Hoops-and-Dreams

The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat last night to win the NBA Championship. 4-2 was the final series score. The Mavs sealed a fourth win and their first ring in franchise history in Miami. And you’re going to tell me LeBron is as good as Kobe? As good as Jordan? No.

Until he can show that he can perform on the big stage in the biggest moments he’s not even in the discussion. LeBron James is 70% talent and 30% hype - and some of that talent is just down to the fact that he was born with an athletically freakish body. Kobe and Jordan have/had raw talent. LeBron showed, once again, that he doesn’t have the scoring mentality that the very best have.

Sure, he came out and hit a few three’s in the opening minutes of Game 6. Big deal. Then, he dropped back into the routine of passing the ball off to other players and air-balling shots. It’s okay to be a Robin to Batman, but you’ve got to act like it instead of carrying yourself like you’re God’s gift to the world.

The fact of the matter is that Kobe and Jordan have a selfish trait. A trait that means when they have a guy open in the corner whilst they have a triple-team attempting to block their route to the basket, their first thought isn’t to pass that ball to the corner - it’s to take on that triple-team and score. LeBron doesn’t have that.

Then you have LeBron on the podium, answering the question on what he thinks about all the LeBron “haters”:

”All the people that were rooting me on to fail, at the end of the day they have to wake up tomorrow and have the same life they had before. They have the same personal problems they had today. I’m going to continue to live the way I want to live and continue to do the things that I want with me and my family and be happy with that.”

For a guy who wants to essentially be Michael Jordan (and don’t say he doesn’t - wearing #23 and then switching to #6 is proof enough of this fact) he is a guy that essentially wants to be loved by the world. Michael was loved by the world. LeBron seems to be doing his best in turning the world against him with every move he makes.

Speaking about himself in third person. Calling himself “The King”. Holding an entire show on ESPN just to announce that he was taking his “talents to South Beach” and then following it up with a “Big Three” introduction which was more suited to the WWE. Now, he’s made it personal. Anyone who hates on him apparently does so because they don’t have his life; because he’s LeBron James! LeBron needs to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around him and that it’s just a game. It’s a game on a hell of a stage but it’s still only a game.

I know I’m ranting about LeBron and the Heat right now, but this is just a part of the game. I enjoy watching the game and taking part. However. once I have finished writing and I leave my keyboard, I go back to the real world and real life.

If they had to be anyone, I think right now everyone would rather be the unassuming and “business only” (oh, and NBA Champion) player that is Dirk Nowitzki. A player who does just that - he plays. He gets the job done. I don’t need to throw the stats at you for you to know that Dirk destroyed LeBron in the Finals.

But Dirk was hardly even known by the casual fan before these playoffs. Why? It’s not because he’s not talented - it’s purely because he’s not “a headliner”. He’s not a guy who the NBA and the media have hyped up because he’s just not that type of player or person. He doesn’t want all the glitz and the glamour - he just wants to win.

The NBA, the media and even us as the fans are to blame for this “LeBron train” that has been rolling for years while the hype has been building. The problem is that LeBron has added fuel to the fire himself and has essential brought that very train off the tracks.

How would Michael or Kobe respond to a question about the hate? I know how Kobe would respond, “Do I look like I care?”, not, “My life is better than yours”, which sounds childish more than anything.

So much of this hate directed at LeBron is down to the way he runs brand “LeBron”. Some may say that it is simply down to the day and age that we live in. But do guys like Kevin Durant or Derrick Rose (who are younger than LeBron) carry themselves like him? No.

The bottom line is that the Miami Heat would’ve been hoisting another championship banner this summer if LeBron showed up for just 4 games in this Finals series. He didn’t. He’s had 8 seasons in the league now and there have been excuses at the end of every single year. Granted, Kobe had some horrible playoff performances in the beginning, but he was a teenager still trying to find his way in the game. In his early 20s, he was already a 3-time NBA Champion.

I’m not saying LeBron isn’t going to get that ring, because the Miami Heat are still a very good team and will get even better as they pick-up free agents or make more smart moves to trade for even better players. But the ring won’t come at the hand of LeBron’s so-called greatness - it will come and the hands of Dwyane Wade and the great team formed around him.

If that ring finally comes, it should in no way secure his legacy amongst the greats just because he took a ride with a lot of other great players and decided to throw in a triple-double here and there. If the ring comes, it will be because Wade is Batman and LeBron is Robin.

LeBron James isn’t a King. He isn’t the ruler of the Kingdom that is the Miami Heat or even the NBA. He is merely just a citizen.