THE EGO HAS LANDED
Before I begin, allow me to first wipe the egg off my forehead and finish eatin’ this crow sammich. It taste like sh*t and goes terrible with my hangover. The big winner from Thursday’s spectacular debacle (other than Riles, that slippery prick) is none other than Kobe Bean Bryant. Apologies to the Black Mamba Nation (can you feel me wincing?) You got the throne all to yourself #24. Hands down, you are the best baller of this era.
As of 9:27pm eastern time on July 8th, Lebron James officially relinquished any claim to such conversation. Let me clarify: He is not a once-in-a-generation athlete. That party is over. He remains an incredible talent, a back-to-back MVP, a stat monster with tremendous game, but legacies are defined by undefinable grit and the unyielding determination to be better than everyone. Many, including myself, always believed Lebron had “it.” But really, he only entertained “it.” He’s Scottie Pippen with better numbers. It is time for “The Chosen One” tattoo, along with the “330″ area code branding to be painted over on his epidermal canvas. Neither are applicable.
Since he was 16, WE created “The King”, coddled him and deemed him the “second coming” and he, along with his people, bought more stock in that story than anyone and sold it back to us at a premium. It was a genius ploy until it finally crashed and burned in a train wreck reality-TV finale hosted by Jim Gray and ESPN.
This 10-day charade was preordained, written and produced by three NBA bosom buddies (who would later call themselves “Miami Thrice”), ghost-directed by Pat Riley and acted out on a grand stage for our amusement. When the curtain dropped on July 1st, the performances were spectacular. There were Twitter feeds coinciding with photo ops and well-placed media leaks; and, of course, the dummy team meetings, featuring desperate GM’s thinking they had a shot at “landing one of the big three.” Who knows how long Bosh, Wade and James have dreamed (conspired? colluded?) about playing together. Was it 2006 when they all signed four-year extensions, anticipating this moment? Was it 2008 during the Beijing games? Was it at the aforementioned “summit” on June 28th?
According to their script, Chris Bosh found out Lebron James would be his teammate the same time I did?!? These were @chrisbosh actual Tweets from Thursday night.
8:54pm -”I’m suited up and ready! Bout to watch ESPN. This is sports history we’re watching tonight!”
9:17pm – “I thought they said the first 10 minutes! Lol”
9:30pm -”Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Really? You had no idea?
It seems so obvious now. James never wanted any part of New York City and that potential legacy. He wasn’t ever going to LA to challenge Kobe head-on. It was never an option to step into Jordan’s house and compete for his own statue outside the United Center. This, more than any other reason, was why he ditched #23 (see my post from April). This whole time we’ve been paying Bruce Wayne, waiting for Batman and low-and-behold, underneath the “King” facade, he emerges as Robin. The headline reads:
“Second Coming Prefers Second Fiddle”
Watch him literally shed his Cleveland armor, almost with relief, as he exited the court for the final time as a Cavalier. The symbolism is striking. He knew. All along he knew he would never put himself in a position where he would have to lead a franchise to multiple championships, while concurrently enduring the burden of not doing so. To his credit, Kobe has done both, and he played second fiddle to Shaq when he was less mature. Maybe it all happened too soon for Lebron. Sixteen is awfully young to embrace greatness and travel in its path alone for almost a decade, while the harsh spotlight beamed down and we scrutinized every move. Maybe we created a legacy simply too grandiose for the freakishly talented man-child from Akron to fulfill.
By now, it’s obvious, Dwyane Wade is the real king-maker. He called the shots while playing his part. He has a ring, a mentor in Riley, the keys to the city and a county renamed “Miami-Wade”. It’s his team, LBJ and CB4 are just along for the ride… and that’s exactly how Mr. James wanted it.
Stay tuned…
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