For the longest time I was a ‘Bron hater. After The Decision he seemed to have this aura about him thinking that, to straight talk, his s**t didn’t stink. Every misstep he made there after was applauded, and every success coming with a reason to degrade it.
See ‘Yeah but Ray Allen made the most important shot’.
But the time that it all seemed to fall into place for me was while I was out on the piss at The Hub, a British bar chain in Japan wearing my Golden State cap. As the drinks went in and the language barrier seemed to deteriorate I started talking to a local who said he was also a Golden State fan and began expressing his love for Steph Curry.
He then said something that shook me to my NBA loving core.
“LeBron James is overrated. Steph Curry is way better”
It was at that stage I felt the only reasonable thing to do was to say “…nah man” and walk away.
(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
I love Steph Curry. It’s clear that his popularity soared so quickly in this league because even though he is the greatest shooter to ever live, a kid down at the local park can pull up from wayyyyyyyy downtown, get lucky and feel like a superstar.
Not every kid down at the local park can play like the most athletic player the league has ever seen, half man half bulldozer half ballet dancer.
LeBron James is in a different league altogether. The Cleveland teams that he has dragged through playoff after playoff is beyond comprehension, here’s to looking at you Anderson Verajao and Iman Shumpert.
The fact that every single player on every single team he has played in the playoffs knows that the ball is going to him and he is either going to score or set up a bucket with a straight assist or a hockey assist and yet no one can stop it speaks for itself.
For the most part, the more effortless an individual can make his chosen sport look, the better they are, and Bron often makes the game look like an absolute cakewalk.
It is in my completely uneducated opinion that Jeanie Buss will be paying Bron a lot of money for a long, long time. I expect him to opt out after his third year and re up for the last long-term contract of his career, paying him $40M a year up until age 40-41.
I’m not expecting a title for LA in that time. Father time is still undefeated, even to LeBron. It may take him a bit longer than the rest of us mere mortals, but it is undefeated and in no way should anyone even have the nerve to say that this potentially ring-less run in LA should affect his legacy.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)
For what he has bought to the game, what he has accomplished and the straight impact he has made on the league for 15 years in unheard of and he will (no hate) go down as the second greatest player to walk onto the hardwood.
And I’ll even go on record and say that he is better than Steph Curry.
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