The Best of This Decade By AC Young
The Magazine
LeBron James ( NBA – Miami Heat )
The Best of This Decade By AC Young
In the NBA today there is LeBron James at the very top and then a gap to whoever is the second best player . His statistics , athleticism and versatility are unmatched but his standing among NBA fans has changed from when he was a young superstar in Cleveland .
When King James made the decision to abdicate his throne in Cleveland and take his talents elsewhere it sent him from being one of the fan-favorites to among the most disliked players in the NBA . " The Decision " was a public relations disaster . Live on international television he pushed his underdog Cavaliers to the curb and ran off to Miami and its bright lights , flashy cars and Pat Riley ' s slicked-back hair . James traded away Drew Carey for
Photo Courtesy of Steve Jurvetson Don Johnson , his hometown for party town , he left fans who worshipped him for fans who arrive late and leave
early . LeBron James has won back many of his fans due to his success with the Heat . There were many who left him as he was ranked at the Michael Vick level for fan popularity , but there is still plenty for him to prove to his detractors .
While the move to the Heat made it easy for many sports fans to hate LeBron , he had already started to lose fans with his results and attitude during his last few seasons in Cleveland . One of the biggest insults directed to James was that he couldn ' t win and would disappear in the last quarter of big games . Being " clutch " when the game is on the line is an accolade that fans give players who win games , like Bird stealing the ball against the Pistons or Jordan hitting a gamewinning shot over Ehlo , but James started to get a reputation of a player who did less as the end of regulation approached . Fans would mock LeBron by saying he couldn ' t give change for a dollar because he didn ' t have the last quarter .
As James couldn ' t win it all with Cleveland , fans had to decide if it was the Cavs or James that was mainly to blame . James would ask for a better supporting cast and Cleveland certainly spent to make that happen although who they brought in may have been the problem . Larry Hughes , Antwan Jamison , Ben Wallace , an old Shaq , none of them were able to be the Pippen to James ' Jordan .
Eventually James decided that Cleveland wasn ' t the place to be to win a title . What made some basketball fans dislike James was that , real or imagined , he quit on his team . His last game in Cleveland as a member of the Cavs was in the playoffs against Boston . James was 3 of 14 from the field , scoring 15 points and adding 3 turnovers . The Cavs would be eliminated in
Sports Passion The Magazine | 13 August 2013 | Issue No . 1