Hating on LeBron
There tend to be two things that are death sentences to young athletes careers before they even get going. They are the words, expectations and potential. With the corporatization (I made that word up) of professional sports over the last twenty years or so and the presence of social media, the effects these two aforementioned words have has been increased one thousand fold. Too many athletes in too many leagues have had the mantle unofficially bestowed upon them to be the next 'whomever' for their respective leagues. Just about all of them have come up short.
Greatness is not something that can be manufactured, packaged, and then sold. I would argue that no one has come into the world of professional sports with more expectations for greatness than Lebron James, (possibly Tiger Woods) and delivered on those expectations. Whatever one personally feels or thinks about James I think it's hard to argue that he is the best player of his generation and the most unique talent the NBA has seen in the last two generations. For all the critics that feel the need to knock Lebron because he isn't Michael Jordan, you're validating the thesis in this article somewhat. James isn't the second coming of Jordan, he's the first (and most likely last) coming of Lebron.
He has taken his bumps along the early stages of his NBA career. He has matured in the public eye and seldom makes the press wire for anything negative which is why I am completely baffled by all the Lebron bashing and hating that I hear in person and read online. When Michael Jordan was in his prime Knicks fans couldn't stand him, not because he wasn't great but precisely because he was. He got in the way of a Knicks title too many times (and he seemed to dunk on Patrick Ewing at will) but I don't ever recall anyone hating on Jordan saying he wouldn't be any good in this era or that era. The most common quip I hear is that LeBron wouldn't be able to play back in the day when the league was more physical. He cries too much etc. It's possible. But the league today as a whole has adopted this culture of 'crying'. He's not different than anyone else in that regard. It is also possible, and I believe more likely, that if he were to play in the more physical era, he would be running over people and breaking down defenses like not seen in that era due to the unique combination of his size, strength and speed, who's to say. It's all speculation.
Times have changed, maybe being a hater is more in chic today than I am aware of but it seems like wasted energy. If you're truly a fan of the NBA and you're hating on Lebron you might want to learn to appreciate being able to see him play because I think the league will in fact see the next Jordan before it sees the next LeBron once he is gone.
Greatness is not something that can be manufactured, packaged, and then sold. I would argue that no one has come into the world of professional sports with more expectations for greatness than Lebron James, (possibly Tiger Woods) and delivered on those expectations. Whatever one personally feels or thinks about James I think it's hard to argue that he is the best player of his generation and the most unique talent the NBA has seen in the last two generations. For all the critics that feel the need to knock Lebron because he isn't Michael Jordan, you're validating the thesis in this article somewhat. James isn't the second coming of Jordan, he's the first (and most likely last) coming of Lebron.
He has taken his bumps along the early stages of his NBA career. He has matured in the public eye and seldom makes the press wire for anything negative which is why I am completely baffled by all the Lebron bashing and hating that I hear in person and read online. When Michael Jordan was in his prime Knicks fans couldn't stand him, not because he wasn't great but precisely because he was. He got in the way of a Knicks title too many times (and he seemed to dunk on Patrick Ewing at will) but I don't ever recall anyone hating on Jordan saying he wouldn't be any good in this era or that era. The most common quip I hear is that LeBron wouldn't be able to play back in the day when the league was more physical. He cries too much etc. It's possible. But the league today as a whole has adopted this culture of 'crying'. He's not different than anyone else in that regard. It is also possible, and I believe more likely, that if he were to play in the more physical era, he would be running over people and breaking down defenses like not seen in that era due to the unique combination of his size, strength and speed, who's to say. It's all speculation.
Times have changed, maybe being a hater is more in chic today than I am aware of but it seems like wasted energy. If you're truly a fan of the NBA and you're hating on Lebron you might want to learn to appreciate being able to see him play because I think the league will in fact see the next Jordan before it sees the next LeBron once he is gone.
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