Quote:
Originally Posted by Wooders0n
LeBron bashers have collectively pushed a narrative that has become so powerful it's legitimately impacted the way history will remember him. He'll literally not be considered the GOAT largely because of the passion of the people who correctly despise him for being one of the most pathetic and disgraceful human beings to ever live .
I'm proud to play a part in that. We're on the right side of history. He's not the GOAT ( tho hes closer to it than he'll ever get credit for bc **** him). He'll end up being considered in the Bird/Magic tier if he doesnt win any more titles and may legitimately be viewed as <Kobe. If Durant wins a few more titles he'll get remembered as >LeBron too.
People like Skip Bayless who have influenced the casual fan's (and thus histories) view of him on a wide scale and help make him hated instead of loved have done us all a massive public service.
Anyone that comes from poverty/no father and grows up to be successful is remarkable imo. Not saying players like Steph and Klay didn't have to work their asses off to get to and then make it in the NBA, but they had a very significant advantage in a lot of ways over guys like Lebron or Wade- who pretty much had the deck stacked against them. Not saying Steph or Klay or anyone else needs to feel bad in any way about their "privilege", but a little acknowledgement of it/the discrepancy between them and other guys seems in order.
Lebron was the youngest basketball superstar in history. His high school games were on ESPN ffs. He has waded through the unprecedented pressure/spotlight/scrutiny and he has become a consensus top 2 player in NBA history. He also is a pretty amazing father by all accounts and he has given back to his community more so than any NBA player before him...
Lebron has also been extremely immature periodically throughout his career. PR blunders that went viral each and every time. While undeniably cringe-worthy at times, his behavior has always seemed extremely reasonable to me, given his background and the spotlight that has been on him since he was 16 years old. I give him a pass for it...
Relatively speaking to MJ or Kobe, Lebron has been a golden child off the court. People pretty much let Kobe's rape thing go when he put up 81, and most won't even begin to ponder if MJ playing baseball was just some elaborate spin job over a suspension- or how it came to be that his dad got murdered. I'm not judging Kobe or MJ, just comparing them to Lebron (as everyone else is).
On the court Lebron has had a few moments of immaturity in his career- and a few moments of tentativeness. He also complains/flops a lot (standard for any star in the NBA tho). Aside from that, he has been an indestructible warrior (no pun intended- too lazy to think of a better word) and arguably the best team player of all time. He has carried terrible teams to the playoffs (and the finals) and he was the force behind the most amazing feat in NBA history (the 3-1 comeback in the finals over the GOAT team obv). His numbers (aside from the ridiculous metric of "rings baby") are undeniable.
What is it that the haters hate so much? Is it fear that he actually is better than their hero- MJ? Is it that he plays team ball ALWAYS/he doesn't have that mean chucker streak in him that Kobe and MJ had? Or is it something else.
I honestly would like to be enlightened.