In hindsight I guess he’s right. In the aftermath of “The Decision,” LeBron James was the target of vitriol and slander from damn near every direction, and rightfully so it was a disaster.
But to his credit, he used the extreme criticism he received as motivation to not only evolve into a much better player but also a much better man. The Miami Heat forward said as much in an interview with GQ according to Slam Online.
The Decision show was a flop. He gets that. But the decision itself was just a man having a growth spurt. “The best thing that ever happened to me,” he says. “I needed it. It helped me grow as a man. As a professional, as a father. At the time, as a boyfriend. It helped me grow. Being confined, I spent my whole life in Akron, Ohio. For twenty-five years. Even though I played professionally in Cleveland, I still lived in Akron. Everything was comfortable. I knew everything, everybody knew me—everything was comfortable. I needed to become uncomfortable.
“Now I’ve seen everything on and off the floor this league has to offer,” he says. “I got an answer for everything. Winning, losing, being a free agent, staying, leaving, media, media down on you, media big up on you, agents, money, parking it, family, money. All, everything. So whatever your question is, I can deliver.”
Now no one ever talks about “The Decision” anymore, only about his greatness.