LeBron James: We still can’t tell if he has the heart of a champion...
By Jason Reid, Published: May 23
Miami Heat superstar LeBron James has more ability than anyone playing basketball today. He won his third NBA MVP award this season; only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain have won more. This week, James delivered consecutive virtuoso performances while carrying the injury-weakened Heat to a three-games-to-two lead in its Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Indiana Pacers.
Yet James remains one of the most criticized players in the game. If the Heat’s season doesn’t end in a parade, James will be blasted more than President Obama would be at a birthers convention.
The widespread contempt for James, who at 27 is in his ninth NBA season, challenges the long-held notion that all fans care about is success. He is as polarizing as Tiger Woods or Michael Vick, despite never having been embroiled in scandal. James’ s offenses seem far more common: narcissism and a failure to deliver championships.
The mere sight of James didn’t always bring to mind sinister organ music. But then in July 2010, James and ESPN partnered on his ill-conceived announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for Miami. “The Decision” should have been entitled “The Debacle.”
Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/lebron-james-we-still-cant-tell-if-he-has-the-heart-of-a-champion/2012/05/23/gJQAfdbilU_story.html
