(I'm still in the media spotlight, right???)"
As we continue to be bludgeoned over the head about LeBron's free agency by ESPN, ESPN.com, Yahoo!, SI, SI.com, CNN, Nickelodeon, The Playboy Channel, and Lifetime (okay, maybe not one or two of those), many of us have slipped well past the point of caring. However, this caught my eye on a Google Buzz post from Jonah Keri this morning. Apparently, LeBron didn't even dream up this grand spectacle televised free agency announcement. He ripped it off from... someone who wrote into a Bill Simmons mailbag:
Q: You know how when top recruits in basketball or football make their college decision, they often call a press conference and put the three hats of the schools that made the final three in front of them ... then pick up the hat of the school of choice and put it on? What if LeBron announces he will pick his 2010-11 team live on ABC on a certain date for a show called "LeBron's Choice?" What type of crazy ratings would that get? -- Drew, Columbus, OhioOf course, it could be worse. In response to that e-mail, the Sports Guy suggested LeBron do it on Pay-Per-View.
(Maybe next time.)
Labels: Lebron James, Lebron James is a douche, please pay attention to me
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How boring...
The only not awesome part about this is that they won't go to Chicago to virtually destroy the possibility of any Lebron championship in the next half decade.
CAPTCHA: "gunatest" - there's an obvious Agent Zero joke here isn't there?
A Larry Coon follower suggested that he use the hour to announce his new reality TV series where he'll announce his choice.
---
Woj reporting Bosh and Wade have agreed to play in Miami, and that LeBron's choices are down to Cleveland and Miami.
Was the front office of Chicago that much of a turn-off? (Like the Clippers?) Or was it the wasted money on Deng? (Like how the Curry money pretty much screwed NY?) I still don't condone what happened in 2006, but if Miami gets all three I'm pretty excited for the next season.
The last time we had three scorers with zero role players was Run TMC, and looked how that turned out. If anything, it would be fascinating from many angles.
I dunno if Lebron will want to share that spotlight though. If he joins Miami then we all know its about winning and setting up a dynasty. If he doesn't then chances are he's more interested in the business side of things than the championship side. Miami is equipped to give Lebron a butt load of championships with Lebron doing less work than Jordan or Kobe. Plus Miami may not be New York but its a far bigger market than Cleveland. Its win win for king douche.
A team needs to have some hot shot rookie to be able to sign max contract players and win or have players taking less pay. Miami has none of those.
That's nice. But do you really think LeBron was more worried about giving money to charity than worried about making himself feel important?
It's pretty obvious that Lebron's staying in Cleveland. Do you think he would announce on national television that he's ditching Cleveland? Not 'Akron's son', that would ruin the image he's created for himself. After keeping Cleveland on edge, he's gonna make them feel like they matter again by announcing that he's staying.
Then he'll leave in 3 years when they not only fail to win a championship, but fail to even get out of the East. Somehow, it'll be okay then because the failures can truly be chalked up to the management.
Byron Scott will be badass though.
1. Eric Spoelstra will resign as head coach, citing that "he misses his family and is tired of traveling so much."
2. LeDecision will feature King Krab acting like a contestant on "The Price is Right". There will be several hats: Lebron has to choose one but he doesn't know which one to pick. Basically, it will be Lebron looking at the audience for guidance and hearing a bunch of "Noooo"s when he picks up the wrong hat. Hopefully, he picks the Clippers just so we can hear the "you lose" music from the "The Price is Right.
I hinted this in the other LeBron thread, but ESPN is pulling their usual gestapo-like actions against anyone who thinks about bashing this. Sherdian had his pretty funny tweet removed. Cowherd is using the "charity" as his in to rip anyone who would criticize this. Kornheiser would have a field day with this, but he's on vacation (that's just a coincidence).
This would make a very good column for the ESPN Ombudsman, if ESPN allows him to write the article, of course. What kind of integrity does this show when a player can go to a network and demand an hour of prime time to announce where he is going? A press conference is one thing. But can we trust ESPN to ask the right questions (certainly not if Mike Wilbon is asking them)? What kind of commericals will occupy the space - ads for the Boys and Girls club or the debut of another Nike LeBron shoe? People have accused us of picking on the "kid," but what does this say about LeBron James when Kevin Durant, who is four years younger and actually had to face the Lakers in the playoffs, quietly (key word) resigns with the Thunder long before he becomes a free agent?
I mean, I guess we could watch to find out who faces the Lakers on X-mas day on ABC, Miami if they have all three, or Cleveland if James stays.
THE POWER HAS SHIFTED TO THE EAST!!!
But I swear to god if his anouncement tomorrow is that he's staying with the cavs I will root against that man for the rest of his career, and tivo every close up on his face after every playoff loss and watch them over and over and over again.
Yes, I'd be upset that he basked in this media circus only to deliver the most anti-climactic outcome possible, but that doesn't make me hate a guy, hell, it's the NBA.
Yes, I think the "please stay Lebron" song is so pathetic that that alone warrants Lebron leaving Cleveland in a heartbeat.
Yes, I'd have a really hard time not thinking it's mostly about the money.
But what would make me hate him isn't any of this. It's the fact that he'd stay with a team that played the way they did during game 6 vs. Boston - if the word "played" even works there. What can I say about that game? Chokejob isn't the right word. Bad game isn't the right term. Hell I've seen bad games, but I've never seen a team just give up so blatantly. Ever. In my life.
If Lebron re-signs with the Cavs I hope his private hell is to be locked in a room trying unsuccesfully for eternity to turn off replays of game 6 with ringless fingers.
Congratulations, Heat fans, you just added a younger version of Jermaine Oneal minus the ability to block shots.
http://twitter.com/blogsuki/statuses/17960799208
We cannot support this rubbish.
Some analysis suggests that Miami with Bosh and Wade still isn't that good (mostly because the rest of the lineup is Beasley, plus two replacement level players):
http://arturogalletti.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/not-so-crazy-about-the-heat-for-now/
The lineup shown there only has 8640 player-minutes out of 19680+ in a season, and extrapolating the low-minute players isn't pretty.
Chalmers might be able to contribute, and I'm not sure what Haslem's status is, but I think that team struggles to reach 50 wins if it's completed without LeBron, unless every other position has a player with far superior defensive skills than offensive skills (because players with offensive skills will be out of Miami's price range).
Yeah the whole Bosh trade makes me yawn. Who cares?
So far, Summer 2010 has failed to live up to the hype, but then again, it is being headlined by a guy (MeBron) who has made a career of not living up to the hype (ooooooooh, SNAP!)
Okay! Chris Broussard: "@kingjames concerned that he could be 31 years old and have no ring." Is #LBJ joining cast of Sex and the City?
Also, Jared Dudley just stirred the troll pot claiming he heard LeBron's chosen New York, contradicting Woj's report that it was down to Cleveland or Miami. Just wow.
I too feel the same. I really think he will go with the bulls. I mean, what kind of ego-driven madman would announce he will stay over national tele...
Oh god its Lebron, nothing is too big for him.
As for the tandem of "wash" I wanna see the full roster before judging them as contenders or otherwise.
Just saw a segment on ESPN how each teams cap should look if lebron joins, and I find it hard to believe Lebron will go to Miami, not only do the big 3 take huge cuts, but even with the cut they are over the cap(with 5 players). And it's kind of foolish to rid Beasly's salary, this guy can ball and for $5mill...I anticipate to round out a championship roster they will exceed the cap to around $15m(is that a good estimate?)
Best case for Lebron really is Chi-town, not only do they have very good players, they have extra cap room to say sign DLEE or even Boozer (boozer would take a cut, but that's to avoid the cap)
The Cavs do not have cap space and cannot sign Boozer straight out. However, the team has called the Jazz about potentially doing a sign-and-trade with Boozer.
Boozer has played the last five years for the Utah Jazz. He averaged 19.2 ppg and 11.2 rpg for the Jazz last season. Boozer began his career in Cleveland and remains friendly with LeBron.
Wasn't there a huge fiasco Boozer ditching Cavs. Now they want him back. LOL
Bosh is a far more efficient offensive player than Oneal ever was... even in his prime. Heat fans should be thrilled... the Wade/Bosh combo should have them in contention for years as long as the rest of the roster isn't absolute crap.
I'd be happy with
Ginobli, Mike Miller or Redd at like 6M not overpriced he is now, and Boozer. Also get watson/ridnour and outlaw.
Rose, Manu, Deng, Boozer, Noah
Bench
Miller, watson/ridnour/pargo, outlaw, Taj Gibson, Some other 7 foot center (B.Miller) isn't too bad
I think this is a decent team. It has inside outside game w/ slashers and decent 3pt shooting. I took manu over rip cause manu can slash and is a good 3pt shooter. I don't think the rest of the free agents help the Bulls that much.
Sounds like one of the most excruciating hours in sports television history.
Also, what happens if after an hour of edge of their seat stress and probably some drinking to calm their nerves, Cleveland fans watch in horror as Lebron puts on a Knicks cap? Does the city riot? Wouldn't this be one of the most painful things ever in sports for a city to endure? Hometown messiah announces that he is signing with another team on crappy one hour special that is cross between a VH1reality show and the NFL draft. This could get ugly.
Manu seems to get hurt at critical times, plus he's older now and those injuries tend to add up. I dunno if I would gamble with him as my starter.
This has 2009 Pistons stink all over it. Overpaying players for their meager accomplishments.
Comparing Bosh and an in-his-prime O'neal, Bosh may be a better offensive player, but O'neal was a better defender. Stats mean nothing, but I'll just say that at 25, he led the league in block shots (2.6 per game); at 25, Bosh averaged 0.97 blocks per game, and averages a little over 1 for his career.
R: Do you think Pat [Riley] will come back to coach?
SVG: I hope not. But I don’t have any knowledge.
Gee, I think he's still a little peeved about what happened to Jeff in '06.
jeskeets: Want a good laugh? Try and picture the #Raptors new "NBA Jam" duo. BARGS AND TURK SAY BOOM SHAKALAKA, BITCHES!
Now I really want the "Ball." sound clip in the game!
BTW there are some more clips of the game up, I think at 1up.com etc. I don't like how the Turbo doesn't make you feel like you're gliding around superfast anymore, but nevertheless I'm still stoked for this.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-lebrondecision070710
A few highlights.....
"Privately, Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) weren’t pleased on Wednesday morning with the belief that James’ camp was responsible for leaking their plans to a television partner, but then again it makes perfect sense: This isn’t about Wade and Bosh choosing the Heat. It’s about LeBron getting the stage to himself on Thursday night."
"They aren’t making James a bigger star with this big-top, but a bigger target. All those teams that marched into the presentations and listened to some of the foolish and naive questions asked of them believed these kids had no idea what they were doing, or what they had gotten themselves into. They’re all feeling more validated every day. From beginning to end, this process has been a farce."
Holy crap! LeBron can go to the Bulls and that's one mightily stacked team right thar...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6IYyvypJ4o
You know which one it is. WATCH.
:D
---
So ESPN is now set to call the King Crab infomercial "THE DECISION." Shouldn't it be more accurately "The Indigestion," after what happens when one attempts to edify themselves with the freshest catch from the burning Cuyahoga River?
Here's a link that provides some facepalm-worthiness:
Thursday night, in the middle of the NBA offseason when nothing is really going on in the actual sport, 90% of all sports bar televisions will be turned on LeBron James. In Kansas City, Missouri, a local bar called Lew's is having a "LeBron James Watch Party."
There is no NBA team in Kansas City. Nor in St. Louis, or anywhere close to nearby until you hit Oklahoma City.
That's how much impact James' event is having.
WHY!??!?!?
ESPN graphic for the "special," "Decision" - http://www.flickr.com/photos/cnbcdotcom/4772533038/
Another good quote from Woj:
"So far, [Maverick] Carter’s been a superstar at spending James’ money on LRMR, but now he’s getting the company name out there and turning LeBron into Mr. July after LeBron didn’t have the stomach to be Mr. June."
Kobe, Truth, D-Wade, Duncan, got it done in June. They aren't asking for airtime to announce where they may or may not be going.
James now has a serious problem. The Bulls with Boozer and Tibs coaching are better. The Heat with Bosh and Riley coaching (because seriously, it's too easy) are better. The Celtics are still around, the Magic are still around. If James does stay, he's going to have Byron Scott (who was fired twice from playoff teams) and no help. Certainly not the focus on defense that Mike Brown emphasized. Anyone see the Cavs getting out of Round 1?
You keep killing me with that mascot clip. Its so brilliant I'm almost convinced that its part of some Illuminati conspiracy.
"So far, Carter’s been a superstar at spending James’ money on LRMR, but now he’s getting the company name out there and turning LeBron into Mr. July after LeBron didn’t have the stomach to be Mr. June."
Oh snap! Those are the kind of words that lead to a dance off.
(Yes, I know Mascot Fail was "staged" but come on, it takes EFFORT to be that goofy and uncoordinated!)
Boozer, Randolph, and Noah rotating the 4 and 5. You could do A LOT worse, but not much better.
It'd be awesome.
AWESOME. I nearly died laughing.
IMHO, Wade wanted to go to Chicago, but the Bulls were waiting on LeBron, Wade said, "Fuck it then, I'm going to Miami."
If you don't think Wade wanted to come to Chicago, read his transcripted comments on TrueHoop. The Bulls should have gone balls out to get him as soon as they found out he was serious about coming here. Instead, they said, "That's great, Dwyane. Let us figure out what LeBron's doing and then we'll give you a call."
Haywood can't possibly want more than O'neal. Show him the money.
For nearly seven years (yes, this started his rookie year in the league...), LeBron James has been the subject of rampant "When is he going to leave Cleveland rumors?" This was largely a product of the apparently universally accepted truth that there is no way the face of the league could be trapped in a town like Cleveland. Trust me. If you were not from Cleveland, you believed this without thinking.
I remember reading media stories and rumors way before LeBron started mentioning ANYTHING about free agency that he was destined to leave Cleveland. Eventually, LeBron started to buy into the hype and sell this thing.
AND WHY THE HELL SHOULDN'T HE?! The man is a commodity that nearly everybody else CLEARLY wants a piece of. This is a story that has been building for almost a decade. LeBron is aware of his value and is not apologizing when the media, fans, opposing teams are practically giddy at the thought of exploiting this for its own gain.
Fans want LeBron because he instantly makes your team a contender. Owners wants LeBron because he triples the value of his franchise. The man is not stupid. The media wants LeBron because it makes them money as well.
The only people who have to right to complain are Cleveland fans and Dan Gilbert if he decides to leave the team for greener pastures. The rest of us should stop complaining and learn to love LeBron.
Friggin' hypocrites...
Haywood can't possibly want more than O'neal. Show him the money.
Believe me, I'm as stunned as you are. Of course, Cuban is the same guy who thought Steve Nash was too expensive and then dropped $80 million on Erick Dampier. I guess Marky Mark has a soft spot for big men with a soft, gooey center.
Let me throw a damp wet towel back atcha. While your generalization may fit a lot of basketball fans out there, it doesn't really synch up to the typical Bawful reader. We're the people who speak out against all this bullshit...not buy into it.
If anybody can blast LeBron for being a douchebag -- regardless of whether his douchiness is a byproduct of media hype and fan adulation -- it's Basketbawful and the Bawful Nation.
3 more hours until the cap is announced and signings begin! Gentlemen, get your tissues ready! Lots o' fappery to come.
Nets have Brook, T-Will, Lee, Favors, Harris
Bulls: Rose, Deng, Noah, Boozer
Heat: Wade, Bosh, Chalmers, Beasley
Knicks: Amare and... ok maybe not the Knicks
Unless he wants to be trapped in KG style hell; he's getting the fuck out of Cleveland. I say he's going to the Nets.
Most people (particularly on this site) can separate the player from the person. As a player, every fan wants Lebron; as a person, many fans think he's acting childish.
@Basketbawful, I watched the Wilbon interview of Wade and Bosh, and he acted like he seemed genuine about wanting to play in Chicago, but like you said, the Bulls took too long waiting for Lebron and Wade felt like he had to quickly make a decision, especially if Bosh wanted to join him.
One last LBJ note, I read that the Lebron camp leaked the Wade/Bosh to Miami story because they didn't want any news to compete with King James tomorrow night. That's a little douchey on their part.
...
...unless the Wade and Bosh leak is a ruse to generate drama to make it look like he's not going to Miami... oh my god fuck this shit.
I just laugh when ESPN refers to themselves in the third person reporting on a story from a source, when they are clearly the "source." They are trying to pass off the details of a television show as a legitimate news item.
Honestly, what's David Stern thinking right now? The attention is a plus, sure, but at what cost? How can anyone take ESPN's coverage of the NBA seriously when they go and pull stuff like this? NBC was accused of pulling star treatment, but never to this extent, and certainly not during the off-season.
The darker question is what would happen if ESPN had to cover a negative LeBron James story, say, he was accused of a felony? Would they even mention it? Remember, they all but ignored Big Ben's second sexual assault allegation for several days, and it turned out to be legit in that the NFL reacted and suspended him.
Why not? LBJ has been making everyone his mare for a while now. I guess, in this case, the hoof was on the other foot.
Meanwhile, Woj is reporting the following: "Jermaine O'Neal is leaning toward signing with Boston, but still considering Denver, league sources tell Y! Decision will come soon."
I think I speak for all Boston fans when I say ...fuck.
Agree re: Miami.. OK, Bosh and Wade, great, who the hell else is going to play?
Also thanks Bryan Colangelo for making *this* year's kick in the balls the Amir Johnson contract. We's gonna take some money, and we's gonna lights it on fire!!
And these are the scenarios I think could happen tomorrow night, from order of most likely to least likely.
1. Chicago (Boozer's signing is a huge positive, fringe-all star type supporting player that won't take LeBron's glory)
2. New Jersey (The hype around this special screams Prokorov, Jay-Z, and LeBron putting their collective minds together to make as big a show of this as possible)
3. Miami (Too much star power in place to steal LeBron's glory, I don't this as being very likely)
4. New York (All you have is Amare? BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!)
5. He doesn't pick any team and delays it even further, in Brett Favre fashion
6. Cleveland (Sorry Cleveland fans, your city sucks)
If LeBron is guilty of anything, it's knowing the power of his own value. He knows he's the best player on the planet and is coveted by nearly every person remotely interested in professional basketball alive. We expect him to act with a sense of humility in light of this but in actuality what we want him to do is to suppress what makes him exceptional to validate OUR OWN INSECURITIES about our place in the universe. Most of us are not exceptional. LeBron James is. It's not fair to ask him to suppress his own desires to validate our own.
He's not committing any crime. He hasn't even crossed any moral lines yet. He's hyping up an event that nearly everybody has desperately WANTED for nearly seven years. This quite franky complete BS hand wringing is ridiculous simply on the fact of THAT. If LeBron craves attention and attention is lavished on him than we shouldn't fault him for that because it doesn't coincide on what WE want him to act and behave like.
In real world terms, all he's really done is let a bunch of suitors attempt to lure him to take a lucrative job. The obsessive media covering and speculation is a product of the public and media's fascination with him because of his inherent athletic exceptionalism. This is a product of a broken media system (and by extension our own screwed up priorities in this country) that no longers bears any conscience to serve as a filter to this type of shenanigans more than anything. LeBron may or may not be manipulating them but the media is all too happy to play along with the charade. It wants the charade. It needs the charade. It sells the charade.
And I say this as a life-long Cleveland sports fan, knowing that tomorrow night I could have my heartbroken on national television. I want him to commit to Cleveland because I want him to do what I would do in his situation which would be to show loyalty to the people that grew up around me even in the fact of an uncertain future. But that's not really fair of me. I'm not LeBron James. Sure, I will boo the living hell out of the guy and wish a pox upon his family if it happens but that's really my own issue. Not his.
That being said... LeBron James can't possibly be so tone deaf to nearly all of the potential backlash to publicly humiliate the city he grew up in and claims to love by announcing he's signing with the Knicks (or whoever), right? You don't divorce your wife on national television to be with your younger secretary. That's just unimaginably cruel. I can't see how being part of "The Montage" could possibly help his brand. The man might be egotistical but he's not evil, right?
(You have my permission to moralize about THAT.)
If Lebron doesn't sign with the Bulls I'm really anxious to see what shitty players they'll blow their money on. I'm going with Earl Boykins and Mario West.
An exceptional player, like us non-players, who has yet to win a single game in the Association Finals.
Just sayin'.
;)
Seriously, are we going to bring this shitty argument to this thread? I hope the Bawful population can see through most of the BS people put out, but apparently some of them can't.
Winning a Finals game is a team accomplishment. LeBron can only be one piece out of that, and even in an exceptionally ambitious game, only one-fifth of the player-minutes for his team. Cleveland's starting lineup that series: LeBron, Sasha Pavlovic, Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. First off the bench: Varejao, who is followed by Daniel Gibson, Donyell Marshall, and Damon Jones. That's a pretty terrible team. And that's why it's regarded (for LeBron) as a personal accomplishment just to get that team to the Finals (although Daniel Gibson had some pretty good games in the Eastern Conference Finals).
How is it that this guy is supposed to essentially have the sports world turn on a dime for him, just because of all the potential he has had over the years? That's great that he has a pretty shot, has racked up stats, and wants to be a billionaire, but rings are rings and I feel like this whole process is about everyone getting ahead of themselves to venerate King Crab (with his full endorsement), who isn't quite yet one of the all-time greats.
I'm not saying I don't think he has the talent to do it, I saw his game in person at Arco Arena, it's for real. But if he manages to make billions before even winning a title, or without ever winning one? Talk about the biggest hype job sports has ever seen, if that were the case.
Maybe it won't be. But the fact that this media circus is unprecedented speaks for itself.
Then I come to Basketbawful and feel much better about myself. So.. thanks, I suppose!
Part of me really appreciates you playing devil's advocate on this whole thing, and in a well-thought-out manner to boot.
Part of me hates you for voicing this uber-capitalist stance (albeit a legitimate one). "He knows his value, so what if he taps it for all it's worth?"
The "so what" is that it's gross. The "so what" is that it's blatantly obvious to anyone with more than a lukewarm IQ - that it's not about the Boys and Girls club, that it's not about really struggling with his decision until the last moment, that it's all about the press -- yet I can't help but feel that he's getting away with this by virtue of the fact that the average ESPN watcher is too dumb to figure it out. In that regard it's a bit like watching Sara Palin talk about whether or not she'll run for office. The "so what" is that a cult of personality ought to reflect poorly on someone instead of positively.
I don't know. Maybe I'm already an NBA fanboy geezer at age 25, but what I loved about MJ was that he was at least somewhat humble. Maybe I'm wrong here too, and just feeling nostalgic. I know anyone who cared to look could point out a handful of MJ publicity to the contrary (off the top of my head the MJ restaurant lawsuit, or the fact that his avatar doesn't appear in the majority of NBA video games) yet I can't help but think the man would never have pulled this shit, and for eff's sake if he did he would've won a championship already.
You don't seem to be arguing against the fact that Lebron's an egomaniac, but rather defending him for being one (you're right, he's not crossing any moral boundaries). I, on the other hand, never really thought he was one until all of this, and I'll have a hard time rooting for him in the future, particularly if he re-signs with the Cavs.
Rose + Boozer + Noah/Deng looks like some decent James bait. Far better than wade + Predator Bosh.
With Bulls, Heat and Knicks (eh eh) stacking assets like that, when will the "power shift to east" junk talk start?
By the way... the NBA NEEDS a tight cap space without the luxury tax. That's the only way to balance the power and finish some crazy contracts!!!!
Cavs just don't mix very well and, bottom line, lack the quality.
Knicks are a bunch of retards, signing Statue and thinking he will bring them anything more than a playofs berth. Who else is
Nets are the suckiest team of last season and almost in NBA history... one player can't turn that around.
In Miami he would have to take a pay cut and why do that when there is a perfectly good roster waiting for him in Chicago?
We'll know soon but for me Chicago is the best choice for a superstar calibre player.
The man's got people talking about him and that is very effective marketing. Morally it's iffy but he's building his own legacy, warts and all. He wins championships, and who will really remember all this?
According to most sports blogs/channels, it looks like he's going to Miami. Thoughts on if this is a misdirect?
The guy wrote this article about how it's all about Lebron and his ego.. while his twitter link is on the front page of the NBA section that posts the absolute FA garbage that he is railing against. What a hypocrite. He should be thanking LBJ for the paycheck he is getting this month.
Basically, I'm playing the "fatigued and probably kinda sick of it all" card in his favor. He built most of that particular article on the insider information about Wade and Bosh's choices being leaked by the LeBron camp anyways.
China has 1.3 billion people. Kobe Byrant has had the top selling jersey there for the last three years.
Want to be a global icon, LeBron? Shut up and win a ring. The Chinese do not wear the jersey of a loser.
No hype job at all. Over an 82-game season, he has been a quality player since he entered the league, and a top notch (or best) player the past few. Once the playoffs start and everything gets broken down into a seven-game series, it's going to take a lot of luck to win it all, or a team so dominant that all considerations of luck are washed aside. That's just how playoffs are. LeBron's good, but he can't change mathematics.