You Were The Chosen One
Obi Wan Kenobi put it best. Screaming at Anakin Skywalker, “You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy the Sith, not join them!!!”
Lebron James had the potential to be one of the all-time greats. Magic. Russell. Bird. Kobe. Jordan. It was conceivable that one day, after Lebron had hung his jersey up once and for all, that the world wouldn’t hesitate to include him amongst these few, these basketball elite. After all, Jordan hadn’t won a single championship at age 25, the same age Lebron decided to commit the worst publicity stunt in the history of sports. There was still a very real chance that once the Cavaliers plugged in a few missing pieces, this team could come off two consecutive seasons of posting the NBA’s best record and have gone off for serious title runs. But the chances of this happening for Cleveland anytime soon is no greater than the probability that Lebron isn’t booed in the Quickens Arena later this year.
It was estimated that 10 million viewers would tune in to The Decision on ESPN. I wouldn’t be surprised if the effects of this disaster reached the ears and eyes of over triple that amount, with the Twitter and Facebook world immediately regurgitating from the shock, and the blogging and media world reverberating from the news. In one fell swoop, Lebron transformed into the most hated figure in the NBA, and no longer was deemed categorized under the most revered, ultimate basketball player in the league today.
We all knew that Lebron was setting himself up for a lose-lose situation. To have the nerve to announce his decision would be televised in a one-hour promotional event pretty much concludes the 25-year-old man-or-kid theory. Only a kid with a ragtag entourage of childhood buddies and ill-advised members would think that they could twist this first-of-its-kind sports television moment into a charity case and everyone would nod their heads in understanding. In announcing his decision, Lebron would be instantly alienating four major cities of the market for raising their hopes and keeping entire management teams completely in the dark. He altered the free-agent summer market of 2010 in no way any other star could, and only a handful of people in the world could be happy about that (Joe Johnson and Rudy Gay, to name a few).
You see, we all knew that this wasn’t going to be pretty. For many of us though, we weren’t picturing the aftermath. Personally, I was envisioning the sheer joy and excitement at the possibility that he was going to say, “This fall, I’ll be bringing my talents to the mecca of basketball… and play for the New York Knicks.” And watching the limited crowd in that Boys & Girls club erupt with passion and applause. It made sense… that’s how it was going to happen… in my eyes. Despite all of the leaked news from sources unnamed, with the words Miami being thrown out all day and through the mouths of the ESPN analysts just prior to the show, I just couldn’t bring myself to believe that he would pull such a cop-out move. I really thought he was going to say Cleveland, Chicago, or New York. I really did.
So why all the backlash? The burning of the jersey? The Letter from Dan Gilbert? The sheer rage being expressed by fans of the league all over the world as evident in Simmon’s latest column? Are we overreacting?
No. It was the culmination of it all. Let’s look at the facts:
Fact: Cleveland fans were in love with their hometown hero. They would unquestionably support Lebron and the Cavs through the good, the bad and the ugly. Cleveland is widely considered to be one of the unluckiest sports cities in the nation, home to many heartbreaking moments in many different sports. Cleveland’s last sports championship was in 1964 when the Cleveland Browns won the Super Bowl.
Fact: Lebron James looked like a shell of his former self in his final series of the NBA Playoffs in 2010. He was often caught with a glazed, disinterested look in his eyes on the court. He did not attempt to take control of the game in its waning moments. After the Cavaliers were ousted in the playoffs, Lebron walked off to the locker room and emphatically took off his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey, obviously very privy to the cameraman filming every step in front of him.
Fact: Lebron became very good friends with fellow Beijing Olympic USA Teammates Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. They did bring up the idea of all playing together during their journey to the gold medal in 2008.
Fact: Lebron met with no less than six franchise management teams (Nets, Knicks, Cavaliers, Clippers, Bulls, and Heat) in downtown Cleveland and had each of their executive offices pitch him why he should join their team. Up until recently, most teams were expecting him to go on a “tour”, and had to rapidly adjust to his plans by coordinating a trip and a pitch to the Cleveland office.
Fact: Just two days prior to the event, Lebron announces he will make his decision in a live television special on ESPN in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Fact: Words that came out of Lebron’s mouth during The Decision. “I know how loyal I am.” “The last time I changed my mind, was probably in my dreams. (laughs) and when I woke up this morning I knew it was the right decision.” Lebron also referred to himself in the third person no less than nine times during the special.
This has truly cemented James’ legacy. He will not be remembered as the second coming of Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson. He will go down as the greatest villain in the history of the sport. The Darth Vader of the NBA. The greatest competitors know the journey is just as important as the outcome. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great”, as noted by Jimmy Dugan. If you want to be respected you don’t sport the best record in the NBA for two years when you’re only 25-years-old and throw in the towel, deciding to join the competition rather than battle them. And if you don’t want to be considered a LeBenedict Arnold, you do NOT go about letting the hometown residents who adore you discover their hearts are being stomped on live television. What Lebron should have done is informed the team early on in the summer, go on about making his decision without cock teasing franchises who probably had zero chances of landing him (Clippers), and release a press statement.
Quoting Lebron: “Well I think championships are championships. You can’t look at it as saying well if I did it somewhere else, it would have been sweeter … when you get to that point and you win a championship you can’t say, ‘Wow I wish I woulda did it somewhere else’ that makes no sense because you put a lot of hard work into it, to get to that point.”
A championship is not a championship. Does anyone question the two championships on Adam Morrison’s plate?
Let’s also get one thing straight. The person who has the most to gain from all of this is Dwayne Wade. From his perspective, he has the opportunity to play with a two-time MVP and an All-Star PF, both of his close friends in their prime. That is awesome. From a basketball perspective, he retains his title as the captain of the Miami Heat. It IS his town, and he will always have one more ring than Lebron. He will be considered the Jordan to Lebron’s Pippen. He is just as much of a mastermind for having coordinated this collaboration (along with Pat Riley). Wade may be “inviting” the other two into his arena, but he is inviting them as sidekicks. Lebron is a clearly a mama’s boy looking to follow, not to lead.
