LeBron's beef with Barkley reminds us of a less-successful version of King James
We've seen this version, and it didn't work the last time James tried it -- in the 2011 NBA Finals
By
Bill Reiter
•
3 min read
LeBron James deciding he's "tired of biting" his tongue and "there's a new sheriff in town" is neither a new story nor, for the best basketball player on Earth, a new strategy. It's an old one. And, just like the last time LeBron gave in to the over-sensitive and prickly side of his nature, this tack will fail.
On Monday night, after the Cavaliers' fourth loss in six games, LeBron uncorked on Charles Barkley and Barkley's recent criticisms, giving ESPN's Dave McMenamin an earful.
"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James said. "I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.
"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.
"Screw Charles Barkley. I'm tired of biting my tongue. There's a new sheriff in town."
LeBron.
LeBron, LeBron, LeBron.
This is beneath you. This is your less-mature self, the guy from six years ago, talking here. You have rings now. You have a growing and remarkable legacy. You have given northeast Ohio a great gift. You told former harsh critics, including me, that some of what we had said about you had been true -- and that you also no longer were concerned with our criticisms.
What are you doing?
I've seen this version of LeBron before, when I covered from Miami his first year with the Heat. It rings a familiar, frustrating and worrisome bell: Blame others, not-subtle digs at management and lack of self-awareness in criticizing something he created.
And now not getting that -- breaking news! -- there will be critics.
Always, there will be critics.
LeBron was wrong all those years ago to burn with resentment at them, and not only because it made him unlikable and obscured the nuanced, interesting and complicated person he is. It's wrong because such venom and frustration -- as with all things LeBron does -- infects and impacts and carries or drowns his teams.
It buried the Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals against the Mavericks, where he -- and Miami -- coughed away a championship, swallowed whole by the angst and rage that swarmed them all season. And then LeBron made peace, owned up to some mistakes and said and meant that he no longer cared what others said or wrote. And that LeBron, and that LeBron-led team, won back-to-back titles.
The LeBron who went to Cleveland and ached to bring those folks a championship carried -- stunningly -- the Cavs to the most remarkable come-from-behind championship series win in NBA history.
This stuff matters.
I like LeBron James. And more to the point, I want to see his greatness on full successful display. Because it gives me and you a courtside seat to a rare kind of all-time great history. It can be our version of Babe Ruth. LeBron can be Tiger but -- and he was right on this one -- minus the drama, ugliness or resulting fall. He can be his own version of Jordan or Magic, with a 21st century twist and a fascinating social-media presence and burgeoning entrepreneurial media empire.
The guy is fascinating. And this garbage needs to be behind him.
LeBron has utter control of his organization, and any filters or people able or willing to tell him "no" are of his choosing. He has earned that, to be sure, but when he left for Cleveland many around the NBA wondered whether that freedom eventually would lead to self-inflicted problems someone like Pat Riley would have prevented.
The answer is yes.
And it comes with new questions: Can LeBron James again pull the lever allowing the serenity which prevents inevitable criticism from leading him to his worst self?
Can he see that he threw his organization under the bus, and that he complained about a roster he clearly had a huge role in shaping?
Does he know that he can do and say whatever he wants -- he can stop biting his tongue, he can be the new sheriff in town -- though instead of stinging his enemies, he's just as likely to shoot himself (and his team) in the foot?
I hope so. Because I like my all-time greats at their best and quite suddenly LeBron has reverted to something much less likable and much less likely to succeed.
