In the NBA, and in turn, generally in sports, it's rare to find a superstar athlete that left a franchise so dramatically and to return to that same team in dramatic fashion. It is also a rarity when that star athlete returns to that same team, whilst still being in the prime of their career. Lebron James is an incredible athlete who has helped take the sport of basketball to another level. There's no denying that. In fact, not only has he impacted the very game, he has impacted the notion and thought process that is sports free agency.
I, along with many sports fans, probably have never witnessed what Lebron had done before. He left the city of Cleveland in 2010 with the now infamous The Decision TV special. The special was a financial success driven for charity, but was a public relations nightmare. Here was an athlete that went from being a highly touted high school prospect, to a rising star, to a hero, and then....relegated to villainy. It was incredible to witness what had unfolded within the time the special had finished airing. Lebron went from being the king of his home city, to being the number one enemy. He became the most hated athlete in sports actually. And for the next four years in Miami, he created a short lived dynasty while tag teaming with Bosh and Wade. Though they had incredible success in those 4 years, appearing in 4 straight finals and winning back-to-back championships in the process, his decision had impacted the way franchises and players thought in the off season.
Before his decision, many superstar athletes usually teamed up or had the notion of doing so after they had past their respectable prime. Usually in the twilight years in their career, a teaming up notion would be fathomable. However, we had never seen 3 superstar athletes who were just entering the prime of their careers join forces. KG, and Allen joined the Celtics after years of trying on their own in their respective teams. Joining Pierce, the trio won their elusive title (Sadly the only one they would win together). Now if those three had joined together in lets say, 2004, it would have been probably a big deal almost on par of the Big three that Lebron helped orchestrate. Before the Celtic trio, we never really had any other big stars joining forces with some years left in the tank. Malone and Payton joined forces with Shaq and Kobe on the down end of their careers in L.A. Clyde the Glide Drexler joined The Dream as his last hope to win a championship after years of heartbreak in Portland. The list goes on and on, it just wasn't the way things worked back in the day. And Lebron changed that.
His decision gave the athletes ideas of teaming with good friends and players that they always wanted to team up with. Super teams were formed. Franchises had more difficulty keeping their stars as massive team-ups were being formed in big time teams and cities. The game was changed. But not entirely for the better. You see when Lebron left the Cavs, they went from being contenders to re builders. It was a devastating prospect brought to the team by its own player that was born and raised there. Fans famously burned his jerseys, booed him, and called him out for quitting. The owner wrote the famous letter saying they would win a championship before Lebron does. Well...that didn't exactly go as planned did it? The Cavs would gain some solace with having 3 first overall picks in the 4 years Lebron had left. But even then, it didn't get the team over the edge. The team's fan base was witnessing their former hero accomplishing greatness in South Beach while they only got to witness games till April. It was a period of sadness and lost hope, but then, the summer of 2014 happened.
Many fans believed that when all of the Big Three opted out of their contracts, it meant Miami was looking to add another star to their roster. Carmelo was the main person thought to have been in the mix. Many other players were being said in probably coming to the team to help out the Big Three. They were in desperate help after a colossal loss in the finals. They lost to the Spurs in a destructive fashion, and it showed that the team needed some changes. With Lebron on the free agent market, teams were aiming to score big. Among those teams were the Cavs, the very team he left. Many didn't believe he would go back, considering all the animosity and hate that he received for his departure 4 years earlier. But then he made another defining move in the free agency. This time without a TV special, he put it all in an interview for Sports Illustrated. He Was Going Home, again.
Why go home again though? Many athletes have sworn never to go back to cities that they had left and many would never go back considering things that people and the franchise would say post departure. But Lebron's case is different. Here is the man who can help his home team finally win a championship. Here is the man that can finally lift the city of Cleveland to a championship celebration parade, something they haven't seen for any of their teams in a long time. Here is a man who, if he won title for the team, would literally cement himself as the greatest sports legend for that city, bar none. He is Cleveland's last hope, and he understood that. He could have easily stayed in Miami and return to the Cavs on the downswing of his career, but he understands perfectly well what his legacy would be if he returned. He's won 2 championships, he's got what he desired when he first left. The hardships and trials and tribulations have been all dealt and understood with. He knows what the sacrifice and pain is to get that trophy. Bringing that knowledge, not to mention still being at the prime of his career, he knows it's now or never when it comes to winning it all for his home city.
Egos in sports always are tricky. It either could define or tarnish one's image. Lebron, to my knowledge, doesn't seem to take in the critics as much as say he previously did in his career. He has seen and heard it all, so going back was probably a bit easier than we all first assumed. It's a good move for him and for sports in general. We always like the story book ending to players careers. This story is that of redemption and forgiveness. It literally could make for an interesting film, and I bet that they would make one in the near future. What Lebron did was something special, something we probably won't see for a long time. As a Toronto sports fan, I would say that Carter returning to the Raptors would be the equivalent to Lebron's return (well not equivalent but in the sense that, him returning would be a big deal). We just never see the guy that goes back, we always see the one that moves on and then just returns for the sake of returning. Lebron returned with plenty of game left in him. Not only has he revitalized the interest in the team, he has helped make the business for the team and city boom. Incredible that just one player could make that much of a difference.
But then again, not every player is like Lebron James, and not every player could be. He might not surpass that elusive "Jordan Six," but hey, if he wins at least one for the Cavs, I would put him as my second favorite player, behind Jordan himself.
No comments:
Post a Comment