KennerLeaguer wrote:Even though I prefer the NBA, one of the things that makes the NFL better is that it does not have fans who are so invested in tearing down legendary football players. NBA fanboys, though, get oxygen from taking shots at dudes who have brought excellence to the sport of basketball. One of the commentators in this thread actually referred to LeBron fans as a cult without realizing the even greater cult are the zealot LeBron detractors.
But if we are going to play this game of taking shots (at times personal.ones)at legit great NBA guys then let me go all in. I keep reading comments in this thread of people explaining their dislike of LeBron because of his so-called actions or behavior, often without providing context. Okay. Let me talk about Michael Jordan. With context.
Even though I am a much bigger fan of LeBron, there is no doubt that Jordan is the GOAT. I am old enough to have been around to watch Jordan during his prime and while there are elements of LeBron's game that are superior (passing, rebounding, seeing the whole court, involving his teammates more) and while his longevity as an elite-like productive player far exceeds Jordan's, MJ was such a dominant terror on the court and had such a superior post season track record that he deserves top billing on the greatest NBA list. Kareem may be second although he was before my time.
That said there were things I did not care for regarding Jordan. He belittled other players and belittled other coaches routinely. He and his teammates and coaches on the Bulls commonly used the press to deride lesser opponents. The equivalent would be if LeBron James and his Heat teammates had chosen to disparage , say, Roy Hibbert in between games of playoff series involving the Pacers and Heat. Like a high school jock king, if you were not part of his clique MJ could be ruthless to you, even if you were a member or staff of his own team. Its one thing to put a fire under your teammates, its quite another thing to be an a-hole. The way MJ treated a guy like Bill Cartwright was uncalled for, it was the act of a bully picking on the weakest guy in the room. The extent of how MJ would go to be derisive of his general manager Jerry Krause was crass and FAR WORST than what modern NBA get chewed out for doing to their coaches and their gms. Krause had his faults but Jordan made it personal to the extent of making fun of Krause's physical appearance. That was uncalled for and childish. He would do this through the media of which a dozen or so of Jordan worshippers (like Michael Wilbon) would always do his dirty work and spread the gospel; if Jordan had a problem with someone than they too would have a problem with that same person and go ahead to deride that individual in their columns and writeups. Krause is dead and gone but Jordan still couldn't stop himself from taking shots at the deceased in his ESPN doc series. Per usual Jordan made himself the victim.
That's another annoying thing about Jordan : his never-ending grudges. I understand using slights as motivation, but MJ could never let it go. You would think I. Thomas had had an affair with Jordan's wife considering the beef Jordan still has with him. Even worse was how Jordan's persecution complex led him to conjuring up slights against him in order to take it out on a particular player, even if that other player never disrespected him.
The media protected Jordan. The media tended to overlook or excuse his faults and occasional bad behavior. Wearing the flag over the Team USA uniform during the awarding of the gold medal in the 1992 Olympics in order to hide the insignia of a rival competitor to Nike? Could you imagine the pushback against LeBron if he had made a similar "business decision" in the midst of representing his country? Jordan was cheating on his wife with porn stars but only the celeb gossip media covered that. Jordan was a semi gambling addict who likely crossed paths with some shady characters when he fed that hunger. I do not believe the conspiracy theories that 1)Jordan's father was murdered in retaliation by men whom Jordan owed money to or 2)that Jordan retired because David Stern told him it was either that or him suspending Jordan over his gambling pursuits. But can you imagine how LeBron haters would go wild with theories and speculations if LeBron was in a similar circumstance?
And while some profess to prefer celebs who do not discuss political issues, Jordan was a downright coward when it came to addressing ANYTHING. Also from my perspective of rooting against MJ's Bulls throughout their great run, Jordan complained to refs way too often when not getting a favorable call. It didn't matter that he would get the benefit of the doubt 4 out of 5 times from refs, he could come across as being entitled as he frowned and walk over to a ref to talk with him if the refs blew the whistle on him. Jordan was in fact the first NBA star I heard fans cry about ( on sports talk radio) getting preferential treatment. That type of whining by NBA fans is all the rage now but the Jordan era introduced it.
Lets move on to Kobe. There are some great books and reporting out there that portray how Kobe was even a greater terror to his teammates, but in Kobe's case he did it from the jump. After coming directly out of high school! For his first six or so years he was more hated by his teammates than beloved by them. He intentionally isolated himself from doing any personal things with them offcourt. He came into the league with a diva complex, making a stance he would only accept being drafted by a small number of teams. Was that not arrogant? Shaq obviously was bad at staying in shape, but Kobe may be the only teammate that he despised for a prolonged time. Shaq may be revisionist about it now following Kobe's death, but there is too much reporting out there to deny this. Phil Jackson had to step away and take a break from coaching the Lakers because of issues he had with Kobe. Period. He eventually came back and the two of them put their differences aside. That does not change the fact that Kobe's personality and behavior rubbed him the wrong way.
Kobe was widely reported by LA journalists as being an extremely critical of and often petulant towards the Lakers front office. He held the threat of leaving the franchise over them pretty often. After getting his way with Shaq leaving, Kobe blamed the Lakers inability to make the playoffs on the Lakers management. When they brought back Phil Jackson but Kobe could not get the Lakers past the first round for multiple years, Kobe once more went on a tangent demanding better teammates if the Lakers wanted to keep him. Is this not the same thing people fault LeBron for?
Kobe had the benefit of being raised in an upperclass household by loving parents but ended up cutting ties to his entire family and abandoning them. This all began because they had doubts about Kobe's relationship and later marriage to his teen bride, Vanessa. I get how that would rub Kobe wrong but they were still his parents and to be perfectly frank based on what Kobe did that almost led to the end of marriage suggests his folks may have been on to something about his maturity. More on that later. I have heard that Kobe left nothing to his parents in his will. Have not confirmed this but if so that demonstrates a hell of a grudge. Personally I do tend to judge people by how they treat their kin, unless those kin were awful human beings.
Kobe was highly intelligent and professional. He was a true student of the game. Yet he still played too much Hero Ball. He was an inefficient version of Jordan, jacking up shots as he chased points. Never understood why fans found that fun to watch. Nonetheless I looked forward to Kobe's post-basketball career from a business perspective. He seemed on the verge of building a credible entertainment empire. However what I did not care for were his side gigs coaching up girl basketball way teams. That one report of Kobe deriding preteen girls for a losing performance as if he thought he was some drill instructor chewing out his marine recruits was so in character for Kobe. Others saw that as Mamba Mentality and used that view to excuse Kobe, as they had throughout his career when dealing with his teammates. I however saw that as a bit psychotic and another example of Kobe not grasping context.
However nothing tarnishes Kobe's legacy like Colorado. Tell me what other NBA star ended up stupidly inflicting so much damage to himself, what other star did something so morally reprehensible? At the very least he had an affair with a 19 year old member of a hotel staff. At the very worst he raped her. The fact that the young lady refused to testify in court means next to nothing. People should check out Thomas Boswell's reporting on the case and what Kobe and his army of lawyers did to make this lady's life miserable. There was a civil suit settlement in which Kobe had to give up loads of cash. And then everyone got collective amnesia. Fans. Media. The league. Everyone just pretended nothing ever happened and Kobe was mainly able to retain status as a good guy who was a great face for the NBA.
Why did I write all of this? I am taking aim at the hypocrisy that many in this thread have spread when theorizing that LeBron is widely hated because of his actions, his conduct, his behavior. What did LeBron do that was any worse than what MJ and Kobe did? Actually what did he do that comes close to the actions of those two guys? The answer is "nothing". So why is there more derision towards LeBron? The hate he gets says more about the people who personally dislike him than it says about him.
Well im old too and watched late 80s nba and beyond. Jordan, Kobe, and other superstar players like them have their faults. Jordan was an a-hole to his teammates and the way he treated Krause or dressed down Krause at times was uncalled for. Yea the dude gambled and bitched about no-calls like everybody else in the nba does. But his father was killed and what evidence do you have that Stern banned him instead of him retiring because of the death of his father lol? You are throwing conspiracy theories out about a player while calling people out for making up stuff about James. You see the hypocrisy in this?
Ive never wished ill will towards James or his family and i dont hate the guy. But i cant stand him and find him egregiously annoying. What did he say after the bubble championship? “I want my damn respect”? Seriously? Self proclaiming himself as the goat? Telling a police officer “your next” on social media? Saying his son is better than a bunch of current nba players. His jesture to that lady in the stands the other night. Storming off the court when he loses. Teaming up with other superstar players. Mocking Dirk. Yea man im really not a fan of the guy. And ive disliked other nba players too. Kobe, Malone, Lambieer, I Thomas, Iverson, and some others. Its ok to not like an athlete.
@ anyone saying LeBron hate started with The Decision. Might want to check some nba forum archives pre-2011. Especially some playoff game threads. LeBron was easily NBA's most polarizing athlete long before The Heatles.
