BOSTON – No Kyrie Irving. No Kevin Love.
And yet the LeBron James-led Cavaliers have given Golden State all they handle thus far in the NBA Finals.
There was such a feel-good vibe around Cleveland from fans who hated James (and probably still do), but loved the underdog narrative they were carving in Cleveland with this improbable run towards what may still be the franchise’s first ever NBA title.
And all that goodwill built up?
Out the door Sunday night courtesy of LeBron James doing what LeBron James tends to do at some point.
He morphed from the humble, hard-working, super-human talent to the braggadocios, arrogant player whose ridiculous talent is only dwarfed by his seemingly ridiculous, over-the-top ego and self-worth.
Following Cleveland’s 104-91 Game 5 loss on Sunday night that now has the Warriors one win away from their first NBA title since 1975, James was asked about his confidence going forward.
“I feel confident because I’m the best player in the world; it’s (that) simple,” James said.
Oh.
OK.
The issue isn’t with his words.
It’s whether they needed to be said at all.
And by saying them, what does that say about James?
You can’t watch a single game in the NBA Finals this year without some reference being made about LeBron James being the best basketball player on the planet.
When you put up the kind of numbers he has on the grandest of stages, the praise makes sense.
But to hear James speak of himself in those terms, it’s not just a little odd but reinforces the belief that he’s just too full of himself.
This wasn’t Mike Breen or Jeff Van Gundy or Mark Jackson acknowledging his greatness.
It was James himself delivering the kind of drop-the-mic post-game comment that will add to the growing list of “James-isms” he wishes he never said or in hindsight would have phrased differently.
The issue isn’t whether James’ words are true.
Having covered the NBA before he came into the league, I believe him to be the best player on the planet and arguably one of the five greatest to ever play the game.
The dude is just that good.
But again, that’s not the issue.
With greatness comes a certain responsibility to not only play at your best but show respect for the game and your place in it.
The truly great ones never have to tell you or rather feel the need to tell you they were the best.
It showed in their play, the improvement those around them made because of their presence and at the end of the day, their entire body of work.
Respect came from their peers. Praise came from fans, media and onlookers. But all that apparently isn’t enough for James.
In addition to everyone telling him how great he is, he feels the need to tell us all just how great he is, too.
Which is a reminder of how even a man whose skills and talent are praised and admired by the masses like James’ are, still needs more ego-stroking - even if he has to do it himself.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment