The Decision and the Apology: The Maturation of LeBron James

Last summer LeBron James made "The Decision". He did so on ESPN during primetime. The event was hyped and full of promotion. LeBron did one noble thing that night. He donated all of the proceeds of his primetime spectacle to charity. The Decision marked the end of his time in Cleveland and ushered in the new era in Miami. James teamed up with Team USA teammate Chris Bosh and headed to South Beach to bolster a revamped Heat with Dwayne Wade leading the charge. Of course the city of Cleveland was angry at this decision. They were mad that the hometown boy left home. Many people around the country were mad at how the decision was made.

No one has any objections to a professional team adding powerful components to their lineup in order to win. Winning teams bring in money, and all pro teams are out to bring money. The New York Yankees have been called the evil empire by many of their critics. It's an unfair nickname. Granted, I am not a Yankee fan. I do not get mad over the fact that they load up with all stars every season. Baseball lacks a salary cap. They are doing what they can to win- which is the purpose of professional sports. I have nothing against the Heat. They have proven in this postseason that they can win with 3 really good players and a cast of secondary players. The team has gelled and they are fun to watch. My problem lies with LeBron James.

LeBron James isn't a one man show. We all learned that during his time in Cleveland. LeBron wants to win. The ownership in Cleveland wasn't listening to its star player. Many could argue that LeBron always gets what he wants. That he has been coddled as a player. That certainly wasn't the case in Cleveland. Cleveland got greedy. They built a team around LeBron. However, they didn't give him the keys to win it all. The money they gave him was justified because of the money coming in (how many Cavs games were sold out this season?). Cleveland could have kept LeBron had they made more of an effort in the last 2 years to build a winning ballclub. Firing the best coach you have had in a while to keep LeBron was a selfish move. Obviously it didn't work.

So where is the problem? Cleveland seems to be at fault in all of this. They had every oppurtunity to keep James. They chose not to. They chose to milk the cash cow that is LeBron Inc. The problem lies with LeBron's attitude in all this. He dragged out the most obvious of decisions. Instead of simply announcing that he was leaving Cleveland, he decided to go for the throat. But the throat of who? He went for the throat of Dan Gilbert. It worked though. Everyone remembers Dan Gilbert's outrageous letter he released once James left town. I can understand why Gilbert wrote that letter. He never should have published it. The letter was written out of anger.

The Decision was dramatic in the sense that we all had to watch the event unfold. Cities like Chicago, New York and Miami took out huge ads in the local papers. When I was in Chicago last summer, a private citizen put an ad on a billboard on Michigan Ave. begging James to come. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared in a youtube video begging James to come. The problem is "The Decision". He didn't just hold a press conference in Akron that was open to all the media. Instead he flew to Connecticut and held a private ESPN only event that gave the worldwide leader exclusive access to the news. The hour long special dragged on and on and on as they showed highlights of LeBron's career. Then at the end, he said- Miami.

So here we are- May 11, 2011. Redemption day for LeBron. In beating Boston (with Miami) he is able to put to bed some of his demons. For LeBron to fully apologize, all he needs to do is win a title. Once he wins it, he can freely admit he could never have done it alone. That's all I want. I want for him to stop "Witnessing". Professional sports is about winning. Beating a beliguered Boston team in the second round isn't winning. You are an NBA All-Star and the "heir apparent" to Jordans crown. Don't collapse at half court and act like you just won the title when all you did was to vindicate old demons from your past. Professional sports is about winning as a team. Superstars always play with emotions. Sometimes those emotions make them look foolish. Think Rooney or Rodman.

What's my point? My point is that LeBron James is quite possibly the best professional player in the game right now. He commands enourmous audiences and has put a brand on this generation of NBA viewers. For him to reach the next level, he has to win an NBA title. Winning it this year would go a long way in changing my opinion of him. I still think he acts like a child sometime. Coming pro out of high school does not allow for much maturation. LeBron has matured, but his quest for a ring has crippled his maturation. The media (and people like me) are to blame for this. He has been under enormous pressure since entering the league. Winning a title will silence his critics. Winning it with the Heat will show that he can be a team player. The LeBron of Cleveland will be dead. The new LeBron (that he himself talked about in "The Decision" )will take flight as the LeBron of Team USA that envisioned joining forces with Wade and Bosh and reaching for their collective dreams together. Win it this year, and "The Decision" will be forgotten. No apology will be needed. Winning a title as a team will show the world that LeBron James isn't the best player in the league. It shows the world that LeBron James is the next Michael Jordan. Jordan couldn't win it alone. He had the help of Rodman, Pippen and others. Win the title this year and no one will remember the James of Cleveland, just like no one remembers the Jordan of Washington.