LeBron James – Greatness or Gopher?

B.YONEST “Sports” Newz.. LeBron is GREAT. Where’s the GREATNESS?

What defines Greatness? Is it the shots one makes in the “clutch” moments of the game. Is it the game winning RBI that leads to a baseball World Championship? Is it the presentation and delivery one portrays in the Post-Game Conference after a loss or humongous victory? These questions have plagued the career(s) of many phenomenal athletes over time. The Super Hero in question lately is LeBron James. There’s no question “King James” is great. Hall of Fame Career. Multiple Most Valuable Player trophies. NBA All Star Game MVP. The first player and youngest player to do this, that and the third. The question remains.. Is LeBron James GREATNESS..

Greatness is an attitude. Is a respect level and a desire to be the best individual, player and person you can be no matter who or what stands in your way. Greatness is a state of being. When the lights come on, the fans enter the stands and the clock starts ticking, greatness is the person or person(s) who stand up, accept the challenge and take their “character” and “game” to the next level; The level Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and Diana Taurasi take it to. They have a fire that burns “under the lights” and a refusal to let the MOMENT get the best of them. There’s no time to think about the situation. It’s time to seize the moment. Those individuals have. LeBron James… has NOT.

If you were to ask 10 (intelligent) people who the best basketball player in the Universe is, LeBron James is going to mentioned 7 out of 10 times. There is no question of the ability, skill and down right dominance he can display anytime he “feels like it.” The problem is James plays more like J.R. Smith than Michael Jordan in key moments of games. He seems disinterested, confused and somewhat nervous when the lights become brighter and the situation becomes magnified. Cleveland or Miami; it hasn’t seemed to matter. In Cleveland they were the number one seed. They had home court advantage, they were geared for a NBA Finals run and were embarrassed by the Boston Celtics. King James has been swept (by San Antonio). What is the problem? It has to be completely mental.

Teasing Dirk Nowitzki, on camera, before Game 5, showed me the most about Dwayne Wade and LeBron James’ attitudes. The lack of play in the 4th Quarter was the least of my concerns. They were not focused on the correct thing. Nowitzki’s health should have put Wade and James in a “killer” state of mind. Sick or not; Nowitzki is on the court and we’re going to take advantage of him, his health, his finger and Jason Kidds’ age. His post game Press Conference, although he was under amazing scrutiny, was lack luster at best. Again, he was asked a great deal of frustrating questions. I GET THAT. My problem is simple. James seems immature. The King of the Court doesn’t seem comfortable in his skin, right now. Does it make sense, no, but the proof is behind the camera.

LeBron James is far from a failure. He’s a Superstar Athlete, under a great deal of pressure, to perform on a big stage. Most of us “regular people” can’t imagine the process(es) James, Wade and Bosh face daily. There is no such thing as constructive criticism when it comes to those three. Is Destructive Criticism. There is not ONE person (in a 500 mile radius of Miami) who wants to see them succeed. Not this Season. Not next Season. NEVER. This is the time where James needs to start his soul searching process. Playing basketball isn’t his issue. James can hoop. His loathing, recurring, lack of success is a character/mental problem. It’s the only thing it could be. Is it quite difficult to form a team and win a Championship in ONE YEAR? Of Course, it is. Do I think the Miami Heat are going to come in next season so “fired up” it’s nauseating. I sure do, but the next 365 days of their lives are going to be full of disrespect, disgruntlement, punishing interviews and people reminding them of what they DID NOT do. I challenge LeBron “King” James to dig deep, learn from this challenge and be come greater when it’s all said and done. LeBron James is GREAT. Now, it’s time to build GREATNESS. Good luck King.

ANONYMOUZ