“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to become the villain.” - Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight, 2008)
Truer words have never been spoken, especially when it comes to the case of LeBron James. When LeBron was originally drafted by the Cavaliers, many proclaimed he was the savior Cleveland needed and the next big thing; he did live up to that moniker for the most part. He never did win a championship for Cleveland in his initial run with the team, and when he decided to jump ship and start a super team in Miami, this was the beginning of the end for the hero and was the start of the villain. He went to South Beach as a villain and played it well with a don’t give a fuck attitude. James accomplished what he wanted, for the most part, and came back to Cleveland with the “savior” mentality. The city of Cleveland foolishly accepted him back. Lebron did give Cleveland its first championship in 52 years, but in the process he destroyed Cleveland’s hope of contending again anytime soon; he successfully covered that ploy by leading the Cavaliers to Finals every year in a very weak Eastern Conference.
LeBron was on a power trip during his second run in Cleveland; he traded players like Andrew Wiggins, Iman Shumpert, Dwyane Wade, Isiah Thomas, and Kyrie Irving away. The city of Cleveland ignored all these moves by LeBron because LeBron was giving them hope. Then LeBron did it again; he abandoned the city of Cleveland and jumped ship to Los Angeles. Of course, this time he opened up a school in Cleveland before he left to soften the blow, but it is all the same.
Now there are reports of a rift that LeBron has caused because of this year’s trade deadline in a pursuit to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. I mean, there was a picture of LeBron James on one side of a bench and every other Lakers player on the other side. If that isn’t a rift, I don’t know what is. If I were Lebron James I would just accept that I am the villain of the NBA now because after that bench picture it has never been clearer.
LeBron James should honestly be proud of the power and influence he has in the NBA because not many people get that kind of power, if any at all. LeBron should just own up to it and say, “Yeah, you know what? If you guys don’t want to win and be better, then I will trade you. I won’t trade you somewhere with promise either; I’m talking New Orleans, Phoenix, Charlotte, Memphis, or hell, even Atlanta. Either step up or get stepped on.” LeBron can’t do what he did in the East; the West is too powerful for one guy to win a Conference Championship in. I honestly think LeBron James will not have success in the Western Conference until he embodies that villain persona we all know he has.
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