superstar as did James, but to stand up to the media days later, on his own time after failing to appear at the post-game presser, and say, “I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”
I’m sorry, what? Come again.
There’s a few things that were alarmingly illogical in those comments by James. Firstly, he is not a “winner” as I reiterate again, he has yet to win an NBA championship. Secondly, he was and still is a poor sport given his failure to shake any Magic player’s hand and his tantrum no-show in Game 5 of the Boston series. Lastly, it doesn’t matter what makes sense to you LeBron, congratulating your opponent whether you win or lose is an absolute fundamental standard of being a professional athlete – keyword being, “professional.”
In the land of King James however, it appears just fine if he answers his critics with brash arrogance while steering clear of self-deprecation.
What really disturbed me about the unsportsmanlike act of LeBron is the lack of elaborate coverage it received. For whatever reason, the majority of the gutless mass media did not dare denigrate the almighty King James, perhaps to make sure they could score that signature interview down the road or be invited to his gaudy $30 million mansion to see if his McDonald’s tastes any different from the one down the block. That’s basically when I realized that LeBron had successfully weaved his web around ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and what have you.
I’d like to extend my gracious appreciation to the small minority of journalists, analysts and yes, even you Skip Bayless, for condemning James’ inexplicable act of purporting himself as some sort of deity who precedes sportsmanship and class. I don’t know about you, but I certainly do not find such an attitude to be congruent with serving as the face of an entire league.
As much as it pains me, and believe me it does, I must dig up the Lakers’ 39-point blowout loss to the Celtics in the 2008 NBA Finals, just two seasons ago might I add. However I’m not talking about the game.
What I want you to remember is how Kobe Bryant, with fresh tears streaming down his cheeks, congratulated each player and coach as they euphorically celebrated in front of his face – shaking each member’s hand.
The Mamba restrained his tears as valiantly as he had battled the Celtics through six forgettable games even in the post-game press conference.
Kobe is the epitome of what the term “professional athlete” is intended to represent. He encompasses each and every facet of being a consummate pro whether it’s possessing an unrivaled work ethic, competing to the bitter end in search of victory, isolating his focus on the court to the task at hand or simply being clutch as hell. Excuse my language.
While LeBron seems to have learned his lesson from a year ago as he congratulated his opponent last night, it’s a shame that he checked out on the city of Cleveland and all Cavaliers fans well before the series was even close to being over. James just does not know how to accept when things don’t go his way because we’re all living in his world, not vice versa.
Again, phony.
NEXT: Kobe vs. LeBron – Obsession
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I thought about it after Game 6 last night and at first, I figured that maybe, just maybe, LeBron doesn’t have the proper talent surrounding him to even make it to the NBA Finals. Then I realized, since when does King James suddenly need so much help on the court? Why are all those people who dubbed the Cavs as title favorites during the season changing their tune on the drop of a dime – or in this case, a max contract?
Such is life on a bandwagon I suppose.
And last time I checked, the MVP trophy is usually awarded to the player who is on the best team right? Is that not the justification all those voters who banded against Kobe in the mid 2000’s rested their head upon? Don’t you dare change your stance now.
My overall point here is that if you surrounded Kobe with the same players LeBron has had in the last two years, there’s absolutely no way he lays down and quits like James did in the Boston series. In the same Game 6 situation, the Mamba would have gone down shooting, even if it meant taking 40 personal looks at the bucket as Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy were imploring LeBron to do so last night.
One might bring up the baseless counter-argument of the Lakers’ 2006 collapse to the Suns in which the team forfeited a 3-1 series lead, ultimately getting blown out in Game 7 in Phoenix – a game in which Kobe Bryant was not engaged offensively. Keep in mind however, that Lakers team was not nearly as potent as the Cavaliers team LeBron has enjoyed for the last two seasons and the media was unfairly bringing down a storm of criticism towards Kobe during the series for shooting too much when he had close to no offensive help to rely upon. James has only ever been showered with love and admiration so please, spare me from the discussion. I just didn’t want to cut any corners here.
LeBron just does not appear to have even half as much fire burning holes through reporters’ souls as Kobe does when speaking of winning a title. This is the most basic element that separates them in my opinion. As the top two megastars in the NBA, their talent and abilities are obvious elements to what makes them great, but as the new NBA Finals promo says, what makes you immortal is the hardware.
Many journalists mock the Mamba’s stern gait and “grumpy” temperament during these last few playoff runs, but that angry demeanor is exactly what sets Kobe above the rest, especially LeBron.
Nobody else in the league is more obsessed with collecting as many championships as he possibly can than he is. No one else sacrifices as much or plays through as many injuries than Kobe Bryant. The man’s heart pumps strictly for his family and to fight for the Larry O’Brien trophy every season.
James on the other hand appears to be more concerned with expanding his brand, being a global icon as even he has openly attested to. He says all the right things during interviews when asked questions regarding a championship, but he’s offered us very little in the way of convincing us that his responses are coming from a place purer than the soul.
I’ve always despised his on-court behavior during games, laughing, joking, dancing – don’t even get me started on his rapping during the Lakers’ last trip to Cleveland. Did you ever see Jordan or Kobe act like a petulant child with such disrespect during a game? If you need to engage such behavior to “make the game fun,” why are you even playing?
The NBA is a joke to LeBron. He does not take the league or winning a championship seriously enough. Perhaps he will make it big as a movie star once he wraps production on his film this summer – the activity that takes precedence over competing in the World Basketball Championships. Living under the shroud of a facade seems to suit his tastes much better any how.
NEXT: Kobe vs. LeBron – Co-workers at Nike
Why am I such a fan of Nike? It’s not because of their ground-breaking innovations or their superior products. It’s because they have a little something called common sense.
The entire MVPuppets promotional campaign essentially became a forum for speaking the truth. That truth of course being, that Kobe Bryant is by far the more accomplished, polished, revered and superior player – with all four cookies in tow.
I’d be astounded if LeBron was not irked by the fact that Nike completely mocked him by setting clear boundaries between his puppet doppleganger and that of the Black Mamba’s. The Nike Zoom Kobe V was heavily advertised through the campaign, but did you see any TV spots for LeBron’s kicks? He has not earned that privilege yet.
What’s more unusual is that Nike has not broken the bank into researching and developing a more exceptional signature shoe for him. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Kobe prefers to be heavily involved, even being the one who suggested an exploration into the world of low-tops, thereby once again, setting a new standard.
By the way, Nike CEO Mark Parker reported a sales spike of 300% for the Kobe V at the beginning of the month while LeBron’s Air Max VII is widely considered as a sneaker that fell awfully short of expectations. We’ll just chalk up the parallels between James and his shoe to coincidence…for now.
Kobe is the winner for Nike. As we talked about earlier, he is inherently obsessed with all things that can make him a better basketball player, including his kicks. His lead designer, Eric Avar even revealed that the Mamba is the most intelligent and articulate athlete that he’s ever worked with. Given Avar’s high-profile position as head director of Nike’s Innovation Kitchen, I’d say that’s quite considerable praise. I would not be the least bit surprised if LeBron’s involvement is more along the lines of, “Cook something up for me and I’ll see if I like it.”
While you may consider this a silly platform for argument, I personally believe that even their respective partnerships with Nike is a strong representation of the difference between Kobe and LeBron, as far as caring about all things basketball is considered.
NEXT: Kobe vs. LeBron – NO MORE
In my mind, this discussion is over and it had close to no merit to begin with. Until LeBron shows that he can even get back to the NBA Finals, there’s absolutely nothing you can say that supports the claim that he is the best basketball player in the world, much less the league. Don’t even mention his name in the same breath as Kobe and definitely not MJ.
I am not however, completely shutting the door on the guy. I have no personal vendetta against him nor do I secretly wish him a career plagued by disappointment and plight. I sincerely hope that he looks himself in the mirror and makes a few decisions about how he wants to carry himself as the face of the NBA and perhaps, the most sought-after figure in all of sports.
Kobe endured his share of growing pains as we all know, and now, it merely happens to be LeBron’s turn. One definite thing I would like to see from James is, a bit of separation from the rockstar attitude and a touch of humility. I’d like to see him become more about the game of basketball and finally obtaining the crown that eludes him so.
He and I share the same age and clearly, the similarities abruptly end there. However, it does mean that anyone who is 25 years old, would love to be in the position that LeBron has had the privilege of being in for the last seven years. As of right now, I firmly believe he takes it for granted and does not appreciate the luxury of getting to play basketball as his job.
Until he matures and earns an NBA championship, anyone who utters the words, “LeBron is better than Kobe,” is broadcasting to the world that they possess an irrational, poor comprehension of logic.
As Avery Johnson said last night during ESPN’s NBA Fastbreak, “LeBron James may be the back to back MVP, but Kobe Bryant is still the best player in the NBA. In the fourth quarter, you give him the ball and you can go win yourself a championship.”
Case closed.