The Lebron James Plan: The Quest To be Bigger than the Game

By now, not a basketball fan on Earth has been immune to the historic free agent class of 2010, and all the attention that comes with it. Already 3 of the biggest stars on the marker have already made their decisions, while the rest of the world anticipates the announcement of Lebron James, set to come tomorrow during a one hour special on ESPN. As a student and follower of the game for so long, I recognize that the NBA has never seen anything like the free agent class of 2010. With that being said, the absurdity of the Lebron situation is disturbing on many levels, but most importantly, Lebron is trying to put himself above the game.

The warning signs were clear to anyone who cared to pay attention, and was sucked in by the aura that is Lebron. When he failed to be humble and accept defeat against the Orlando Magic, by not shaking their hands after the series, it set off a mini red flag. Now to the average person,this would not be that big of a deal, but it sent shock waves around the league, and even was talked about in the NFL.The fact that one of the games biggest superstars refused to do what EVERY athlete does was a big deal. Mix this with other small flags, such as wearing an "MVP" t-shirt around after he won, to the whole Dunked-on gate set aflame by one Jordan Crawford, Lebron is slowly but surely trying to position himself to be bigger than the NBA. Anyone who follows the situation closely can recall when Lebron so famously stated that his image was just as big of a part as winning. Take a look at stars past and present, Kobe, Michael, Kareem, Magic, Tim Duncan,etc. The list goes on and on, and yet one thing remains constant: each is a great champion, and understands that BASKETBALL greatness is not achieved by your bank account, but rather whats in the safety deposit box: Rings. They didnt try to show up the NBA by focusing on keeping the media spotlight on themselves. What Lebron is doing is not only disgraceful, it is taking away the importance, and significance of the situation from his fellow peers. You wont hear this publically, but there have been rumbles of ill feelings towards James by both Chris Bosh and D-Wade. No other superstar would even dream of doing something like this. Kobe, who may have a bigger ego than Lebron wouldn't even dare dream of pulling a stunt like this, not when he has failed to accomplish anything of significance, sans 2 regular season MVP awards.

Im going to quote my man Adrian Wojnarowski over at Yahoo on a few things, which I think mirrors my sentiments. "Team LeBron had discussed a documentary on the free-agent process, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, but the narrative changed after James’ Game 5 meltdown in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Carter says there was never a plan for a free-agent tour, but this is what he means: There was never a plan for James to get held accountable, to have his motivations and priorities called into doubt. There was never a plan for the blame to shift from Danny Ferry, Mike Brown and his Cavaliers teammates. There was never a plan that real-world rules applied to the self-proclaimed King."

Again, this whole ordeal is set to do only one thing, boost James' image, in order to mask the disappointment of years past, where he failed to deliver on high expectations, and territory that comes with being one of the best players in the league. Lebron is taking the NBA hostage, and the sad thing is, no one is doing anything to stop it. When we tune in tomorrow night, think to yourself, what other player, even greater than Lebron, can you remember doing anything like this?

Again to quote Adrian "He won’t look so much like Kobe Bryant(notes) and David Beckham, but rather a three-star linebacker from Shaker Heights picking Bowling Green over Kent and Ohio U. on local access television."


The entire sports world awaits tomorrows decision, and even more await the moment it is all over. Will tomorrow be the day that one man becomes bigger than the league? Who knows, but it is clear: it is one man's ego, one man's brand, who will certainly try everything they can to make it happen.

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