Let me tell you something about Lebron James: he's not a very smart dude. Last night, the Cavs beat the Heatles 102-90 at the Quicken Loans Arena. This was catharsis. This was what my friend's dad would call "high art." Vengeance is a dish best served cold.
I would like to suggest that Lebron James is the modern equivalent of Wilt Chamberlain: hypertalent, hyperathletic, he's got a nose for the basket and he's ridiculously strong. Yet there's an element to his personality that just screams immaturity. The guy's so talented that he literally cannot appreciate the value of competitiveness. As far as I can tell, he doesn't even know the meaning of the word. Kobe's competitive. Jordan was competitive. Bird was competitive. Russell was competitive. James is just obnoxious. Sure he creates baskets out of nothing. Sure he can blow your mind with his crazy moves. He's impressive. That's all. There's no art to Lebron James. If Kobe Bryant is Ernest Hemingway, Lebron James is, like, Stephen King. He's a great storyteller. Yet he "says nothing to me about my life." "Hang LBJ."
"Panic" - The Smiths
Basketball is a game, not just a sport. It's about strategic movements through space in time. Athleticism is one component, however integral to sports, yet there's no greatness in athleticism alone. Bird was a cocky shit. Reggie was a cocky shit. Not particularly athletic guys. Yet these were artists. They maneuvered space in superb ways. They lived for "winning time." Their will to win puts them on a higher plain. What about John Stockton or Steve Nash? These guys are incredible players. They theorize the win and then they find a way to make it reality. They didn't win any championships, but you know who has a championship ring? D.J. Mbenga, Sasha Vujacic, Kenny Smith, blah, blah, blah.
Man:
Boy:
This is one of my biggest frustrations with Vince Carter. Here's a guy who has unbelievable talent. Him and T-Mac. Those are some outrageous basketball genes. He's got the hands of a giant gecko, the strength of a golem, quickness, too. Yet this guy literally cannot take the game seriously. He simply got by on the wow factor until his knees said sayonara. He owns a restaurant out in Daytona that looks like a gentleman's club. He acts like the owner of a gentleman's club. Guarantee he becomes a commentator. What a wasted talent.
Which brings me to the supreme idiocy of one Latrell Sprewell. I don't know much about this guy. Except that he choked a dude and then quit the NBA when he plenty of time yet to compete. He quit out of arrogance. The guy had a temper problem and he let it define him. It's just like that one dude who was QB for the Chargers and would just go berserk. What a waster. At least Phil Rivers is a legitimate competitor. There's fire underneath the smoke. Not always the case.
"I got my family to feed!"
Hmmm. I'm not completely convinced that there's not some iota of competitiveness in the ego that is LBJ. He can, at times, be the ultimate competitor, wherein he fights unbelievably hard for every loose ball and rebound. That said, the number of "hunger" games for him versus the normal "Hey, look what I can do because I'm a freak athlete," games is jarring. He can take over meaningless regular season games, trouncing the likes of Washington by 30, while amassing a triple dub. He cannot be clutch, he cannot be that guy who is counted upon to win a game. Sure he's won games with his ability (brings to mind the ridiculous heave in the playoffs over Hedo), but in a tight game against a good defensive team he's butter.
ReplyDeleteThe comparison to Wilt is quite fair. Except Wilt was entirely focused on breaking records, and nothing else. He would literally ignore all other aspects of the game just to reach a milestone in a statistical category. Plus he did it in tiny shorts.
-La Maison
you know, i just can't make myself believe that "competitive sometimes" counts as competitive at all. it's debatable, though.
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