How we enjoy LeBron James

How was LeBron's quote after the Heat lost the Finals not taking responsibility? He wasn't addressing his responsibility either way; he was merely making a perfectly reasonable point about perspective--one that if he weren't LeBron James, most people would probably have agreed with. LeBron's failings are just more glaring because, for whatever reason, he does so passively. We don't seem to have the same problem with Kobe doing everything he can to shoot the Lakers out of Game 7 of the NBA Finals; Kobe was failing actively, but he was still failing.

Great piece here. My two cents: Can we be of the opinion that James isn't clutch without thinking that he doesn't "want it"? Personally, from the outside comparing him to other elite players it appears that Kobe for example, is phenomenally driven (although I'm not a Kobe fan, I respect him and his rings definitely give me a bias) and more driven than LeBron, but I don't get the impression that he doesn't care, in fact I'd probably agree with you and say he wants it too much. I agree with a previous commenter in that I think the world of Lebron as a player (but not as much as a person) and I admit I primarily enjoyed watching Dirk win his first title, but I also enjoyed seeing the Heat lose. That story-line, fair or not was great for the NBA. I definitely think there are some people who connect what they see as negative personality traits with bad end of game performances and villanize him that way. And I do hold the opinion that he is not a clutch player, but I can hold that opinion and attribute it to him not handling high leverage situations well. He would know best why that is, my best guess would be him psyching himself out because of him "wanting it", so I agree with you on that, I just don't make the same automatic connection between "clutch" and desire as you do.

What is "the collective" you speak of? Who cares? Write about basketball, not about what you think some people might be thinking about basketball maybe.

I don't understand how Strauss' observation adds anything to our understanding of what choking is. It's a given that people choke because they want to succeed. People don't choke when they have no fear of failure. As in... yes, LeBron wants to win, but what he hasn't done is found a way to balance his desire to win with his fear of performing badly in a way that allows him to apply maximum engagement and effort in a pressured game. The fact that his desire to win is so strong that it corners him into passivity is exactly what choking is. Note that I'm not talking about failing. I'm not a Miami Heat fan, but if I were, I'd want to lose a series with LeBron taking the ball to the hole as often as possible, with high usage rates, influencing as many offensive plays as possible.

I have the utmost respect for LeBron's athletic abilities. He is very obviously a fantastic basketball player, and physically he is on a level with only a couple of other guys in the league. However, I have no respect for LeBron as a person, at least based on everything I've ever read about him combined with all of the ridiculous quotes he's spouted off over the years. Similarly, I have absolutely no problem with him choosing to leave Cleveland, but doing it in such a narcissistic and mean-spirited manner was unacceptable. LeBron had to know what he meant to his hometown and what his leaving would mean, and yet he still created yet another painful name for a sports catastrophe for a city that contains a history filled with painfully named sports catastrophes. And if he didn't know, well, that's almost worse, isn't it? Maybe we'll never see another athlete as physically gifted as LeBron James, but if it also means that we'll never see another athlete as self-centered, completely self-unaware, and completely unwilling to accept any responsibility for his failings (see: his quote about all the people who had to go back to their miserable lives after celebrating a Heat loss in the Finals) and missteps (the way he left the Cavaliers a smoldering wreck on national television while former teammate Ilgauskas politely thanked the city after opting to leave in a very nice letter in the Plain Dealer), maybe that's a fair trade.

LeBron is the best player in the world (probably by the margin described by Bird) and is unbelievably-fun to watch, either live or on tv. He's disliked by so many, in large part, because The Decision was so self-unaware and mean to Cleveland fans, and also because it ruined the basketball chemistry that would otherwise exist on the teams of Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Those two should be the undisputed leader of their respective title contenders rather than duplicating one another in ways that call into question whether each as an individual is even helpful or necessary for the team to become a champion. LeBron isn't "unclutch," but he disappeared in bizarre fashion during two of the most important playoff series' of his career. Boston-Cleveland in 2010 should have been a romp, and it was looking that way after Game 3, and then LBJ disappeared and seemed to stop playing the way he normally does. Boston took over and won Games 4-5-6 en route to the Finals. Dallas-Boston in 2011 had a similar flavor, and similarly-puzzling disappearing act by LeBron. If it were to come out in 1 or 5 or 10 or 30 years that LeBron threw those playoff series', it wouldn't really surprise me. He wasn't playing the same as he normally does. Fascinating player to watch for a lot of reasons. He's deserving of much of the praise and criticism he receives. Bird didn't say anything, good or bad, about LeBron, that I didn't agree with.

A well-written article, nice job. American celebrity culture demands that we build our idols up and tear them down simultaneously, making both heroes and villains out of them. Casual fans of the sport want to see Lebron win the championship and they want to see him choke just as badly. The worst thing that could happen is that Lebron plays a great game and loses through no perceived fault of his own and says nothing to the media afterwards. We eat up drama. Give us more drama. Nom nom nom.

I do enjoy his play. I do not enjoy him off the court and avoid anything written about him or anything he says so it won't color my view of his play in a negative light. He is magical with a basketball.