NBA playoffs have begun to start wrapping up (we're still in conference play but the Warriors are going to win again and it won't really be close), Lebron James is at the forefront of NBA news as usual. With his prominence and unrivaled greatness, hate is always an expectation from plenty of people.

All great athletes have haters. Jordan, Brady, Young, and many others have hate thrown at them constantly. Some of it stems from rivalries, some from a genuine dislike for that person. However, none of it can diminish the greatness or accomplishments that these athletes have achieved.

Nevertheless, to me, there is absolutely no room for hate on Lebron James. Arguably the greatest basketball player of all time and the best in the world right now, Lebron has handled his career with grace and is one of the greatest people in the world right now.

This article is probably going to end up sounding like I have a crush on Lebron, but I don't really care. The hate that comes his way on social media and from professionals in the media really has no place.

While we as a society have come to revere many different athletes, most of them come with some sort of baggage. This is especially true with the most revered basketball players.

Lebron has been a national celebrity since he was a sophomore in high school. After his junior year, the buzz around him was so great that it was rumored he'd be the 1st overall pick if he had been allowed to enter at 17.

Lebron has been famous since he was 16. When I was 16 I was just going to school and playing sports at a slightly above average level. By age 17 Lebron was dealing with media presence, selling out Akron's basketball stadium, and befriending NBA players.

Lebron's career resume is that have a top-2 all-time player and that is not even up for debate. It's him or Jordan and everyone else is pretty much irrelevant in discussing the greatest NBA players ever.

However, where Lebron earns my respect and defense more than any other NBA player is his personal record off the court that has, almost miraculously stayed clean and only bolstered his greatness.

Let's look at a few other records of athletes we revere and becomes clear that nobody matches Lebron. The worst thing you can say about him is that he's a little too cocky, which is fair. But hey, if I was the best basketball player in the world I'd walk with a little more energy too.

Michael Jordan was an asshole, this has been documented time and time again. Kobe? He raped a woman and his greatness just pushed it to the side. Magic slept with so many women he pumps his money into his HIV medicine now. Charles Barkley is constantly running his mouth and Allen Iverson got banned from more than one casino in his day. Dwayne Wade had an affair but it's easier to heal when the bank account looks like his.

These are just a few examples of great players surrounding themselves in some sort of controversy that James has somehow avoided.

Moreover, Lebron has done nothing but good things in the community. Now, philanthropic efforts have come from all sorts of great athletes including the ones mentioned, but Lebron's comes with a clean personal record.

The Lebron Foundation pledged $41 million to send underprivileged kids from Akron to college and in 2015 he provided new equipment to an Akron high school football team. These are just two of his philanthropic efforts which could warrant an entire article of their own.

Lebron married his high school sweetheart and is very involved in his kid's lives and sees potential to possibly play with his son in NBA someday. He's been hanging out with A-list celebrities since before he could vote and has somehow never gotten in any sort of trouble. He's never been arrested or even sniffed real legal trouble. The most controversial thing about his career was deciding to have a TV show revolving around his free agency decision when he went to Miami. If people will watch an episode of TV in which all you do is say where you'll playing basketball, then more power to you.

Part of being a great athlete is dealing with the slack that comes from those that don't like you and this will always be something pro athletes deal with. If they ever take it too seriously, they can just check their bank account and smile.

Lebron has formed one of the greatest career resumes in not only NBA history but in the entire history of professional sports. While doing so he has navigated his career with unprecedented grace and has stayed out of the news for almost anything negative. Respect to The King.