Before his fourth quarter tear in the All-Star game, before his fourth quarter blunder that people are now killing him for, before a lackluster dunk contest that begged for the athleticism and star power he brings, Miami Heat forward LeBron James was just another All-Star helping at a community service event Saturday morning.
According to Marc J. Spears with Yahoo! Sports, LeBron discussed a number of issues after a dedication at a renovated Boys & Girls Club in Orlando, including “The Decision”, last year’s finals and Jeremy Lin. Fielding a question about whether he had the killer instinct like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, LeBron responded by using another hall of famer as someone he can look up to while he chases his first ring.
“Champions come in different shapes, sizes and forms,” James said. “Everyone always compares Kobe to Jordan and says they always have had that killer mentality. They always had that dagger, that dog. Then you look at Magic [Johnson], and people say that he was fun to play with. He was great. He always had his teammates’ back. He always got his teammates involved. He was a champion as well. They come in different shapes and sizes and forms and different colors as well. For me, I see myself on the side of the Magic range where I love my teammates, love being around them. I want them to be happy as well. At the same time, dominate the game, as well. I got a long way to go still to get to [Jordan’s and Bryant’s] levels to get multiple championships. Hopefully, I can get there someday.”
I like the response. There’s nothing that says you need to act like MJ or Kobe to win a title. Guys can be great, be a great teammate and win an NBA title at the same time. Magic is a great example. Here’s another example for LeBron to look at: Dirk Nowitzki. By all accounts, the guy is a great teammate and is now a champion, but before last year a lot of people thought he was soft. Now Dirk can give any of his former doubters (this writer included) the finger when they bring up him being soft. He probably won’t because he seems like a good dude, but he could and guys like me could only say “the reigning Finals MVP just gave me the finger”.
LeBron is going to win a title one day, possibly this June. My question is once he wins will it be easier for him to not over think key moments in game and just relax a little, or will he just feel pressure to win more rings? Can he do both. Only time will tell.