Lebron James News: He's Human!

When a person is great, I mean really great, he or she never admits to being a virtuoso. Humility lost, the inevitable subconscious taking over, exploiting defenses, or the pressures of an NBA Finals press conference getting to him, LeBron let the world know exactly what we were already thinking: the he was the greatest player in the world. Shocked that he would even say something so needled, the world could only wait until 6/16/2016, when he swallowed his humble pie after another loss in the NBA finals.

Finally, he gave critics exactly what they wanted.

He was expected to lose the series already, once Kyrie and Love were out for the rest of the playoffs, but he would have kept his shimmering glow of imperceptible God-given basketball gifts with his magnificent...silence. Instead he uttered: "...because I'm the best player in the world. It's that simple," in response to a question regarding his confidence. With those words, however, in retrospect, the world wonders if being the best player on the planet really matters if you cannot win. I started to wonder if he actually was the greatest basketball player in the world.

For crying out loud, he went to the NBA straight out of high school. Coming straight out high school suggests you either need money, or playing in college is a waste of time. That's all cocky. He seems like he's great to his family, and even if there was an element of economic rationality, he knew he was too good for college. What could college offer him that the NBA couldn't?

He came into the league with a 90 million dollar contract on his back. After being crowned King and adopting his role as the Jordan of our era, there was no turning back into the kid from Akron. We practically turned him into Magic and Michael and haven't stopped the comparisons. Then, with the increase in social media, the BIG decision to move to Miami, the APP, the move back to Cleveland, he upset the balance in the NBA. We transformed him into basketball mythology. Now, he can pretty much do what he wants when he wants, and the rest of the world stands still and listens with eager ears. The NBA follows suit, as he demystifies and goes from team to team as he pleases, rematerializes and calls conferences like he's the president. Dream teams are being created every year to stop the King, like Iguodala on an already packed Warriors' team. And he's supposed to be humble?

The greatest of all time was even halted by Vernon Maxwell occasionally. So, I don't fault James for being humanized by Iguodala. Maxwell was a pretty tenacious defender, and even though he never stopped Jordan from winning a championship, he was a pest to Jordan. Similarly, Iguodala was a pest to Lebron, holding his ground when others would topple, swiping at and stealing balls, making James work hard for every shot. Nevertheless, despite poor free throw shooting, Iguodala has been great for a long time. He's an elite defender and dynamic scorer. When Iverson left, the only thing that kept that city afloat was his defense and high flying. On Tuesday, all of those years of defending great players finally paid off, but he, like Vernon, will be a blip in the career of the game's greatest player.

As everyone waited for him after another loss, I bet he was just sick and tired of doing press conferences this year (at least the ones he didn't call, lol). Annoying reporters, the same reporters who thought Curry should momentarily discard sharing his joy with his daughter, were waiting to ask him about another loss. Anyone else would have been fed up, but the world didn't expect Lebron to be anyone else. And when he uttered those words, he became everyone else- he became human. The next game was already decided; the jinx was done; it was a culmination of all those teams constructed, coaches fired, moves made, press conferences, apps, commercials and his subconscious surfaced.

For that split second, the world was appalled, but only for a second. He was right: he is the greatest player in the world (he needs work on his jumper and handles though). The next game the world was happy- happy that he didn't win. All of the 'bron critics were satisfied with a loss that was predestined, because if he would have defeated that team without his superstars, with his smug comment, against all odds, he would have transcended this NBA.

However, at the conference, there was a different emotion that silenced the NBA. The world felt sorry for LeBron in his 13th year, as he walked off the court realizing this ride is almost over. To us he's just a great player, an app, the 3rd coming of Jordan even, but when he's gone we'll realize, just like when all of the greats leave, that even his worst critics will say he will truly be missed. testing