Out of Touch

Lebron James is out of touch. Since announcing his decision to leave the city of Cleveland in an hour long televised spectacle aptly named “The Decision,” Lebron James has demonstrated exactly the degree to which he’s out of touch. In fact it’s clear that he’s been out of touch for some time. Those who’ve had the pleasure of discussing this topic with me over the previous 7 years are well aware of my opinion/criticism of the man, which has centered on the very idea that King James has been walking around wearing a crown well before any actual coronation ceremony. There can be no ignoring the fact that Lebron is an outstanding basketball talent and easily among the best players in the NBA, but he has yet to be and may never be the best of his era or of all time. Yet both the media and James’ behavior led many people to believe otherwise, and in turn that’s exactly what caused the basketball superstar to use an hour of America's time so he could take his talents to South Beach.

When a young Lebron James entered the NBA fresh out of high school and chose #23 (against the urging of Nike to do otherwise after signing him to a contract worth more than $100 million) it should have been the first red flag of what was to come. I know I was concerned. That's when James first tried on the crown without anyone agreeing he was yet deserving of the prerequisite coronation ceremony;  that of course often requires winning a few championships first. In fact James had yet to even touch a basketball in the NBA. What followed for the next 7 years was both outstanding basketball from Lebron and continued displays that he thought highly of himself. The high rise ad which declared we were all witnessing some historical event (pictured above) says it all. It reached a climax during the last two NBA seasons. The Nike ads and constant predictions of a Kobe v. Lebron showdown in the finals. The video of Lebron getting dunked on at his camp that was that initially suppressed as though people were supposed to believe something like this would never happen if they weren’t able to see it.  It smacked of Stalin, was eerily North Korean in it's desire to protect baskeball's "Dear Leader."   Yes it all served to elevate the mythology of King James in the imagination of the fans, but it also elevated the man himself in his own imagination. This explains the hour long “Decision” which everyone agrees was ill advised. It explains him leaving Cleveland without so much as phone call ahead of time or even a "thanks for the memories." Opting instead to do it in a nationally televised docudrama. It explains Lebron predicting as many as 8 rings so long as his talents remain in South Beach. It explains Lebron exploding the myth that was so well crafted and that so many fans eagerly enjoyed, in a string of public relations disasters. Lebron James has every right to play for Miami, and he can’t be faulted for doing so. However, to those of us on the outside he appears to have not even considered that joining the second best player in the league (D. Wade) diminishes the myth of his own powers—diminishes the Lebron myth altogether. A fact that’s obvious to everyone.  Magic has said so much.  Charles Barkley too.  Jordan it seems has recently gone out of his way to make his feelings known.  Even to the point that MJ's sharing his opinions with kids that weren't even alive when he played and can't know much about who he even is.  Possibly most interesting of all, it was supposedly Jordan in a face-to-face dinner meeting with Lebron before a Miami v. Cleveland game in 2009 that finally got James to announce he was abandoning the #23 after the game was over, as MJ looked on from a floor seat.  Jordan was apparently trying to downsize the Lebron mythology a full year before the rest of America.  In fact Lebron's the only one buying into the Lebron myth the same as it’s existed over the last 7 years and over the summer it began to show.
 
So Lebron isn't really interested in knowing what we think he should do.  He's more interested in us reacting how he thinks we should.  He had no problem attempting to be what "we wanted him to be" until people started telling him this summer he could never become it.  He’s no worse a player than he ever was, no less important to the NBA, he’s just too used to buying too much of his own hype.  He's just out of touch.