"I've never seen so many people be so happy to see an athlete fail more than LeBron” - Anthony Edwards

[JackZZ]

^People really be proving Ant's point hard lol

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

Yah, he wasn't wrong.

[ScrantonBulls]

^People really be proving Ant's point hard lol

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Seriously, lmao. It's kind of sad.

[HMFFL]

As a resident Bron hater, just want to reiterate that it’s not really a generational thing. Jokic is amazing, Giannis had a great ring. It’s specifically and solely LeBron that’s especially lame, not everything post 2003

I can see why you feel that way and I cannot disagree.
He's brought so much of the hate on himself by how he is as a person.

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[52-12-7]

^People really be proving Ant's point hard lol

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

Seriously, lmao. It's kind of sad.

Why do you care so much that people hate him? You are on here all day trying to defend the guy when he doesn't even know you. Now that's even more sad.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

[JackZZ]

Lebron is 39 years old. Making excuses for a man that old is just as sad as attacking him.
And that's the thing with Lebron, the discussion about him seems to always spiral down to bottomless pit of hell. It just drags everyone down.
And people wonder why he isn't more popular ... yah.

[enigmatics]

There's absolutely nothing redeeming about LeBrat. He's been a complete and utter phony since he first arrived.

It has absolutely nothing to do with his talent level (which is clearly high) - but he's the equivalent of the "ick" females rant about.

[Tony15]

There's absolutely nothing redeeming about LeBrat. He's been a complete and utter phony since he first arrived.

It Hlhas absolutely nothing to do with his talent level (which is clearly high) - but he's the equivalent of the "ick" females rant about.

Sounds grudgeful....but thats your right, no matter how demented.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

[enigmatics]

There's absolutely nothing redeeming about LeBrat. He's been a complete and utter phony since he first arrived.

It Hlhas absolutely nothing to do with his talent level (which is clearly high) - but he's the equivalent of the "ick" females rant about.

Sounds grudgeful....but thats your right, no matter how demented.

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

Whatever floats your LeBron boat kemosahbee.

[ScrantonBulls]

^People really be proving Ant's point hard lol

Sent from my SM-G960U using RealGM mobile app

Seriously, lmao. It's kind of sad.

Why do you care so much that people hate him? You are on here all day trying to defend the guy when he doesn't even know you. Now that's even more sad.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

The fact that you think hating and being completely negative towards somebody you don't know is more rational and normal than being neutral or liking them is unfortunate. That's the day and age we live in unfortunately.

[52-12-7]

Seriously, lmao. It's kind of sad.

Why do you care so much that people hate him? You are on here all day trying to defend the guy when he doesn't even know you. Now that's even more sad.

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

The fact that you think hating and being completely negative towards somebody you don't know is more rational and normal than being neutral or liking them is unfortunate. That's the day and age we live in unfortunately.

I never said hating was more rational. But hating is part of the game and part of being a fan. We all have teams and players we cheer for and cheer against. What's so hard to understand that?

And you are the one here being critical and judging people calling them unintelligent and stuff. Like what the heck does the current age we live in matter? Has there ever been an era where everyone on earth was peaceful and in euphoria? Get a life dude.
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[Black Jack]

What about all the over the top hatred for Durant? Westbrook? Kyrie? Harden?

Seems to me thata specifically black American players that get targeted with extreme vitriol.

Why do some people have to resort to this? The guy who made the Lebron comment is universally liked and he's black, SGA is liked, Jamal Murray is liked, Dame was universally liked for most of his career etc.

It's not a black/white thing although there's always a few racists out there, there's over the top hatred for those guys because the best players in any sport always receive hate from a certain group of fans (Hell look at Tom Brady, a white player btw, who received tons of scrutiny during his playing days). Those guys also received hate because...well...some of it was warranted being malcontents at multiple stops requesting trades forcing trades to preferred destinations, Kyrie's warped views on certain things, Westbrook because of his general grumpiness and should I even list the ten million reasons why Lebron would receive scrutiny? Sure it's over the top, way over the top at times, but this is how fans (fanatics) tend to be. It comes with the territory.

I mean...it's just my opinion dude, I'm not accusing all white people of being like that. But there's a certain edge to the anger from some fans that I recognize sometimes.

I mean come on are you really saying there's not a racial subplot to sports debates? It's pretty blatant. I don't know why people try and play like you never see it. I don't believe you

You, all of us, have a perfect right to dislike LeBron, KD, Kyrie, Westbrook, etc. This is entertainment and we all have a perfect right to our opinions But let's not pretend Tom Brady or whoever gets the same exact treatment in the media, hatred by fans etc. Please be serious.

Anyway I get it people are never going to agree on this 100%. It is what it is.

[KennerLeaguer]

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.

[KennerLeaguer]

honestly, there's nothing more pathetic than whinging about the fact people don't share the same opinions as you.

Arguing where LeBron fits into the pantheon of greats is one thing, being upset that not everyone really likes him is another.

Are you thereby being equally pathetic about not sharing the same opinion as Edwards and pushing back against him? Pot meet kettle.

[shrink]

Is this Step Three in the “Rise to Greatness” playbook?

3. Honor superstars of the past. Show an awareness of NBA history.

Ant has honored Durant and LeBron in the past week.

[bledredwine]

3, 4 and 8 are the same thing. Lack of competitive drive is also a funny criticism for a player who has competed at the highest level for this long.
Disliking a playstyle is a interesting reason to hate a player, especially when every all time great big man is in a similar boat of dominating at the rim: Wilt, Duncan, Hakeem, etc... (and Lebrons not even close to any version of Shaq for attempts at the rim).
As is hating him for his fans lol

Funny criticism? Everyone was criticizing him for this reason. The big 3 decision and stating "not 6, not 7, not 8" before playing a game, as if they had already won was proof. Quitting on his team multiple times? Not guarding Kevin Durant in the finals? Wouldn't you consider flopping and checking out on defense indications as well?

How about my signature?

I get it, you're a fan. But he's made plenty of uncompetitive actions and you already know that I'm not the only one who's hated those actions.

Yeah the decision is on black mark on a 20 year career. When did he quit on his team multiple times?
I don't think clutch buckets or guarding Kevin Durant have anything to do with competitive drive.
You don't think playing at an All NBA level for 20+ years requires an insane level of competitive drive?

He quit against the Celtics on the Cavs before forming the Heatles. Cleveland was furious- I lived there at the time.
He's also visibly quit on defense often and has quit

Here's a Lebron fan who believes he's GOAT pointing out an example on the lakers, but he's also quit on defense many times and Cleary, if you leave your team for another to ring chase, then you're showing that you're quitting on them as well

Watch on YouTube

[Gregoire]

Im apologies for quoting and repeating, but this mix of two quotes I think give the best and perfect impersonation of who LeBron is and why is he so despised:

"Yeah shocking how many people root against a guy who cheats, flops, constantly whines, throws his teammates under the bus, and generally acts likes a self centered drama queen."


"1. Quitting multiple times on court
2. Only top ten player who participates in flopping
3. Leaving teams as soon as they couldn't win it all, trying to ring chase
4. Forming teams with other top 10 players
5. Caring more about legacy and stats than team success, and it ha's manifested exactly as it should have.
6. Lives off of his 0-3 foot game (I also couldn't stand Orlando Magic Shaq for this reason)
7. The fans who overrate him and love putting down Kobe, of course.
8. Though related directly to #3/4, the Miami Big 3 was the most cheating move in NBA history, alongside Durant. Then stating "not 6, not 7, not 8" in tandem showed a complete lack of competitive drive, if he's to be considered a fierce competitor, which just isn't. He's not Bird, Wilt, Magic Kobe or Jordan when it comes to that."

Also, his main goal in sports became ring-chasing in order to "Ghost-chasing" (self-admitted), its very easy to support such a player, right? Its great that both his goals arent and wouldnt completed

[bledredwine]

Im apologies for quoting and repeating, but this mix of two quotes I think give the best and perfect impersonation of who LeBron is and why is he so despised:

"Yeah shocking how many people root against a guy who cheats, flops, constantly whines, throws his teammates under the bus, and generally acts likes a self centered drama queen."


"1. Quitting multiple times on court
2. Only top ten player who participates in flopping
3. Leaving teams as soon as they couldn't win it all, trying to ring chase
4. Forming teams with other top 10 players
5. Caring more about legacy and stats than team success, and it ha's manifested exactly as it should have.
6. Lives off of his 0-3 foot game (I also couldn't stand Orlando Magic Shaq for this reason)
7. The fans who overrate him and love putting down Kobe, of course.
8. Though related directly to #3/4, the Miami Big 3 was the most cheating move in NBA history, alongside Durant. Then stating "not 6, not 7, not 8" in tandem showed a complete lack of competitive drive, if he's to be considered a fierce competitor, which just isn't. He's not Bird, Wilt, Magic Kobe or Jordan when it comes to that."

Also, his main goal in sports became ring-chasing in order to "Ghost-chasing" (self-admitted), its very easy to support such a player, right? Its great that both his goals arent and wouldnt completed

You could also add cherry-picking shots during his Miami days.

There are plenty of reason not to like him. I like fierce competition in sports. I'm a boxer, can't help it.
Lebron is the opposite of that and I don't like the example that he's set in free agency. It's been annoying seeing
other players bandwagon to opposing teams or even foes.

By the way, he's probably about to quit on another team, a team with Anthony Davis who was one of the best players in the playoffs. As for more testament to his lack of competition, Lebron simply states "It's just basketball" in the interview following their loss. No one can question my annoyance with his competitive desire after all of this. It's valid and as supported by evidence as humanly possible.

For the record, I don't necessarily agree with everything this guy says, but Lebron's footage is in there.

Watch on YouTube

[Gregoire]

Im apologies for quoting and repeating, but this mix of two quotes I think give the best and perfect impersonation of who LeBron is and why is he so despised:

"Yeah shocking how many people root against a guy who cheats, flops, constantly whines, throws his teammates under the bus, and generally acts likes a self centered drama queen."


"1. Quitting multiple times on court
2. Only top ten player who participates in flopping
3. Leaving teams as soon as they couldn't win it all, trying to ring chase
4. Forming teams with other top 10 players
5. Caring more about legacy and stats than team success, and it ha's manifested exactly as it should have.
6. Lives off of his 0-3 foot game (I also couldn't stand Orlando Magic Shaq for this reason)
7. The fans who overrate him and love putting down Kobe, of course.
8. Though related directly to #3/4, the Miami Big 3 was the most cheating move in NBA history, alongside Durant. Then stating "not 6, not 7, not 8" in tandem showed a complete lack of competitive drive, if he's to be considered a fierce competitor, which just isn't. He's not Bird, Wilt, Magic Kobe or Jordan when it comes to that."

Also, his main goal in sports became ring-chasing in order to "Ghost-chasing" (self-admitted), its very easy to support such a player, right? Its great that both his goals arent and wouldnt completed

You could also add cherry-picking shots during his Miami days.

There are plenty of reason not to like him. I like fierce competition in sports. I'm a boxer, can't help it.
Lebron is the opposite of that and I don't like the example that he's set in free agency. It's been annoying seeing
other players bandwagon to opposing teams or even foes.

Exactly.

Also listen this. Its voice of people, who despise coward running away from problems to different team with superstars.

Watch on YouTube

[EmpireFalls]

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.

Hey man, no one probably read your post but I did. Good writing and clearly heartfelt. I ultimately think that you can find something to dislike in every celebrity and the key is to never put another human being in such idolatry.

[EmpireFalls]

Im apologies for quoting and repeating, but this mix of two quotes I think give the best and perfect impersonation of who LeBron is and why is he so despised:

"Yeah shocking how many people root against a guy who cheats, flops, constantly whines, throws his teammates under the bus, and generally acts likes a self centered drama queen."


"1. Quitting multiple times on court
2. Only top ten player who participates in flopping
3. Leaving teams as soon as they couldn't win it all, trying to ring chase
4. Forming teams with other top 10 players
5. Caring more about legacy and stats than team success, and it ha's manifested exactly as it should have.
6. Lives off of his 0-3 foot game (I also couldn't stand Orlando Magic Shaq for this reason)
7. The fans who overrate him and love putting down Kobe, of course.
8. Though related directly to #3/4, the Miami Big 3 was the most cheating move in NBA history, alongside Durant. Then stating "not 6, not 7, not 8" in tandem showed a complete lack of competitive drive, if he's to be considered a fierce competitor, which just isn't. He's not Bird, Wilt, Magic Kobe or Jordan when it comes to that."

Also, his main goal in sports became ring-chasing in order to "Ghost-chasing" (self-admitted), its very easy to support such a player, right? Its great that both his goals arent and wouldnt completed

You could also add cherry-picking shots during his Miami days.

There are plenty of reason not to like him. I like fierce competition in sports. I'm a boxer, can't help it.
Lebron is the opposite of that and I don't like the example that he's set in free agency. It's been annoying seeing
other players bandwagon to opposing teams or even foes.

Exactly.

Also listen this. Its voice of people, who despise coward running away from problems to different team with superstars.

Watch on YouTube

You guys have a point, these are all very valid reasons to dislike the guy. I personally don’t disagree with any of them.

But I constantly see you two posting almost solely anti-LeBron screeds, to the point where I quite literally can’t remember another post from either of you that wasn’t either about LeBron or tangentially related to how much you dislike him and how much better Jordan was etc. You are constantly and I do mean obsessively attempting to convince people to join you in your deeply rooted dislike of him.

Additionally you both have him in your signature, the appendix to every single post you make on this forum, so in a sense you do literally talk about LeBron in every single post you’ve made (thousands for both of you) on this forum.

So clearly he means quite a lot to you, deeply affects you enough to have him in your signature, consistently talk about him, consistently bring up your dislike and hatred for him. What is so special about him exactly? How has he affected you so deeply?