Truth be told, I’m not much of an NBA fan, but I am a LeBron fan.
I mean, how could you not be? The guy rivals Peyton Manning in terms of acting talent, always sports the latest hairstyles, is the only person since Elvis to pull off the nickname “King” — and, oh yeah, he’s pretty good at basketball, too.
That nickname has served him well since entering the league as a fresh-faced teenager now more than a decade ago, but despite a multitude of All-Star appearances, MVP awards and hilarious Nike commercials, it was still difficult for some pundits and spectators to crown him until he won his championships.
And while back-to-back titles is, of course, a tremendous achievement and helps solidify his legacy as one of the greatest players of all time, chances are not many of those pundits and spectators won't consider him the greatest player of all time until he’s “like Mike” and has to start putting rings on his other hand, too — no matter what number he wears on his back.
But that’s why I’m such a LeBron fan.
The King could have stayed in Miami with Chris Bosh and D-Wade and the white guy with the mohawk and all the tattoos, to try to lead the “Dream Team” — the team that they essentially bought during 2010 free agency — to another title.
Instead, however, he went back to Cleveland. Back to what he considers his hometown. To a team with a losing record. To a team… with a bunch of losers. Instead, however, on his quest to become the greatest of all time, he again put on the number of the greatest of all time, leaving palm trees for pine trees and setting off to turn a team around — not by way of a one-man show, but by trying to make the players around him better.
“The opportunity to play with him is one of the main reasons I came back,” LeBron told Slam Online regarding promising young Cavs’ point guard Kyrie Irving. “The challenge of turning him into the best point guard in the NBA is something that excites me.”
And that’s just what he did, taking the Cavs from a 33-49 record in 2013-2014, to the NBA finals just a year later — making his supporting cast better all around in the process, just like Jordan did with his.
That’s what great players do. They don’t just perform — they inspire others to perform better.
Just look at Adam Banks in “The Mighty Ducks.” Charlie Sheen in “Major League.” The two Italian kids in “Kicking & Screaming.” Or, well… Michael Jordan in “Space Jam.”
There’s a reason that Hollywood writes scripts about the underdog. It’s the same reason that this year’s NBA finals produced the best ratings in more than 10 years — because there’s something admirable about a player using his talent for something bigger than himself.
Give me an Orioles wildcard appearance after 14 losing seasons over another paid-for Yankees’ pennant any day. The Giants over the “perfect” Patriots in Super Bowl XLII? Absolutely. And don’t tell me you weren’t rooting for Indian River — a school from the South with 800 kids — when they faced Wilmington-based powerhouse Salesianum and their 3,000-member student body when the two teams faced off in the DIAA boys’ soccer state championship a couple of years ago.
To me, losing in the finals with the Cavs is a bigger accomplishment than winning in the finals with the Heat. And though this year’s script may not have played out like one of those classic Hollywood sports movies, and I’m still not the biggest NBA fan, as long as No. 23 is in Cleveland, I’ll be waiting to see the sequel.