In LeBron James' letter to Sports Illustrated announcing his return to Cleveland in July 2014, the four-time NBA MVP sounded like a mature, changed
man. He admitted his mistakes in the handling of his departure from the Cavaliers in 2010, noting ‘The Decision’—a deplorable nationally televised event
that made him look like the most self-absorbed player in league history—was something
he wishes he never took part in.
LeBron recognized it was the way he left Cleveland—not the act itself of defecting to Miami—that was his demise among the public. In explaining why he
was coming back to the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent, LeBron depicted in his letter the love he holds for his
former Miami Heat teammates and the team's front office, relishing in the success the team
enjoyed in his four-year tenure in Miami. He made it clear he was leaving
the Heat, who he led to four straight Finals and two championships, for
one single goal: To win a title for championship-starved Cleveland.
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| LeBron set his sights on winning the Cavs their first championship in franchise history. Will his self-imposed drama ruin Cleveland's title plans? (Tony Dejack/AP) |
In the Cavaliers' 2014-15 media day, LeBron objected
to reporters who referred to him, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love as a Big Three, declaring they were just three members of a team. This was a far cry from the LeBron from four years prior when he danced on the stage at American Airlines Arena with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh after the three stars infamously celebrated uniting
together to play for the Heat. LeBron confidently asserted on the stage that night the new Miami trio was talented enough to win "not five, not six, not seven" but eight championships.
The narrative of LeBron returning
home to Cleveland to bring the City a title nearly came true in his first
season back with the Cavs. Even with a rocky start to the regular season, LeBron led the Cavs
to the 2015 NBA Finals, despite Love dislocating his left shoulder in the
first-round of the playoffs and subsequently missing the remainder of postseason.
The Cavs also lost Irving due to injury, as the star point guard fractured his
left knee cap in Game 1 of the Finals which required surgery and sidelined him
until December of this season. Devoid of his two star running mates, LeBron
propelled the Cavs to a 2-1 series lead before falling to the eventual NBA Champion Golden
State Warriors in six games in one of the most prolific player performances in Finals
history.
Nine months removed from the Finals
loss to the Warriors, LeBron is acting like his former pettish self which once made him the league’s most hated player. He is sending out cryptic tweets which
have led analysts, mainly Stephen A. Smith, to speculate the 12-time All-Star
could bolt Cleveland again. LeBron galvanized controversy with these tweets and furthered the hysteria by working out with Wade in Miami in one of the Cavs’ off-days, leading some
to believe LeBron had regrets of leaving South Beach.
You can blame the media for stirring the pot in somewhat unfounded speculation that LeBron will leave Cleveland
again. LeBron almost certainly will remain with the Cavs for the rest of the
career. As you may recall, he promised to “never forget” where he “came from,”
a quote of his which remains on his personal Twitter background.
The reality, though, is the onus
falls on LeBron for causing a media frenzy. With Stephen
Curry dominating the league in unprecedented fashion and well on his way to
a second consecutive MVP crown, LeBron is not the center of attention in the NBA for the first time since the self-declared ‘King’ was drafted No. 1 overall
in 2003. From an outsider’s vantage point, LeBron simply can't deal with no longer being the face of basketball.
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| LeBron James is struggling to accept that Stephen Curry is now the talk of the league. (Ben Margot/AP) |
LeBron, who tweeted “Do not take his greatness or anyone for granted,” felt compelled to remind the NBA and the
City of Cleveland he has the power to change the landscape of the league
by walking away from his current team. It’s undeniable that any team who
lands LeBron becomes an instant title contender. But why is LeBron even
bothering to bring up his excellence via social media? By all accounts, he is threatening to leave the Cavs—a franchise he has a stranglehold over—by
sending out messages that evoke NBA followers of his greatness.
In typical self-induced LeBron dramatic
fashion, this childish, fake threat is all for show. He is bluffing leaving
Cleveland, where the fans worship him like a God. LeBron cares way too much about public reception and his legacy—which he’s made clear by discussing continually where he places among the NBA’s All-Time Greats—to depart the city he refers to
as "The Land." Ditch Cleveland and the basketball world will consider him “persona
non grata.” He came back to the Cavs not only to win Cleveland a championship
for the first time since Jim Brown ran the Browns to an NFL Title in 1964, but to
cleanse the mess of ‘The Decision.’
LeBron would never risk tarnishing
his brand by decamping Cleveland. But these tweets and hollow quotes from
LeBron swing the center of the league's attention back his way. And apparently that’s what 'The King' cares about most.
