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There's a reason why LeBron James is one of the most controversial players in all of sports, and it's got nothing to do with the talent he displays on the court. There is one way that he'll never match some of the game's best stars unless he grows up.
Despite everything that James can do to win a game for the Miami Heat, not many players handle the spotlight worse. Despite all that James has done to prove all his haters wrong, he stills feels like he has to scream, yell, and holler all over the court when he goes on a hot streak.
Don't act like James doesn't get the respect he deserves. He does, except the voice of idiocy and trollism, Skip Bayless, acts like thousands of people that still criticize his game. People can't figure out that it's just a persona ESPN puts out there. First Take is more of a puppet show than anything Jim Henson has ever created and it draws all the ratings in the world. Over 1.3 million people follow a fake personality and take it seriously.
Even the biggest haters on James have to admit how great his game is. That's not the problem and that's not the argument we have. Don't preach on social media telling people to shut up and watch greatness. Greatness isn't acting like a bitch 24/7.
There's a lot of people that have basketball talent. James can turn it up to the next level and he can play some of the best basketball we've ever seen this generation. The problem is that we can't focus solely on that because he's spending more time flopping all over the place and yelling and screaming all over the court.
One of the most talked about things on Twitter after Game 1 was when everybody played doctor and said that no one's ever had cramps if they expected James to play through it. Of course, we all recognize when we take a step back and process everything, James cramping up was one of the those crappy moments that was a real bummer for the Heat.
But do you know what James could have done when he was cramping up? Not throw tantrums all over the sideline, throwing his towel, and acting like he was actually shot on the court when having a cramp. You want to make a comparison to Michael Jordan's "flu game," just think of how James would have reacted with that. Lobbing up and down the sideline, wincing in pain, drinking all the water in the world with an agonizing look of despair on his face.
James said in a sitdown with Michael Wilbon in an ESPN interview that he is the easiest target in all of sports. That's because he brings it all on himself.
For some reason, James can't handle success with dignity. He always feels like he needs to have the last word or has some self-serving garbage in post-game interviews when he wins. How about you make shots, celebrate with your team, not antagonize the crowd, having a post-game interview without fluff, and do the same thing again the next night.
There's still time for James to grow up, and I have a feeling that he'll meet his moment in life that will force him to grow up. It's happened to all the greats that have played the game. Perhaps that will finally get him to clean up his act, but until then, he's going to receive the same criticism over and over again.
LeBron James is one of the most disliked players in sports and it's nothing to do with the typical fans' jealousy towards greatness. It's that we've seen great players handle the moment so much better than James ever has.
