Lebron James is a great basketball player. Now I know that is, and always will be debatable. Whether people want to believe it or not, Lebron James is the MJ of our era. There is no doubt about it. He is the most polarizing figure in the world of sports.
And as the Bible says, "To whom much is given, much is required." And with that saying comes scrutiny. And Lebron James has gotten a lot of it. "Lebron James will never be MJ. Lebron James is such a crybaby. Lebron moans and complains about everything.
It took Lebron James going to Miami, to win a championship. Lebron is soft. Lebron does not have a killer instinct like Kobe or Jordan. Lebron will never be MJ. Lebron has six finals losses."
Now some of these things are true, but it does not diminish the fact that Lebron James is a once-in-a-lifetime, generational player. He has handled everything with poise and ease, something I can all of us can learn from.
In today's generation, we like to nit-pick, exploit, slander, defame and condemn all of the things that we do not do, but rarely ever highlight enough of what the positive things he does.
Lebron James is bigger than basketball
Lebron James is not only a basketball player but a superstar extraordinaire. First and foremost, he is a philanthropist. For example, he is currently finishing out plans to open a school in his hometown area of Akron, Ohio, entitled "I Promise" elementary school. Lebron is sending 1,100 kids to any college of their choice, across the world, as well as supporting financially to the Children's Defense Fund, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and ONEXONE.
Lebron James is the biggest endorser in the history of endorsing. Lebron James estimated net worth is over 400M...and counting. He has numerous endorsement deals like Sprite, Kia, State Farm, Samsung, Nike(his biggest endorser) and Beats By Dre.
He has also made cameo appearances in film/ tv industry. He has starred in Trainwreck with Judd Apatow, SNL, and Late Night Jimmy Kimmel, as well as hosting the ESPY's with Kimmel.
In terms of basketball, philanthropic efforts and public media, Lebron James is living the life that any person could only dream of.
But in the end, as I state it again, Lebron is the MJ of our era. He has redefined what it means to be a great player, by making the players around him better, and always having a positive attitude, regardless of the outcome.
His accolades stand right up next to Jordan, despite the Finals record, but it is all about context. Lebron is a physical specimen that has not been seen in basketball. Just his ability to get to the basket is not like any other.
But I do wish he can show an uncanny ability to not give AF. If he can garner that, watch out world, the NBA will be on lockdown for a couple more years. It will irk the Lebron haters even more than ever before.
But people need to realize that Lebron James really is not going anywhere, for at least 5 more years. And then after that proceeds, he will possibly become an NBA owner. So we really are not going to get rid of him, are we?
Whether they like it or not, Lebron is different from MJ. What you see is what you get. If you do not like it, then you can crawl back into your troll hole, and stay in there until the end of time. Because Lebron James is not going anywhere.
