Before the Summer of 2010, the amount of love for LeBron was only surpassed by the amount of love a fat kid has for a Carvel ice cream cake. It was far and wide, from the corners of Amurrica to the corners of the globe. He dazzled us with huge dunks, his ability to put a team on his back and win a game (or playoff series), the revitalization of an NBA franchise, and most of all, he answered our questions as to whether or not there was ever going to be another Michael. Within his first year, the debates in my middle school gym class rose:
"He's going to be as good as Michael."
"There will never be another Jordan."
"He's already better than Jordan!"
Etc., etc., etc. Everyone had their own opinion on LeBron and what he was going to become. As the years passed, and the Knicks were getting MUCH better in the "Irrelevance" Department, LeBron and Kobe were the only two players in the NBA that held my interest. Kobe, cold-blooded, calculating, the precision of a surgeon, and he always knew when to flip that switch and become the best closer in the NBA, and LeBron, dominating, unstoppable force, throwing down fierce dunks and always making his "Larger than Life" presence known (as demonstrated by his pregame powder toss). These two NBA Superstars took the Association by its throat and squeezed every ounce of awesome out of it. LeBron quickly became one of my favorite athletes beside Derek Jeter, Curtis Martin (No matter how long he's been retired), Tiger Woods (Before the whole 87 mistresses thing), and Rafa Nadal.
In many people's eyes, LeBron was a savior. He's a man that brought not only the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the city of Cleveland from the depths of sports irrelevance and unimportance, to a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. He was a man that gave us the talk of being the "Chosen One" to replace Jordan, and become the posterboy of basketball as we know it. We were all "Witnesses". But this was before the Summer of 2010.
Summer of '10 for the NBA gave us the biggest Free Agent class in NBA history. There were more big-name players on the move than Mexicans across the border at 2 in the morning. Among these players included Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amar'e Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, and the biggest and most sought after of them all, LeBron James.
For a few years, LeBron was cheating on Cleveland with New York. Whenever he visited the Garden, there was an electricity in the air that hadn't been there since Patrick Ewing donned the Orange and Blue in the early 90's. Every time he was there, there was something else going on; either free hot dogs for the Garden crowd, or T-Shirts, or even advertising his "Big Apple Red" Sneakers. If this isn't cheating, I'm sure my ex-girlfriends are feeling a lot better about their karma right now. Alas, I digress.
Initially, all signs pointed towards LeBron heading for New York. But then, the rumors started to surface. LeBron was going to Chicago, then he was going to New York, then he was going to New Jersey, then he was going to stay in Cleveland, then Delonte' West started banging his mom (allegedly), then he was going back to New York, then, Miami. I think the collective NBA audience groaned when hearing about Miami Thrice (3 big name Free Agents in Bosh, Wade, and James). Then, in a shocking (or not so shocking) act of egotism, LeBron gave himself an hour special on ESPN named "The Decision." You can guess what took place there.
The NBA Fan-Base held their collective breath from 8:00 PM to 8:23 PM on Thursday, July 8th, waiting for LeBron to make his decision, when finally, those fateful words drooled out of his mouth:
"In this Fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm gonna take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat."
When I heard this, I fell out of my chair. The next words that came out were, "LeBron, you're a God damn sell out."
Jordan didn't leave the Bulls to play with any other superstar. He made the players around him better, built his team around him, and made Pippen a great player. I can go on and on, but I think I made my point there.
The rest is history. Every NBA fan (Who isn't a Heat fan) enjoyed watching the early difficulties of the Heat in the 2010-11 NBA season. But, unfortunately, they found their rhythm and now they're kind of destroying every team in their way. But, fortunately, the Heat aren't the only headline in the NBA today.
I think David Stern breathed a sigh of relief when Blake Griffin emerged as a dominating force in the NBA this year. Sitting out his first year in the NBA with knee problems and subsequent knee surgery, Griffin came out this year all guns blazing. I've never seen anyone get higher, other than Dave Chappelle in Half-Baked. He owns the rim and everyone around it, and hopefully we'll see a rebirth of the NBA Dunk Contest when he brings his talents to...well, keeps his talents in the Staples Center in LA during the 2011 NBA All-Star Weekend.
I'm sure David Stern is also smiling a little bit when he sees the renaissance of New York basketball, when Amar'e joined the Knicks this past off-season. With a single phrase, "The New York Knicks are back", Amar'e (along with Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and rookie Landry Fields) is leading the way for future Knicks prominence in the Eastern Conference.
Thank goodness for Blake Griffin, and the Knicks deciding they wanted to be good again this year. If not, my head would have probably exploded from all this LeBron crap. Oh well, no use in wishing harm or bad luck on LeBron, anyway. I hope he enjoys South Beach. We want winners in New York, not cowards and punks.
I'd rather have 'Melo, anyway.
Thanks.
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