Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Why Lebron wont win any more championships

Don't get me wrong - i dont hate Lebron; he is the best player in the league. But I don't think he is a great leader or a sportsman as he is made out to be. He will not be a Jordan. It is very unlikely he will win more championships.

All the drama around his "Im coming home" campaign is good business from the NBA perspective. They managed to keep fans engaged even during the summer break and what better opportunity than a year full of big trades.

Coming back to the subject :


  1. Lebron's move is driven by money. Period. The core issue at Miami was pay - with Bosh and Wade due for higher pay cheques, there was little room for a new entrant. But then, weren't the big three supposed to be enough? Cant they be the leaders grooming the next generation of players rather than looking for another star? Jordan trusted a team that had players who were far inferior (he was that good!) and displayed the leadership that got them the success. In the case of Miami, if James hadn't stuck by his need for a max contract which would corner Bosh and Wade excessively, they could have carried on their quest. For a team that made 4 consecutive finals with a repeat, it wouldn't have needed massive re building. In any case, we are talking about a potential $ 4-5mn gap in his annual pay -for a guy who makes a lot more through endorsements this gap shouldn't matter - IF winning championships is as important to him as he claims it is.
  2. If he did love home so much, he would have stuck by the team and the management in 2010 and gotten other stars to play with him in Cleveland. He wouldn't have left the way he did in 2010, and well, even in 2014, he hasnt changed much. If Miami had agreed to a max contract with Bosh and Wade taking a cut, Lebron would have stayed. So, the "coming home" part is just a hogwash. Jordan stuck by Chicago through all the ups and downs. Kobe and Duncan did too with their teams. Durant seems to be evolving into an inspiring leader as well. Infact, Dwayne Wade should get a lot of credit for accommodating Lebron into Miami and choosing to play the support cast - at a city where had a won a championship already and was the franchise leader. He truly did want to win more championships than just seek individual glory.
  3. Basketball is a team sport. No team better than Spurs to underline that fact. San Antonio as a system is so good that they turn the average players into superstars - hence the deep bench that can deliver. 
  4. He has just become smarter at handling the media and deflecting the attention through an essay. The mere fact that he had to write one, justifying his move to the world, meant that he wanted to contain the back lash. He probably employed professionals to craft his PR angle and come up with the "Im coming home" campaign. It is well played - who can possibly badmouth someone who claims to love home so much that he wants to give Cleveland their first championship, how benevolent of him.
  5. Cleveland had started well with Kyrie Irving's addition to the roster. They were better off building the team with a big guy at the center and another star forward player. Kyrie could have led them to glory. With Lebron coming back, the attention will move back to creating plays around him and the team becomes very beatable - as they were between 2003-10.
Bottomline - There is nothing wrong with the quest for a max contract or moving back home. But he will never be a great leader and a sportsman like Jordan.