Earlier we posted the audio from LeBron’s Christmas day conversation with Dwayne Wade where he can be heard saying that the two will reunite if things don’t work out this year.
Now that leaves NBA fans with a lot of questions and it leaves Cleveland fans with a mountain of doubt.
We may never know the true context of the conversation, LeBron is too smart to tip his hand to the public, but we can speculate whether leaving Cleveland a second time would help or hurt LeBron’s legacy?
It’s easy to say that a second “Decision” to leave Cleveland would forever ruin LeBron’s legacy and people would hate him, which is true, but ask your self is that such a bad thing?
Are little kids going to stop buying his Nike’s at this point? No
Are people going to stop going to arenas to see him play? No
If he wins 4 championships in Cleveland before he retires will he better than MJ? No
The fact remains that LeBron can’t do anything to catch Michael Jordan. People will point at Jordan’s 6-for-6 record in NBA Finals, as though he didn’t get bounced numerous times in the ECFs by the Pistons. They will never consider LeBron the competitor Jordan was and they will never admit that LeBron is a much better person off the court than the all mighty MJ, even though he is.
If all of this is assumed to be true then it may be in James’ best interest to just embrace the bad guy role. If he was to spurn the Cavs after his heartfelt letter and campaign this summer he’d forever be known as the league’s best bad guy.
Let’s face it, LeBron will most likely retire in the top 3 in points and assist in league history. We don’t know if he’ll win another ring but with just two he’s still in the conversation of the top 5 players to every step on a court. Infamy goes as far, if not further, than fame in many cases.
Jordan will forever be endured and as his legend grows overtimes his shortcomings as a person diminish. It’s time that LeBron give’s up on chasing Michael Jordan and fans of LeBron let go of that idea. This can be his chance to define his own narrative. He can sit alone a top the Mount Rushmore of sports villains knowing that he spurned one of sports most downtrodden cities twice in his career.
The would burn again, the boos would be louder than ever, he may never be allowed back in his beloved home in Northeast Ohio but it’d all be worth it, right?
A chance at more titles, a chance at new campaigns and marketing dollars, a chance to reunite with Wade.
LeBron must realise that being the fan favorite didn’t get him his 2 championship rings. He should also know that failing to deliver Cleveland a championship isn’t going to help his legacy either.
He needs to evaluate whether Cleveland is a place that will let him have total control and if it isn’t then he will have to once again be America’s favorite bad guy.
