Is this the year of LeBron? I hope not

LeBron James is the most talked about player in the National Basketball Association. He’s the most talented gamer, the most marketable individual, and the most celebrated superstar. Currently, he has the eyes of the sports world on him as he pursues that elusive first championship. There’s the obvious question we’ve all debated now: “Will you get it this year?” I won’t bore you with those details. Instead, I’m going to ask a different question: “Do I want you to get it this year?”

In short, no.

Hate LeBron James? Absolutely not. While he is not one of my favorite players in the league, I have no reason not to like him. My Sixers are too incapable and confused for LeBron to fall into the “hated rival” category, so there is no disdain. He seems to be an excellent teammate and ambassador for the league. Both are positive traits. To top it off, it offers jaw-dropping and jaw-dropping athletic demonstrations that I have only seen once in my life and that was in NBA Jam. So yeah, I don’t hate LeBron. I have no reason to.

That being said, I don’t want him to win the title this year. This is why.

First of all, I can’t stand the Cleveland Cavaliers. From top to bottom, they reject me. Their uniforms are lousy, they’re a seventh or eighth seed (at best) without LeBron, and the team is completely annoying. We understand. Everyone loves to play on the same team. They are true heroes. I’m pretty sure if you gathered 11 basketball players from around the world and matched them with LeBron, they would be happy too. Instead of taking fake photos of each other and kissing LeBron, maybe they could help carry the load? How many times is Mo Williams going to disappear in a critical playoff series before LeBron’s knockdown knocks him off the court?

This is exactly why I can’t support LeBron to win a title this year. It would show that a single player, surrounded by average talent, could win a championship. Jordan never did. Kobe tried and failed. Iverson made a valiant effort but also fell short. This golden rule should not be broken. Even NBA superstars need a second (and possibly a third) fiddle.

This year, LeBron is once again flanked by a group of out-of-tune Cellos that he will have to drag his way deep into the postseason, something he has been doing every postseason since 2006. Cleveland’s front office has yet to do so. to give you a legitimate team to win with. That’s about them. If LeBron is titleless in July, there is a real chance that he will look at Cleveland’s roster and fire. No one could blame him either. Year after year he’s been sent to war with squirt guns and a few paintball guns, while Kobe and Paul Pierce have been wielding automatic rifles and missiles. The Cavaliers as a team don’t deserve a title. It’s not LeBron’s fault, but I can’t support his efforts to deliver a championship to a group that has seen him do all the hard work for the past four years.

The second reason I don’t want LeBron to win this year is because of partial media coverage of the so-called “King James.” Again, this isn’t entirely LeBron’s fault, but it’s painful nonetheless. Everything LeBron does is glorified on another level. There are no metaphors that are too strong for journalists and no hyperbole that is too extreme for broadcasters. On Monday night in Game 2 against the Celtics, LeBron played an unsatisfactory game (by their standards). The TNT broadcast duo of Marv Albert and Reggie Miller never offered for LeBron to have a bad night. Instead, it was his elbow this, his elbow that. Every mistake he made was due to his elbow. If he threw the ball, it was the elbow. If he missed badly on an open shot, it was the elbow. I understand that LeBron is hurt and the elbow is a problem, but in the first quarter Miller stated that the “elbow door” was put to rest and LeBron was fine. Then LeBron starts making bad decisions, and suddenly his elbow is the problem again. Hey?

Yes, he is LeBron James, and yes, he is incredibly talented. However, he is human. If you cut it, I’m sure it will bleed. You are also likely to have a bad game from time to time. Everybody does. I wish the media would tell it like it is. Not everything has to be so complicated. KISS Keep it simple and stupid. Please?

And finally, I love the other remaining teams more. If you haven’t noticed, here’s a trend. None of my reasons for not wanting LeBron to win is his fault (and yes, I just used a double negative). I know it sounds unfair, but life sucks sometimes. I’m sure LeBron will survive. However, seriously, you can’t expect me to be behind a team like Cleveland when there are so many better “teams”, right?

Take the Boston Celtics, for example. People love to hate the Celtics. They are cocky, rude and show no fear when mixing it up on the court. Guess what? I love your style. Do you think they care that LeBron is the best player in the league? No way. Here’s how I’d break it down: Boston is a bunch of fighting sharks. In the distance, there is a giant whale that no shark could ever conquer. Only that whale is surrounded by guppies. Where a shark can fail, a group can succeed. LeBron is that whale among the guppies. The Celtics have already intimidated the guppies enough to isolate the whale. Now it is only a matter of time before the whale cannot survive alone. It may not be the Boston Sharks that get the job done, but it will certainly be done before a Cleveland title.

Remember, I like LeBron James and I want him to win an NBA title. I just don’t want it to be this year.