Sometimes I feel like we put Lebron James on a pedestal & then tell him that he doesn't deserve to be there.

jeremy203 · 1 year

I'm going to say it. LeBron is fairly modest and likeable if you consider his fucking ridiculous upbringing and the way he shoved into the spotlight at highschool, and had the entire nation watching him and expecting him to be great. The Decision wasn't his smartest move, but it's not like it was his idea. Someone else would have come up with it and he was just naive enough to think it sounded good. The crowd rally in Miami was meant to get Heat fans psyched up, yet people that hate the Heat watch it and get shitty.. His tattoos seem a bit arrogant, but at the same time it's probably a great way to get himself psyched up, and adds belief that he can achieve what he wants. Even though I want OKC to win, I wouldn't mind if LeBron won a ring just to shut some of his haters up...

thehammer217 · 1 year

You know what I think? I think everyone keeps trying to force Lebron James to become the next MJ. Everyone keeps saying "Oh, he'll never be MJ if he keeps doing this or that". What if he doesn't want to be Jordan? Why can't we just let one of the greatest players of all time make his own legacy. Kobe wants to be Jordan. Lebron wants to be Lebron.

DrJesusSingh · 1 year

Lebron doesn't have a title yet, he's a terrible player! Steve Nash also doesn't have a title, and is less likely to win one than Lebron, but he's still a fantastic player! My name is Skip Bayless and I'm an idiot!

expertlistmaker · 1 year

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2303118

Someone has to be the villian/choker/underachiever/bust

LeBron will never win a title, Kobe is too much of a ballhog to win a title without Shaq, Kobe's a rapist, Dirk's soft, Jordan's a ballhog, Jordan's all style and no substance, Wilt can never beat Russell.

Sports fans have to hate someone, so others can think that they actually know something about a sport.

Its a shame that someone can possibly be playing the best basketball we have ever seen (i said it) and all we can worry about is that he has no rings or a receding hairline.

Some people like meme's and some like watching the games.It doesnt take long for you to figure out who is which.

yrogerg123 · 1 year

He's worthy of the discussion. He's the most uniquely gifted specimen in the history of the game. He's too big and too fast to be guarded by anybody, and he can guard absolutely anybody without giving up much. Based purely on ability, he could be the best to ever play the game. That makes him interesting and worthy of discussion. And thats not putting him on a pedastal, that's fact. There has never and will never be anybody like Lebron James.

He's the single best basketball player in the NBA, and that gives people certain expectations of him. He doesn't have to live up to them, he doesn't even have to want to, but that doesn't change the fact that people love basketball and love talking about it. That means they love talking about him.

If there's a pedestal it's self created. Look at MJ, Kobe and Lebron, and ask this: would either of the other two choose their own body over Lebrons? He's just perfectly built for basketball. And you know what else? He is really fucking good. But not as good as either of those two. And what's the difference? Desire. The need to compete and win. And that's something that's worthy of critique and discussion.

Look, is it fair that he is judged against the best ever? No. But he's good enough that there is no ceiling to what he can accomplish. He can coast to a triple double almost every night, he just ripped my favorite team apart without even trying. But you can't help but think....what if he wanted it as bad as MJ? Could you even imagine. Of course that's not fair, he's an amazing basketball player and a joy to watch. But that "what if" is not going anywhere.

That Lebron is good enough to warrant the comparison is a huge compliment and a testament to what he's already accomplished. But we know what the next level looks like. The question remains: does he want to reach it. Because if he wants to, he can get there.

vagrantwade · 1 year

I'm sure he's a really modest guy.

MainManBlackDynamite · 1 year

We put him there but we want him to prove he belongs there.

aelianus · 1 year

He came into the league hyped as the greatest prospect of all time, for years he wore the #23 jersey basically asking people to compare him to Jordan, and when it came time for him to decide where to sign, he made the decision, not a decision, the decision. He asks to be put on a pedestal, and I like to tell him that he doesn't deserve to be there.

are95 · 1 year

But most of the time, he puts himself on the pedastal. Especially with the decision. Granted, he's an athletic freak and amazingly skilled, just not at self praise

elbenji · 1 year

Did anything similar happen to MJ before he started winning chamionships? Did people say "Oh, he'll never be the next Bird, Magic, etc." or was the criticism less intense? I know people wrote that he was too selfish early in his career, but not if the criticism was as harsh as it is at times with LeBron.

[deleted] · 1 year

Everything LeBron does and doesn't do will be criticized. I'm a Spurs fan, but if there is any other team to win this year, it should be the Heat. I'm scared to see what happens if LeBron goes another year without winning it all. If he loses once again, I wish the man well.

gotz2bk · 1 year

Undisputedly one of the greatest talents. Yet to be one of the greatest champions.

StayOuttaMyShed · 1 year

We? I'm not Nike, or the guys at ESPN that hyped him before he'd even finished his senior year of high school! If you'd like to blame the media, go ahead... but we fans didn't crown him the next Magic or Jordan before he'd stepped foot on an NBA court.

DarkBlue29 · 1 year

Well, it's ESPN really.

RavR · 1 year

He likes to be on a pedestal though, he loves attention, and he loves doing whatever he can to get everyone to like him.

When he gets on the court, hes the best all around player in the world right now, but off the court hes (at times) an idiot because he tries too hard to come off as the good guy that everyone loves.

YouHadMeAtMeatTornad · 1 year

LeBron might be the most gifted athlete to ever play the game. But it's the way HE carries himself that makes him one of the most hated players in recent memory. The first two links in the comments sum it up perfectly, who the fuck gets a tattoo that says "The Chosen 1" across their backs when they haven't even won a title yet? And the Miami welcome party before they had even played a game is enough to make anybody that cares about sports vomit. We didn't put him on a pedestal, he put himself there. Yeah, he was overhyped coming out of high school by the media, but Sebastian Telfair was on the cover of SI in high school too and I don't see people lining up to heckle him. LeBron had a huge fan base of non-Cleveland fans when he was playing for the Cavs, and nobody really scrutinized his failures for them. We gave him the benefit of the doubt, he was a young, talented player trying to figure it out but he would get there. Then The Decision happened, and everything about his public image has (deservedly) gone to the shitter since then. My biggest problem with the guy is that he just thinks everything should be handed to him. If you watch him during games, the dude complains about everything. He'll bitch and moan even after HE GETS THE CALLS. I said before he might be the most gifted athlete to play the game, but he's not even close to the best basketball player. He was just given the most absurd basketball frame and natural attributes you could ask for, and it seems like he doesn't work on improving it as much as we, as fans, would like to see. Can you imagine what Michael Jordan would have done to the league if he was 6 foot 8, 250 lbs?? Going to Miami (to team up with supposedly his biggest rival) was him asking to have the championship handed to him. I mean, the guy even makes chef's at steakhouses cut his steak for him...

FYININJA · 1 year

Lebron wants to be the greatest player ever. Idc if he's ever actually said it, at the end of the day you know that's his goal. Yes people compare him to Jordan, and even if he's not trying to be Michael Jordan (Though it's obvious through his play that he's definitely tried to emulate him in some aspects), people will compare him to Jordan because Jordan is the best.

As for putting him on a pedestal? He's done that to himself. Players usually put themselves on a pedestal by stating their expectations of themselves. Lebron loves the spotlight or else he wouldn't feed into it by saying he thinks he's the best player in the world.

[deleted] · 1 year

If "we" is the general NBA-watching population including the media, then that's a pretty good description, yeah.

novelty_nba_account · 1 year

LEAVE LEBRON ALONE!!!

heatfan20 · 1 year

It's comforting to see that not everyone that is a fan of another team on here hates LeBron lol

resjudicata1216 · 1 year

[deleted]

[deleted] · 1 year

That's fine. You can do the same to me but only pay me a tenth of what Lebron gets. Plus I'll even, on occasion, admit you may be true and I won't even have an ego.

Aren't I a good value?

Edit: Plus, I promise to speak in the 3rd person whenever possible. Unless r/NBA doesn't want a frui-troll-up to speak in the 3rd person.

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