I thought about it after Game 6 last night and at first, I figured that maybe, just maybe, LeBron doesn’t have the proper talent surrounding him to even make it to the NBA Finals. Then I realized, since when does King James suddenly need so much help on the court? Why are all those people who dubbed the Cavs as title favorites during the season changing their tune on the drop of a dime – or in this case, a max contract?
Such is life on a bandwagon I suppose.
And last time I checked, the MVP trophy is usually awarded to the player who is on the best team right? Is that not the justification all those voters who banded against Kobe in the mid 2000’s rested their head upon? Don’t you dare change your stance now.
My overall point here is that if you surrounded Kobe with the same players LeBron has had in the last two years, there’s absolutely no way he lays down and quits like James did in the Boston series. In the same Game 6 situation, the Mamba would have gone down shooting, even if it meant taking 40 personal looks at the bucket as Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy were imploring LeBron to do so last night.
One might bring up the baseless counter-argument of the Lakers’ 2006 collapse to the Suns in which the team forfeited a 3-1 series lead, ultimately getting blown out in Game 7 in Phoenix – a game in which Kobe Bryant was not engaged offensively. Keep in mind however, that Lakers team was not nearly as potent as the Cavaliers team LeBron has enjoyed for the last two seasons and the media was unfairly bringing down a storm of criticism towards Kobe during the series for shooting too much when he had close to no offensive help to rely upon. James has only ever been showered with love and admiration so please, spare me from the discussion. I just didn’t want to cut any corners here.
LeBron just does not appear to have even half as much fire burning holes through reporters’ souls as Kobe does when speaking of winning a title. This is the most basic element that separates them in my opinion. As the top two megastars in the NBA, their talent and abilities are obvious elements to what makes them great, but as the new NBA Finals promo says, what makes you immortal is the hardware.
Many journalists mock the Mamba’s stern gait and “grumpy” temperament during these last few playoff runs, but that angry demeanor is exactly what sets Kobe above the rest, especially LeBron.
Nobody else in the league is more obsessed with collecting as many championships as he possibly can than he is. No one else sacrifices as much or plays through as many injuries than Kobe Bryant. The man’s heart pumps strictly for his family and to fight for the Larry O’Brien trophy every season.
James on the other hand appears to be more concerned with expanding his brand, being a global icon as even he has openly attested to. He says all the right things during interviews when asked questions regarding a championship, but he’s offered us very little in the way of convincing us that his responses are coming from a place purer than the soul.
I’ve always despised his on-court behavior during games, laughing, joking, dancing – don’t even get me started on his rapping during the Lakers’ last trip to Cleveland. Did you ever see Jordan or Kobe act like a petulant child with such disrespect during a game? If you need to engage such behavior to “make the game fun,” why are you even playing?
The NBA is a joke to LeBron. He does not take the league or winning a championship seriously enough. Perhaps he will make it big as a movie star once he wraps production on his film this summer – the activity that takes precedence over competing in the World Basketball Championships. Living under the shroud of a facade seems to suit his tastes much better any how.
