As game 7 of the NBA Finals comes to a close, no one can explain the support surrounding the Golden State Warriors. Obviously, having the MVP of the whole league and the numerous records they have broken helps their popularity. But what remains a mystery is where the sudden hatred of the Cleveland Cavaliers erupted from. The answer for me was simple: Lebron James.
While he holds records and seems to play the game with ease, his attitude has always greatly detracted from anything he could ever do on the court. His over the top reactions to doing things that are simply expected for someone who is as big and athletic as he is made him seem like nothing more than the child he entered the NBA as. However, there is much more to the story than that.
The ESPN documentary "I Hate Christian Laettner" covers the story of a player very similar to Lebron James. Christian Laettner is known as Duke University's most infamous basketball player due to his cocky attitude and extremely physical style of play. In the documentary, Rob Lowe makes 5 points as to why he was so hated despite his success on the court. Two of those points, being great and being a bully, radiate from Lebron James in every play.
Greatness is something every athlete strives for. However, when a player on an opposing team is great all the time, fans get angry. It's hard to watch your team struggle against one of the best players to ever play basketball year after year. For people outside of Ohio, James' return to Cleveland only meant more trouble. After drafting Kyrie Irving in 2011, The Cavaliers began building the foundation of a great team. In 2014, Cleveland made a power play by acquiring Lebron James and Kevin Love. But because Irving was the only player to be drafted by and stay loyal to the Cavaliers, Cleveland would never be known as the great team they would become. Because most of the Golden State Warriors' players were not stars on their former teams or were drafted by Golden State, they were regarded as "built by the City" and respected more because of it.
The most obvious reason for hatred towards James is his role as the bully. Standing at 6'8 and 250 pounds, he is a giant for a small forward and is astonishingly athletic. Watching him play often mimics that of a father playing with his young son. In this playoff series, James' tears of joy will be overshadowed by his taunting expression after blocking and talking trash to a much smaller, Stephen Curry. I have no doubts that Lebron James is a Hall of Fame caliber player. However, his attitude which reminds me of the high school bully who needs a good punch to the jaw has given Cleveland a terrible reputation.
While Kyrie Irving tore apart the Warriors' defence all series, he did not once feel the need to get in someone's face over it. James should take a page from Kyrie Irving's book and learn to grow up. James is now 31 and is now proving those who believe he missed out by skipping college right. Some don't learn about the importance of maturity until it is too late.
