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LeBron James News and Rumors All Over the www.Universe

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:48:46 +0100

Browsing the www.universe, I stumbled upon a plethora of news, views and rumors about none other than the NBA king we love to hate LeBron James. If you just take a few minutes to browse around this site, you will find some interesting items associated with King James. But if you just want more of more then just check out the following sites that will attempt to quench your thirst for information and knowledge about the future-present king of the NBA, LeBron James. www.cleveland.com/lebron/ www.huffingtonpost.com/news/lebron-james www.tvguide.com/celebrities/lebron-james/197773

While you are here why don't you check out the other pages on the site. I know you will find something interesting.

That's all for now. I will get back here soon to share more in the near future. Check back and see what's new.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hind Sight is 20/20 Vision: LeBron James Playing With Fire

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:01:01 +0100

Although, at first, many basketball fans and sports industry insiders had grave doubts about whether LeBron James could be successful with the Miami Heat. It now appears that the naysayers have been quieted as they run for cover from the firestorm the Heat have become since James’ addition last summer.

Granted James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (aka SuperFriends, The Big Three, Miami Thirce, and most recently LeBron’s personal favorite moniker, ‘The Heatles’), et al, started the season 9-8. But as of December 2010 the Heat became the first team ever to go 10-0 on the road in a calendar month. Not to mention that the Heat have won18 of the last 19 games. They are currently on an 11-0 winning streak burning up the road, having just beaten the Charlotte Bobcats, 96-82; in a game where James and Wade racked up almost 70 points between them.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s decision to play James prominently in the Cleveland game (played earlier this season) proved to be a brilliant strategy, as James went on to score almost 40 points, making this a highlight game of his season. Continuing to give James the opportunity to let his game shine has produced some big wins for the Heat. James stats have consistently risen, which has created an energy surge among the other Heat players sparking them to step to the basket more often and more confidently.

Wade has also received his time to shine on the court while James takes a rest on the bench. Wade’s stats have seen an uptick with increased “shine time” as well.

The jury is still out on whether the Heat will shoot their way to the playoffs. If they keep up this momentum, they will surely fire-up the race to the championships.

LeBron "Rise"

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:22:39 +0100

The Greatest Lebron James Quotes of All-Time

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 01:01:16 +0100

You need to take a seat, possibly get a beverage, kick your feet up and digest these quotes from Lebron.

This is going to be pure comedy, and if you want to entertain yourself more go to @KingJames twitter page where he only Retweets the “witnesses”.

Good stuff—and as we get closer to the start of the NBA Season, I didn’t realize he talked about himself in 3rd person so much. Rob finds that annoying if not humorous.

LeBron on staying Humble:

“LeBron stays humble just by being LeBron.”

LeBron’s first Tweet:

“Hello World, the Real King James is in the Building “Finally”.”

LeBron on why he Never called the Cavs about his Departure:

“I didn’t talk to anyone personally because I got to a point the last day, I heard so much through out the whole process. The last day I wanted it to be about me.”

LeBron after winning ECF Game 2 vs Magic:

“I told Mo, whatever it was going to take for me, if the 1st, 3rd, 2nd, if all options run, I’m going to come get the ball and I’m going to knock down the shot,” said James. “I don’t take time to look at what I do as an individual while I’m still playing this team game. When I’m done and retired and I’m gone away from the game, I can look back on what I did as an individual. As long as I have 14 teammates, I will never look upon what I do as an individual. That’s not how I approach the game.”

LeBron after losing ECF Game 3 vs Magic:

“I’m only one guy,” James said. “I took Hedo (Turkoglu) in the first game and Rashard (Lewis) hit the winning shot. I took Rashard in the second game and Hedo hit the shot. If I could clone myself, we’d be all right. But I can’t.”

LeBron on his 1st Pre-season game back after being Sick:

“I felt a little winded. I ain’t gonna lie. I wasn’t 100 percent,” said James who was recovering from a virus. “If I looked sharp, wait until I get 100 percent.”

LeBron on why LeBron is never on a Lose-Lose but Win-Win Situation:

“In the life I live today, the way I am blessed, the way the man above has given me these God-given abilities, there’s no way I’m in a lose-lose situation. Every day I wake up, see my family, my two sons running around loving life, there’s no way I’m in a lose-lose situation. I’m going out here playing a game of basketball, the game I love, the game I played as a kid for free, and we still play for free! So there’s no lose-lose situation for me. It just so happens we’ve got cameras and people writing about it. So until you understand who LeBron James is, LeBron James is in a win-win situation, and will continue to be in a win-win situation.”

LeBron on Homosexuality:

“We’re like family and you take showers with each other,” James said Wednesday. “We’re on the bus together and we talk about a lot of things and if you’re not trustworthy, like admitting you’re gay, you can’t be trusted. It’s a trust factor.”

LeBron on 1st Practice with the Heat:

“That’s just me,” James said of his intensity during practice. “Being around new teammates, you don’t want to wear out your welcome on Day 1. But I just can’t hold it back because my leadership skills won’t allow me to do that.”

LeBron on 1st Pre-season Game with the Heat:

“I can’t defer,” James said. “I’m never in defer mentality.”

LeBron on Sharing the Ball:

“I love sharing the ball with my teammates. I see a lot of things before my teammates see them.”

LeBron on being More Aggressive with the Ball:

“Sometimes the coaches tell me to be selfish, but my game won’t let me be selfish.”

LeBron on his Role for the Team:

“I’ve always been a leader. I’ve always kind of been the tallest person on the team when I was younger, but always kind of the smartest. I was ahead of my time. I wasn’t always the oldest, I kind of was the youngest on the team.”

LeBron on Being a Leader:

“Everywhere I’ve been, I’ve been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. It’s not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It’s just how I am.”

LeBron on his Ultimate Goal while in Cleveland:

“I got a goal, and it’s a huge goal, and that’s to bring an NBA championship here to Cleveland, and I won’t stop until I get it.”

LeBron on his Vision for Cleveland:

“I’ve always felt since I was drafted here that I was going to light [Cleveland] up like Vegas. I said that on Day 1 once I got drafted. It’s been slow progress, but it takes a few years to put a building up in Vegas, too.”

LeBron on Playing in the NBA:

“There’s no reason to play in the NBA if you don’t believe you can win it all.”

LeBron on future of Winning 1st Championship with Cavaliers:

“I’ve been used to being an automatic winner, just going onto the court knowing no team could beat us. I didn’t feel that way my first year in the League. Now I’m at a point where I feel like every time we play, we’re going to win. I’m not saying I know we’re going to win a championship this year. That takes time. It took Jordan seven years, Shaq eight. If we keep getting better, I don’t think I’ll have to wait eight years.”

LeBron on Singing his extension with Cavaliers before 2007:

“If I didn’t believe in this team and this organization and the direction that we’re headed, I wouldn’t have signed the extension.”

LeBron’s thoughts about Ring – Chasing:

“It’s also important to me to make the team I’m on now the best,” says James about his Cavaliers team. “I don’t want to go “Ring – Chasing” as I call it, you know. Going to a team that’s already pretty established and trying to win a ring with them. I want to stay with the Cavs and build a champion. And I feel like we’re on our way.”

LeBron on his Decision:

“In this fall, man this is very though, in this fall, I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and play with the Miami Heat.”

LeBron’s Farewell to Cleveland on his Website:

“Next year, I will be playing for The Miami Heat. I would like to thank all of my fans for supporting me and I am looking forward to seeing you guys next season as I CHASE the NBA Championship.”

LeBron on why LeBron left Cleveland:

“One thing I didn’t want to do was make an emotional decision. I wanted to do what’s best for LeBron James and to do what makes LeBron James happy. Put the shoe on the other foot. The Cavs would have gotten rid of me at one point. Would my family burn down their organization? Of course not. This is a business. I’ve had seven great years in Cleveland.”

LeBron on when his new Heat team visits Cleveland:

“Hopefully the fans will be respectful, but at the same time I don’t expect that to be. But I gave a lot to the [Cavs] organization, my talents, my seven years. I tried to take them to places where they had never been before.”

LeBron on Heat’s Aspirations:

“Not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7. Hey, and when I say that when I say that, I really believe it. I’m not just up here blowing smoke at none of these fans, because that’s not what I’m about. I’m about business. And we believe we can win multiple championships.”

LeBron on his Criticism for the Decision:

“Don’t think for one min that I haven’t been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!”

LeBron on Race Factor in Media Coverage of his Decision:

“I think people are looking too far into [my race comment]. But at the same time, sometimes race does play a part in it. I’ve said what I had to say, and I’ll continue to move on.”

LeBron about the City of Cleveland:

“We didn’t actually like Cleveland,” says James. “We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

LeBron on a Possible Return to the Cavaliers:

“If there was an opportunity for me to return to Clevelnd, and those fans welcome me back, that would be a great story.”

LeBron on Cavs fans Burning his Jerseys:

“Maybe those ones burning my jerseys were never LeBron fans anyway.”

LeBron on Playing for Cleveland fans:

“Cleveland fans are awesome,” James told GQ. “But I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court.”

LeBron on staying Humble growing up:

“That’s what keeps me humble because I know my background, know what my mother went through. I never get too high on my stardom or what I can do. My mom always says and my friends all say, ’You’re just a very low-maintenance guy’. I don’t need too much. Glamour and all that stuff don’t excite me. I am just glad I have the game of basketball in my life.”

LeBron on NBA Logo and Players retiring #23:

“I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon,” said James. “There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn’t Michael Jordan first. He can’t get the NBA logo [from Jerry West], and if he can’t, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear No. 23. I’m starting a petition, and I’ve got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it,” James continued. “Now if I’m not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear that number.”

LeBron on Boobie Gibson missing Game 6 vs Celtics:

“A LeBron James team is never desperate.”

LeBron on getting Booed for Blow-out Lost to Celtics:

“I spoil a lot of people with my play,” James told ESPN.com after a 120-88 loss. “When you have a bad game here or there, when you have 3 bad games in a 7-year career, then it’s easy to point that [bad] game out.”

LeBron on Not Shaking Hands after Playoffs elimination

“I’m a winner. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand.”

LeBron on Not Shaking Dwight Howard’s hand and missing Media:

“I wouldn’t have done it the same. I would have [at least] done the media. Without you guys [the media], there is no LeBron James, D-Wade, Tiger Woods or no Peyton Manning,” continued James. “But as far as the dunk tape, or whatever car I’m driving, some things you guys shouldn’t comment and some things you should. I look at the no handshake like this — during the regular season, no one ever shakes hands. I congratulated Dwight Howard through email and told him good luck in the Finals. Shaking hands is not a big deal to me. It’s not being a sore loser, it’s moving on.”

LeBron on whether he made the US Basketball Team for the 2008 Olympics:

“It looks positive at this point. I haven’t talked with Mr. Colangelo, but we should be making this announcement within a week or so.”

LeBron on his Dedication:

“Ask me to play. I’ll play. Ask me to shoot. I’ll shoot. Ask me to pass. I’ll pass. Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate. Anything. But it’s not what you ask of me. It’s what I ask of myself.”

LeBron on Crab Dribble being called for Traveling:

“You have your trademark play, and that’s one of my plays. It kind of looks like a travel because it’s slow, and it’s kind of a high-step. But it’s a one-two just as fluent as any other one-two in this league. I got the wrong end of it, but I think they need to look at it. They need to understand that’s not a travel,” James said.

LeBron on a Defensive Play against Tracy McGrady:

“On his way up, I got a piece of [McGrady's] arm and also a piece of the ball, which made his shot short [an airball],” James said. “You know, I guess it was a great defensive play.”

LeBron talking about his Nike commercial:

“Me and Nike came up with the concept. We just ran with it, man. It was awesome! It took me about a week to do it. I was putting on different costumes. We hit everyone; the older generation, the younger generation, and the ‘Me’ generation.”

LeBron on Cleaning Up and Committing to the 2010 Dunk Contest:

“It’s got to be cleaned up, they have to go back to maybe the ’80s with MJ and Dominique,” James said. “You can’t have so many chances at dunking the basketball. The whole anticipation of a dunk contest is one or two tries and that’s it. If not, you get a score of 30 or 35. Guys are getting 10 opportunities to do the same dunk, by the time they complete it, it is like ‘OK, we’ve seen it.’”

“Right now I’m preliminarily putting my name in the 2010 contest Saturday night,” said James before continuing to call himself in the third-person, “LeBron James is saying in 2010, in Dallas Stadium, he will compete.”

LeBron on the Nike confiscated Dunk Tape:

“I never told anyone to confiscate any tapes. Nike just has a no videotape policy at pick-up games. But now that LeBron is involved, it’s blown up. It’s a play that happens in basketball all the time. You can go on YouTube and see me being dunked on by a lot of guys. I like to call myself a shot blocker and getting dunked on tends to happen.”

LeBron when jokingly asked if the shoes given to him by Kobe Bryant helped his game:

“A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don’t know how to play the game… if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That’s one thing I learned from watching Jordan.”

LeBron to Danny Crawford after a Wizards Game:

For the record, James turned to referee Danny Crawford and said: “Danny, they’re trying to hurt me!”

After the game, James told the media, “I definitely saw DeShawn coming, but I didn’t know that he hit me with a closed fist until one of my teammates told me,” James said. “If we were on the park, something definitely would have escalated. If we was on the park where I grew up playing a lot of basketball, something would have happened. They want to hurt LeBron James. It’s not going to work.”

LeBron about girlfriend Savannah, his Baby’s Mama:

“A person like myself always needs a great sidekick. And she’s that,” James says. “She’s got my back.”

LeBron on being a Role Model

“Once you become a professional athlete or once you do anything well, then you’re automatically a role model,” says James. “I have no problem being a role model. I love it.”

LeBron on Donating $2.5 of the $6 million Revenue to Boys & Girls Club:

“This is an unbelievable venture for myself. This is great, also for the kids. The kids are our future. One day we might have another LeBron. Maybe.”

LeBron on Dan Gilbert:

“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron,” James says of Gilbert. “My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

LeBron on idea of Affordable $15 Sneakers;and Stephon Marbury’s response:

March 28, 2007

Before the Cavaliers vs Knicks game, LeBron James, whose line of sneakers cost around $120 – $150 a pair, was asked about the idea of affordable $15 sneakers, endorsed by Stephan Marbury.

LeBron: “Growing up in the inner city, at times families can’t afford $120 shoes. It’s definitely smart on their part.”

Asked if the Nike $90 million man could see himself wearing these snickers:

LeBron: “No, I don’t think so. Me being with Nike, we hold our standards high.”

Marbury, who is friendly with James, was lacing up his sneakers before the game when informed of LeBron’s comment.

Marbury: “I’d rather own than be owned.”

The Knicks then beat the Cavaliers that night, 97 – 93.

LeBron James: Miami Heat Star Shares Twitter Hate Messages

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:54:38 +0100

LeBron James has been receiving quite a bit of criticism after making his "Decision" over the summer, and disgruntled fans have taken to social media to share their distaste for "King James."

While the betrayal felt by Cleveland Cavaliers fans is understandable, some people took it a little too far.

Here are some of the hate messages "re-tweeted" by LeBron James:

@KingJames: RT @h4rd3n: @KingJames hey good game last night, too bad you're a fraud, BITCH.(Thanks my friend, yeah right!! Haaaa)

@KingJames: RT @DieselDaveT: @KingJames no one wants to hear u speak. Why dont u speak by laying ur head under a moving car(haaaaaa, ok I'll try that)

And one more (which has been deleted) called James "a big nosed big lipped bug eyed (racial slur). Ur greedy, u try to hide ur ghettoness."

James explained his intent when re-tweeting these messages: "I just want you guys to see it also...To see what type of words that are said toward me and towards us as professional athletes. Everybody thinks it is a bed of roses and it's not."

Now, I am not the biggest fan of LeBron James myself, but what exactly does this accomplish, people? He's not coming back to Cleveland just because you're such a disgusting racist. Get over it.

LeBron James Miami Heat: Why Playing Race Card Makes LeBron Look Childish

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:49:04 +0100

With Miami Heat training camp opening this week, it should have been about basketball, but yet again, LeBron James has made the story about himself.

Both James and his business partner Maverick Carter appeared on CNN Wednesday night for a piece that was mostly about Carter, the mastermind behind the “Summer of LeBron.” During that segment, James was asked if race had anything to do with the backlash directed at James after he signed with the Miami Heat.

"I think so at times. It's always a race factor," James said in the interview. Carter later reaffirmed that statement.

Give me a break.

Ever since “The Decision,” LeBron and his camp, including his newfound media assistant Dwyane Wade, have tried to defend James’ actions this summer and pin it on something else. However, not once, has James just owned up to the fact that the negative press is his own doing.

Carter and LeBron are so in denial with that fact they’d only admit that the self-aggrandizing television special, in which James broke the hearts of every Clevelander, might have had something to do with the backlash.

Do You Support LeBron?

Might have?

It started when LeBron was an utter no-show for the final two games of the Boston Celtics series. James shot 11-for-35 from the field and committed 12 turnovers, seemingly giving up on the series as he milked a phantom elbow injury that not one medical test could detect.

LeBron follows that up by becoming a free agent, and instead of visiting interested teams, he had them come to his offices in Cleveland to plead for his services, something that each team should have seen as a slap in the face.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, James then calls up ESPN and schedules this ludicrous television special that was an hour-long ode to all things LeBron, something no player in the history of sports has ever done. In that special, James looked aloof to what was going on around him as he said he was “taking his talents to South Beach,” which might have been the worst part of it all.

It was done in poor taste and was even more poorly executed. It was disrespectful to the game, to the league, and to every single NBA fan. It was one big ego stroke and James and his associates hid it behind the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, thinking a charitable donation would make it better.

The backlash to the entire circus was immediate, fierce and justified. LeBron’s move to Miami was blatantly full of inconsistency. Take this quote from a 2006 interview with ESPN.com:

"It’s all about competing, about trying to be the best,” James said. “It’s also important to me to make the team I’m on now the best. I don’t want to go ring-chasing, as I call it; you know, going to a team that’s already pretty established and trying to win a ring with them. I want to stay with the Cavs and build a champion. And I feel like we’re on our way.”

So let’s see. You joined Dwyane Wade in Miami, who has already won a title, along with Chris Bosh, who’s been an All-Star himself. That sounds pretty established to me.

If you’re all about being the best, you wouldn’t have teamed up with Wade in Miami, you’d have gone somewhere and beaten him on the court like all of the other greats before you. You didn’t want to go ring-chasing, but here you are, looking like a fraud and a liar.

The defenses have been the same and they’ve been furious from the Miami camp. Wade has tried to defend LeBron to anyone who will listen as he and James spit out the same tired lines that Jordan, Magic, and Larry didn’t do it alone.

That’s true and that’s wonderful but they didn’t conspire together to try and form some super team. Magic, Larry, and Jordan all wanted to beat the crap out of each other and prove they were the best. Magic Johnson never recruited Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to the Lakers; he happened to be there when Johnson was drafted.

The same goes for Jordan and the Bulls. Scottie Pippen was drafted to Chicago in 1987, three years later. The fact that you have the nerve to compare your situation to theirs shows no grasp of history whatsoever.

Now he has the gall to blame race for this level of hatred he’s seeing? It just makes him look bad and in a country that’s been so divided by race in its history, it’s just irresponsible and foolish to bring it into the equation.

People hate LeBron James not because he’s an African-American, but because he’s an egomaniacal diva who showed that he thought he was bigger than the game of basketball this summer. It shouldn’t have been a shock, seeing as he was signing autographs as “King James” since he was in high school, but it was.

James stabbed his hometown team in the heart on national television, and after the fact, he said he hated the city growing up. It was classless and uncalled for. When you act like that, it doesn’t matter what color your skin is. People hate classless behavior and that’s why he’s despised at this moment

The irony of it all is that LeBron caused this latest stir not doing an interview about himself, but his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter. Even then, while supporting his friend, he made it about LeBron James.

He could have avoided the question, or changed the subject, but he didn’t. He made it all about LeBron.

Years from now, James will look at his actions and his legacy and wonder why it isn’t what he thought it would be when his career is over.

And I’m sure it will be someone else’s fault.

LeBron's House Has a Casino, Starbucks In it?

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 05:42:27 +0100

The summer of LeBron James' discontent

Sun, 24 Oct 2010 03:53:48 +0100

He really wanted to stay with the Cavaliers, and he probably took way too much heat for going to Miami, but he's already gotten over it. Now it's time to play.

"As my pastor said, 'The king is gone.... but The King of Kings is still here.'"

--posted in the Akron Beacon Journal, Aug. 8, 2010

LeBron James lives in Miami now, and infamy, crossing more than the Ohio line when he left Cleveland, with that Nike billboard of LeBron, head thrown back, arms outstretched and the proclamation taking the religious overtones even further:

"We are all witnesses."

They and He — er, he — just didn't know what they would witness.

With all that has been said since, there's something nobody knows about James.

This wasn't what he had in mind.

He wasn't out to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

He didn't have South Beach on his mind, but the Cuyahoga River.

He didn't imagine this last spring when he won his second MVP award in a row and the No. 1-seeded Cavaliers looked as if they would stroll to the Eastern finals, with only Orlando between them and the long-awaited LeBron- Kobe Bryant Finals matchup.

Even after their fall in the second round to Boston, James remained open to — or intent on — staying … if the Cavaliers could bring someone in.

Unfortunately, with Toronto ready to take Anderson Varejao and J.J. Hickson in a sign-and-trade, Bosh turned it down.

By then, Amare Stoudemire was New York-bound.

An NBA source says the Cavaliers then offered Mo Williams and Jamario Moon for the Clippers' Baron Davis, desperate to please James, who likes Baron and was down on Mo ... even with newly hired Coach Byron Scott having clashed with Davis in New Orleans.

Realizing he was the only star who wanted to be in Cleveland, James made his announcement on that ESPN special — "going, aptly, to My-Am-Me [which] played like 'The Bachelor,' without the rose for the winner," wrote the New York Times' Maureen Dowd, taking a break from lampooning presidents

So much for the charmed portion of that life.

The first modern(shudder) star

"LeBron will win the MVP every year until he retires... I don't even know if Michael Jordan was as hyped as he is and then he goes out and exceeds it."

--Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy,

Marvel’s Miami Heat

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 21:26:49 +0100

LeBron James, no. 1 The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.

Sat, 23 Oct 2010 21:26:06 +0100

LeBron James, no. 1

The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.
First off, I voted LeBron 1, Kobe 2, KD 3 and DWade 4, and any internal debates I had about that ranking centered around slots 2-4. I think LeBron was easily the best player in the League the last two regular seasons, and while I hated what happened in the Celtics series like everybody else, in retrospect we know he was dealing with some combination of a bad elbow, thinking about his future, brutal rumors about his mother, and, most of all, the fact that the Celtics proved

in the following weeks that they were a lot better than anyone (other than perhaps die-hard fans such as our own Tzvi Twersky) thought.

Of course, as is noted on every single Top-50 post, these rankings aren’t about last year. They’re about this season. And when I think about LeBron, and this season, I actually bring my mind back to the first time I saw him play in person, a 2002 high school match-up between he and Carmelo (Bron was a junior, Melo a senior). I was at the game with LeBron expert Ryan Jones, who had prepped me for LeBron’s impressive size and scoring ability, but what I hadn’t comprehended before then was his court vision.

I saw a lot more of LeBron when he was a high school senior, and obviously watched the beginning of his NBA career very closely, and my first favorable impressions only grew. The positives were almost endless: incredible build, great leaping ability, good teammate, could score with ease in transition or half-court sets, took big shots…but none of it stuck to me like the passing. No matter his crappy teammates. No matter his obvious mismatches. If a guy is open, LeBron is going to find him. In many ways, even though the hype, the No. 23 on his jersey, the potential to be the “best in the game,” all conjured up thoughts of Michael Jordan, the essence of LeBron’s game — passing — was much closer to Magic Johnson’s.

Unfortunately for LeBron and his fans, by the standards of elite, championship-winning NBA teams, the collection of teammates he had the last few years stunk. Oh, sure, with the help of a solid defensive system and an interchangeable cast of role players who at least played hard, LeBron was able to overcome their deficiencies during the regular season.

Playing the bulk of his minutes when the defensive pressure on he and his teammates was low — blowout wins, regular-season games in general that don’t count for much — LeBron was able to conduct the Cavaliers offense like a maestro. He could play on the ball or off, make quick no-look passes or dribble for half the shotclock, sit on the perimeter or go inside, notch an assist or score almost whenever he needed to. The results? Frankly, remarkable.

Many of you may have forgotten these numbers in the wake of what transpired since, but LeBron averaged 29.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1 block per game last season for a 61-win team that played at one of the slowest paces in the League and whose second-best player was Mo Williams. Read that sentence again. And again. There’s a story on basketball-reference.com that was written July 2 asking how much losing LeBron would hurt the Cavs. The bulk of the story is mathematical jargon, but let me summarize for you: If the Cavs had an average NBA player last year in place of LeBron on the roster, the numbers and analysis crunch out something to the effect of 30 wins.

Understand: LeBron James took a team that, minus him, would win 30 games, and won 61. Much of the above narrative would hold true for the last five Cavs seasons.

Then, every year, the Playoffs started. Does LeBron get nervous? Can he not carry the weight? Critics seem to think so, but how do you explain Pistons Game 5 in ’07? The buzzer-beater against the Magic in ’09? The 35-9-7 average stat line in ’09? Shit, even last year, when he “failed” so badly, LeBron averaged 29-9-8 over the postseason. For his career, his per-game playoff averages are 29-8-7 (with a bunch of blocks and steals thrown in for good measure). Are you fucking kidding me? Does that read like someone who chokes when the games matter more?

I refuse to have Kobe Bryant be a big part of this post, but for comparison’s sake, KB’s career playoff numbers are 26-5-5. The guy some other folks think can take LeBron’s crown, Kevin Durant, has never had a single playoff game as good as LeBron’s average playoff game.

It seems clear to me that the postseason is when the warts of LeBron’s teammates show up the clearest. There’s better pressure on the ball. Shooters get closed out on quicker. Rebounds are chased harder. When the stakes are high and every guy on the floor is playing his hardest, average players can become below-average. And below-average players can become downright useless. And who did LeBron have for teammates in Cleveland? A lot of average and below-average players whose games went down as the intensity went up.

And when LeBron is forced by his teammates’ poor play to not only be by far the best player on the floor (which is always the case), but the only player capable of even being effective (think of Game 6 vs. the Celtics last season), much of his genius is lost to circumstance. You can’t be Magic when your teammates suck. You can be Michael, but LeBron isn’t Michael. At least not in the cold-blooded, no-way-in-hell-are-you-stopping-me-from-scoring sense. (Michael actually didn’t win too much that way either; his greatest successes came when Scottie Pippen had a huge role on the team, too. But you knew Mike could do it if he had to.) Other than that Pistons series in ’07, I can’t think of too many times LeBron showed that ability in the postseason. It’s just not his game. He can score a bunch of buckets, yes, but his game is more complete than that. He is, really, a Magic-Michael hybrid.

Working on this piece took me back a couple years to a LENGTHY inteview Justin Walsh did with me over at BallisLife in August of 2008. Justin asked me about LeBron and I had a lot to say. Here’s a part of it:

“I think LeBron is the best player. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but I’d take him over anyone, personally. I like to think of him as a Magic/Michael hybrid, which has never existed and that’s why to me he’s the best. I don’t know what’s going to come after him, and I guess we have to see what type of teammates he gets with and if he stays motivated, but I think that when his career ends, he will be the best player who has ever played. To me it’s because Magic is arguably the best PG of all time, and LeBron has that size….And you’re right, it’s not fair to compare LeBron to Kobe or Michael, but he can score ALMOST as well as them. I may be getting too carried away, but having a Magic Johnson-Michael Jordan hybrid player, how could he not be the greatest of all time when we are talking about two of the five or six best ever and we have a guy combining the two attributes? There’s a lot of backlash with how much coverage this guy gets. He does sell pretty well when he’s on our cover, but we also get a lot of hate directed at him in letters and in the comments and to me that’s ludicrous…I mean he is 23 years old. This guy, he has almost 11,000 points at 23 years old. That is UNBELIEVABLE. This is unprecedented… I get a little worked up because it’s remarkable what he’s doing.”

Remember, I wrote that two-plus years ago. And I’m not embarrassed by it. The Magic and Michael comparisons are hollow in the title department so far, but LeBron is still only 25, and, finally getting back to this season, he now has the two things I noted that he’d need to reach his potential: good teammates and some motivation.

I think the ability to run with a fellow top-5 talent in Wade and a top-15 talent in Chris Bosh should help LeBron let his inner Magic out in ways NBA watchers have never seen. The regular season should be another orgy of stats, with Bron probably capable of a 25-10-10 year if he got the minutes and really paid attention to his stats.

But it’s the postseason when Wade and Bosh should have their true effect on LeBron, because unlike the guys in Cleveland, DWade and CB will still be able to get theirs, so LeBron and the Heat should be able to take their regular-season play right into the Playoffs, as opposed to the way the 60-win Cav teams handed LeBron the ball and shriveled up in the postseason.

I love this quote from LeBron about who will take the last shot for the Heat in SI’s NBA Preview story about how Miami will play this season: “It’s about who is going to make the right play. I’ve always been a guy, even when I was in Cleveland, who has made the right play. Sometimes we lost the game, and sometimes we won the game, but I always tried to make the right play. It’s not always about scoring or making the game-winner. It’s about putting your teammates in position to succeed.” Well, for the first time in his eight-year NBA career, LeBron has teammates who are likely to succeed.

Motivation-wise, it’s hard to look at the numbers LeBron put up in Cleveland and say he didn’t go hard every time out, but we know he was pretty spoiled there. He was a hometown hero, worshipped by fans, protected by the press, and looked upon as the savior of a city. He had his haters on SLAMonline, sure, but there wasn’t a long list of people LeBron could come out firing at who had talked shit about him.

Now? He’s basically the NBA’s public enemy number one. Whether he earned some of the hate for the horribly executed “Decision” or not, LeBron has had the chance to listen to people at every spectrum of the game — from Hall of Fame players to renowned reporters to everyday fans — talk about him like he’s the worst thing the League has going for it.

And he knows the best way to shut them all up is to win.

In closing, I want to note that much like an American society where people seem to be taking extreme views and sticking to them — the “left” and “right” seemingly getting further and further apart by the day — our beloved comment section seems to be lacking a sense of, “good point, never thought of that.” It’s more like, the Kobe lovers stick to their guy, the LeBron lovers stick to their guy, and there isn’t a chance in hell that some writer or fellow commenter is going to convince a person their view is wrong.

So while I’d love it if my write up changed a few minds or has some fair-minded fan reconsidering their view of LeBron, I know that isn’t likely. Instead, I’ll just sit back and let LeBron convince you this season.