How is it "hypocritical" to not like a player who doesn't play for your favorite team? OBVIOUSLY if he played for the Rockets, we would all love him. What's your point? Anyway, I know exactly what SacTown is trying to do with this thread, but I must admit....seeing LeBron's postgame interview and classy conversation with Doc Rivers Saturday night made me like him a little more. Seemed very humble and focused. Ironic that while he was doing this, Garnett and Rondo were walking off the court like little babies............... Perhaps we are witnessing (pun intended) a player grow as a person right before our very eyes? This has happened to almost every great player in NBA history. Hakeem, Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, hell even Dirk carried himself well during last year's finals. That being said, I'm certainly not going to all the sudden turn into a LeBron fanboy like SacTown (although I'm pretty sure he is exaggerating for effect).
For me, I never really disliked LeBron or the Heat until "the Decision" and the Signing Celebration, when all three of them were preening and strutting like they had won the championship. And overall, for the last two years, they have indeed been a "whiny bunch" as Charles Barkley said. However, I will admit, I was very impressed with the way LeBron has handled himself of late. LeBron has been very quiet, serious, and determined this playoffs, and he has let his game speak for itself. He showed a lot of respect and humility even after the victory over the Celtics. I agree that the way he spoke to Doc Rivers after the game was very impressive. That's all I ever really wanted to see from him. I was rooting for Boston from start until finish, but I have no beef with LeBron after the way he handled himself in this series. The best player on the best team won that series. No question. Now Wade, on the other hand, still comes off like a whiny petulant child throughout the playoffs. I hope he can take a page out of LeBron's book and STFU and play.
This is my point exactly. It's funny because I was never really a Lebron James fanboy at all. I've always been a big NBA fan and I was pretty much indifferent about Lebron then when I started reading clutchfans and saw all the crazy hate Lebron was getting, my initial reaction was "wow, I really don't think Lebron is this bad of a guy"..... so I became the Lebron defender. Not so much a fan boy, but a defender and a truth seeker. And then this year I went on a mission because I do think Lebron has changed and turned his life around and you guys are all seeing it unfold and some of you are coming around. You don't have to like him, you don't have to be a fanboy, you don't have to root for him, but you've got to stop making him into such a monster. He's a good guy and just a big kid underneath it all.
media perception has a lot to do with things. espn built lebron up then tore him down. same thing they did with jeremy lin. this is what i don't like about this new internet age. channels like espn and all these blog try to sell a story instead of credible reporting and analysis on sports.
Why do you play these games where you have to pejoratively categorize everyone who doesn't like Lebron? B. is stupid anyways. Am I not allowed to dislike Kobe because he's successful? Manu Ginobili? Whoever I want to? The hater card that you like to play is so tired. There's a category of people who just don't like that the game of basketball is softening and the biggest personalities are no longer proud competitors, but rather immature brats with a sense of entitlement and self-before-team. If Lebron grows out of that and somehow redeems himself, that's great. I hope he does. Because I'm tired of the players trying to run the teams. To Sactown: Adversity is great, but Lebron has really had no adversity. Read about Serge Ibaka sometime. That's a story that makes you care.
1. When Hakeem finally joins our coaching staff??? 2. The reason why Lebron has so many haters is that he wanted to go the easy way to a championship. I know it is a different generation but look at players like MJ or Dream. They were true franchise players. They stayed with their teams and worked hard as players and leaders to get their ring.And we should never forget about players like Ewing.He never won a championship but he was always loyal to the Knicks. 3. Hakeem would never say something bad about other people in the media. It isn't his nature.
Lol, dude I'm not gonna get into a religios argument with you. I'm not saying Hakeem being Muslim makes him a bad man, I'm not condemning anyone. I'm just saying I hope he did not convert LeBron to Islam because IMO it's a false religion. Yes, Christians actively spread their religion because that's part of being a christian. As I'm sure it is for islam too.
Wow guys, wait to make a huge deal out of nothing. I know Hakeem takes his religion seriously. I respect that, however I don't agree with his beliefs. So I hope he didn't convert LeBron to those beliefs... That's all I'm saying.
Way to backpedal. You haven't explained why your comment was relevant in any way. Your disdain for Islam is hilariously out of place here. Even if that came up in conversation, that's not your business. Besides, Lebron and Hakeem are using precious summer time to fit basketball drills into their schedules, not hanging out at the mosque. Should I hope that Kevin Durant doesn't become Catholic or Hindu or atheist for some reason?
I'm not backpedaling. I made a very simple statement. The article said they spent a lot of time talking about life. Religion (Islam) is a huge part of Hakeem's life and it wouldn't surprise me if he shared his beliefs with LeBron. As a Christian, I hope that everybody becomes a Christian, as I'm sure people from other religions believe as well. I do not have disdain for Islam, I do however believe it is a false gospel and do not agree with it... What is so wrong with that??
Haha don't worry I'm not looking for an argument either. I'm not religious myself but I do respect people of all religions because I know it takes a lot of dedication and sincerity. It just irks me when people of different religions would rather attack each other than lead by example. Sorry if I misunderstood the original intent of your statement.
Ok, read enough.... At least for me, it's not that I "hate" LeBron. From the time he was a top prospect in high school, I was as interested as anyone to see what he could actually do. But playing ball for most of my life and being around the game, it comes down to you earn everything!!! If you step on a court or in a gym back in the day, didn't matter if you played high school, college or at the Fonde, your game speaks for itself. That being said, by the media feeding us the "King James" BS for sooooo long and him never winning a championship it just becomes so anticlimactic, kinda like the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy. The promise that he will be the next great to transcend anything we have ever seen or use to. Mind you, none of that is LeBron's fault, but he bought it just like everyone else. Then, by making the decision to leave the place that he most wanted to be which was Cleveland and stated that he would bring them a championship; he compounded to issue and put himself in this position. I understand why he did it, but still don't agree. Don't get me wrong, he is crazy talented and has the ability to dominate. But he has fallen short of the expectation that he and the media has sold in that he has not LED a team to the promise land. He has been awesome to watch at times and someday may get to that point where people will truly compare him to some of the greatest without a second thought. Even if he wins his first this season, he still has a ways to go, in my opinion. As for Hakeem seeing him as a little brother, awesome! There is no one better to teach him how to dig deep, play harder and will your team to win than Hakeem.
No need to apologize, I try to respect everyone. Religious or not. I apologize if my post came across the wrong way. I'm not trying to attack Islam or anyone who follows it... Just simply saying that I disagree with their beliefs
I enjoyed the read, but what I would enjoy reading more is Morey camping out on Dream's doorstep in Houston begging him to please, please work with our guys, every Rockets player who could use it (virtually everyone, but especially the bigs, of course), starting with Donuts when he gets here, Patterson, and Parsons, and tell the gentleman that money is no object.
I'm not gonna kiss "the Chosen Ones" ass because Dream likes him, nor am I going to no matter how many times you and James' personal PR army try to shove him down my throat. your actions on this board do more to turn me off towards him than anything he has ever done. EDIT: Also,I agree with what DJGrind said in the first part of his post about the media overhyping him and anointing him king before he ever set foot on the court
Dream can make a fine cuisine when he has the ingredients to work with. He can't do anything when all you have is spam.
What beliefs would those be? The one that says their is one God, you know like Christianity. I'm not sure what it says in the Bible, but I know in Islam, it states that people who believe in a religon are on the right track and are good people. Don't worry about Hakeem or any other Muslum trying to convert Christian's. Islam is tolerant of those who believe in one God.
