The national criticism LeBron James received during the Cavaliers series with the Wizards was surprising, considering he is one of the most popular players in the league. In truth, the instigators of all the trash talking were Wizards roll players. So why is LeBron now villainized as a whiner?
Because he feels entitled to a status he is not yet entitled to. Because he went straight to the refs every time he touched utterly outraged there was no foul called. He wants to be the next Jordan, and he probably will be, but he hasn’t earned Jordan’s calls. Do you think Jordan was getting the calls he got in 96 back in 89? Hell no! Jordan had to go through the Pistons, Celtics, and Lakers to earn the right to be considered the best. People growing up with the championship MJ probably don’t realize he was somewhat of a punk in his early years. I have a great picture of him going up for a 180 with a gold chain around his neck. He showed up to an all-star game one year wearing a fur coat at the airport. In that same all-star game no one passed MJ the ball in a freeze out led by Isiah Thomas. Jordan complained just as much as LeBron complained last week, but Jordan got the respect from the refs after he went through the Knicks/Pistons Jordan Rules experience, not during. LeBron just got his first helping.
LeBron showed flashes of how great he can be in the Eastern Conference Finals last year, and followed it up with a great season. After coming into the league with more hype than any player in 2 decades, he has backed it up with his first five seasons in the league. All that does is allow him to be considered for elite status. Kobe Bryant just one his first MVP, and part of his finally winning was undoubtedly the fact he has been the best player in the league for the last five years. Not 5 time all-star. Not five seasons with 20/5/5 average. 5 time consensus always the best player on the court, guy you want on your team down by 1 with 3 seconds left.
So how does LeBron prove himself worthy of elite status? Twice in the last week James has missed game winning or game tying layups. Yes, they were contested. They weren’t gimmies, but those are the shots you make to be considered great. Jordan hit those shots. Kobe hits those shots. They missed some, too, but they hit enough when it mattered to make people forget about the misses. James has one thing going for him. Those shots were in the first and second round. If he hits a game winner in the finals those misses disappear. First he has to get back there. So until he gets a few more bruising series and game winners under his belt, don’t act so surprised when it’s not given to you.
