Basketball has been, and always will be, my favorite sport to play and watch. Although age and time have made playing impossible (or at least illogical), I still am an avid fan of the game and enjoy watching the best players in the world spin their craft. I have been blessed with the opportunity to see, and remember, many of the all-time NBA greats play during, or near, their peak playing years. Being born in 1962, I am too young to have watched and remembered Bill Russell during his prime years but I have watched hours of taped Celtics games during the height of their success. The same is true for Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West and the rest of those powerful Laker teams. I also missed the Big O, Oscar Robertson, in his prime but he was still a very good player when I watched him win his only NBA title with Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) in 1971. I watched and remember all of the great players since that time and although it is very difficult to compare and rate players from different eras who never faced each other, in my humble opinion LeBron James clearly is one of the top 2-3 players to ever play basketball.
LeBron's basketball acumen is indisputable. He has been a superstar known around the world since his high school days where he was clearly a man playing amongst boys. Several experts felt he would struggle to dominate the game in a similar fashion upon his entry to the NBA but LeBron has been an immediate, consistent, and dominant force from day 1 in the league. His combination of size, athleticism, ball-handling, passing, rebounding, and scoring ability has no precedent. In addition, he is, and always has been, one of the top defenders in the league. He is one of only two players I have seen, Dennis Rodman being the other, who is legitimately able to defend NBA players from all five positions. In his Finals win over Golden State, he led all players in the five major statistical categories; points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks - a feat that had never been accomplished previously. LeBron led his team back from the depths of a 3-1 deficit, scored 41 points in back to back games, both feats that had never occurred in an NBA Finals series, and was one of only three players, Lakers Jerry West and James Worthy the others, to notch a tripe double in an NBA Finals Game 7. But most importantly to me, in this age of viral highlight films and AND1 showmanship, LeBron always brought an "old-school" approach to playing ball. Despite his individual greatness, he has always played the game as it was meant to be played focusing 100% of his energy and effort on playing within the team concept at all times. He never sought to dominate games by taking an inordinate amount of shots preferring instead to make the correct pass as dictated by the game action. He never shied away from any challenge indeed he often volunteered to cover the opponent's best player, regardless of position, in order to help his team win without concern of how this extra defensive work might negatively affect his offensive output. This type of unselfish approach is rarely found in modern-day players and should have been glorified yet LeBron was often belittled for not choosing to take more shots and dominate games in the way that others (MJ, Kobe, etc) had done. I have such great respect for the fact that he remainded true to his beliefs on how the game should be played even after enduring multiple defeats in the NBA Finals (I agree with Jerry West that he should not take heat for his Finals record since each of his teams that lost were simply beaten by better teams - the 2012 loss to Dallas as perhaps the lone exception).
In addition, despite being in the national and world-wide spotlight since his teenage years, LeBron has not had any "scandals" to deal with. Many will point to the Decision, the television special he had produced to announce his free agency move from the Cavaliers to the Miami Heat, as a mistake or even a terrible move yet the program netted a great deal of money for the Boys and Girls Club organization (one of the many organizations he contributes time and money to regularly). Truthfully, how can you hold that against him? With all of the cell phone videos and pictures, barely a day goes by without news of a professional or major college athlete messing up in some way, shape, or form. LeBron's life has been completely public since his high school days yet there are no videos, pictures, or accounts of him behaving inappropriately anywhere to be found. This black man, raised in America by a single, black mother in very difficult financial circumstances, has always lived a positive life and conducted himself flawlessly. He married his black, high school sweetheart and the two of them have remained happily married raising three (soon to be four) wonderful, seemingly very well balanced children.
He has voiced his opinion on several important issues in the black community such as his decision to have his Miami Heat teammates join him in a pictorial response supporting Trayvon Martin's family and cause after he was murdered. He made a similar stance with his Cavalier teammates after the murder of Eric Garner in Staten Island. Once again, this type of behavior is reminiscent of "old-school" athletes like Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and definitely different from modern stars like Charles Barkley (I am not a role model) and Michael Jordan (Republicans buy shoes, too) and many others. LeBron should be praised from all directions and by all people for the manner in which he has lived his life and conducted himself over the years. He is a man who fathers can use as an example, beside themselves, to their sons of a man who they see everyday doing all that could ever be expected of a man, a husband, and a father. American boys are bombarded with examples from professional athletes of how not to live their lives, Tiger Woods, Aaron Hernandez, Josh Hamilton, Michael Phelps, Michael Irvin, Aldon Smith, Lance Armstrong, Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, the list goes on forever. LeBron is more famous and has lived under more scrutiny than any of those athletes yet his life is squeaky clean. Obviously he is human and he has, like each of us, made his share of mistakes, but he has never made any glaring errors despite living his entire adult life in front of several, ever-ready cameras. How many of us could survive that type of surveillance throughout our adult lives with equal aplomb? Very few I imagine.
Greatness is an often over used word. I try to use it sparingly so as to help it retain its appropriate value. However, it is correct to apply it to LeBron James' basketball abilities and career and also to the manner in which he has lived his life as a Black man in America despite enduring a lack of privacy that few others can comprehend. I am proud to have been able to watch Lebron's journey and I am happy that my son, and millions of other black boys and young men all across the world, have been able to "Witness" LeBron and all that he represents. Stand tall King James and wear your newest crown proudly brother! You are a true King and Leader of Men!
Power to the Purple!
1 comment:
...no surprise...he's from Ohio!
Post a Comment