LeBron and The Decision

"In order to be the man, you have to beat the man." - Ric Flair

Like many others, the first thing that came to my mind after hearing LeBron announce that he was heading to South Beach was Hulk Hogan smashing Macho Man with chair and joining the NWO in the process. Looking back, Hogan's transformation into a heal (bad guy) made sense because Hulkamania's popularity had peaked years before, and people began to feel indifferent toward him. It is common for wrestlers to alternate between being a face (good guy) and heal to prevent apathy and stay relevant (or coincidentally in wrestling terms "draw heat."). Hogan needed the heal turn to stay relevant, but LeBron had yet to win a championship in Cleveland nor reach the height of his popularity so his decision makes less sense.



Not only did LeBron make an unnecessary and unexpected heal turn by leaving Cleveland on national television, but he also gave up his chance to be the man. When LeBron wins his first championship with the Heat, he won't become the unquestionable number one basketball player in the world like he would have been if he won a championship in Cleveland (to be fair I think LeBron is a much better player than Kobe but that is the minority view). Even worse, LeBron has given up on a pretty good chance to be better than Michael Jordan and go down as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).

One viewpoint of “The Decision” mess is that LeBron is "unware" that he will be vilified in Cleveland and probably booed everywhere else. Likewise, he does not understand that he lost his chance at being considered the GOAT. During "The Decision", LeBron said that Miami offered him the best chance at winning championships, and as a student of NBA history (LeBron’s words), he understands that he needs to win championships to go down as one of the all time greats. The flaw with LeBron's supposed logic is that all championships are not created equal. Winning four championships in Miami probably won't do the same for LeBron's legacy as winning two in Cleveland. If he wins seven championships, books are not rewritten declaring LeBron as better than Jordan, Zeus does not throw a thunderbolt down to earth forcing people to put him ahead of MJ.

A better theory is that LeBron is just 25 years old and he was given the opportunity to play with two of his best friends in South Beach. How many lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, teachers,bus drivers, ditch diggers, etc. would take a 12% pay cut, partially offset by the tax benefits, to work with two of their best friends in South Beach? Also consider that a 12% pay cut for LeBron, will not hurt him like it would hurt us, he can still buy all the mansions, boats, and cars he wants, and his decision is even easier to make.

While LeBron's decision may make sense on a personal level, it does not fit with our idea, from a fan’s perspective, as to what LeBron's motivations should be. The biggest rule we have is that athletes need to care about winning championships, and if an athlete takes a pay cut for a chance to play for a championship we applaud. LeBron has taken the pay cut, but he was in that rarified air...Airness...of being one of the best ever. When you get to LeBron’s level not only do you have to care about winning but you have to care about being the best. Therefore teaming up with the second best player in the NBA, in his city, smells like a cop out…Udonis Haslem gets praised for taking less money to stay with the Heat but LeBron is criticized by fans, the media, and the holy trinity of MJ, Magic, and Bird.

To be the man, LeBron has to beat the man. He had a pretty good chance of surpassing MJ and now people will wonder if he can even surpass Kobe. The Black Mamba has the killer instinct, five championships (but only two as his team's best player), and the reputation of being the best. Of all the LeBron analogies out there, perhaps Kill Bill and the Black Mamba is the most apt comparison. In Tarantino's movies, Black Mamba, played by Daryl Hannah, wanted to the best, she wanted to be Bill's number one lady, number one assassin, but she wasn't. Instead Beatrix, played by Uma Thurman, was the best, and the Black Mamba hated her for it…hated her not only for being better, but for not caring about being the best.

The Black Mamba became obsessed with Beatrix and when she left Bill and the agency, yearned to kill her. (Spoiler Alert) Likewise Bill, played by David Carradine, was equally upset, not because they were in a relationship and he left her, or that she wouldn't choke him during sex, but because she had a good chance to be the best and gave up on that chance to be a mother. Her indifference to greatness upset Bill the most, and upset him so much that he wanted her dead. That's what LeBron did. The way he left Cleveland is practically unforgiveable, but leaving the opportunity to go down as the GOAT (in Cleveland or New York) to be a super rich 25 year old living in Miami is the most frustrating part from a fan’s perspective.