Will Lebron James Be Remembered For His Game Or His Complaining?
LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the most influential athletes in the NBA and indeed the whole of America. His career since his NBA drafting in 2003 boasts three NBA Champions, four Most Valuable Player awards and three Olympic team appearances, twice winning gold. James' shining reputation, however, is apparently not enough to keep him from complaining, a lot.
James is well known for constantly complaining to refs during games when he gets called out for a foul or he thinks the opposition should be. Barely a game goes by when he doesn't make at least one complaint. Many NBA followers feel that if the constant whining continues, James won't be remembered so much for his talents as his mouth.
Just last year, Stephen Curry was voted the NBA's Most Valuable Player for a second year in a row. What made the vote even more significant was that it was the first time in the MVP history that the first-place vote was unanimous. James, who was voted second, said that Curry deserved the award, but made some sneakily ambiguous comments about the title 'valuable'.
"I think sometimes the word 'valuable' or best player of the year, you can have different results," James said.
This year, James has already made comments about his own team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, which he moved from in 2010 and back to in 2014.
"We’re not better than last year, from a personal standpoint … we’re a top-heavy team," he said.
I not mad or upset at management cause Griff and staff have done a great job, I just feel we still need to improve in order to repeat...
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 24, 2017
if that's what we wanna do.
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 24, 2017
Many NBA fans (who both like and dislike James) feel that he wants control of his team, as it's well known that new drafts to the Cavaliers first get James' sign of approval. In order to keep James happy when he came back to the team in 2014, Cavs management began drafting other high-profile names of the game, with the result of the Cavs' roster now half filled with older veteran players.
These moves were supposedly to ensure that the Cavs win another championship quickly before James retires (he is now 33 and said that he only has a few years left in the game). With so many older players, the risk of injury is always a concern.
While there is no doubt that LeBron James is one of the greatest NBA players and is an all-around great guy for his charity work, there are many NBA fans (both James supporters and not) that are tired of his regular on- and off-court complaints and feel that his constant whining will tarnish his legacy.
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