Lebron has won my respect.

[syfy9]

I fully believe Lebron James will break down crying if he wins a championship. I want to see that - I want to see this now mature man overcome all of the hatred and ridicule and be a champion. He's taking the game much more seriously now. I expect him to be on the floor crying if he wins - I've been on a winning team myself, and I had a teammate (a senior) that had a breakdown. It was such a beautiful and inspiring scene.

The way he's handling himself now, staying serious through the whole game, proves he's not the same as he was 2 years ago.
It would be horrible to be Lebron - a top 2 best player in the world and a top 1 most hated player in the world. I think he's finally channeling that hatred into the way he sees the game of basketball.

[KGs Knee]

   no, that's not the one....

   nope, not it either...

   closer, but not quite...

shoot, no puke emoticon!  that was the one i was looking for.

[Eja117]

You know who has won my respect? That kid on the playground who never wanted to risk losing so he always made sure to play with the other kid who was about as good as him, then they picked the next best guy and would say "What? You got Melvin! Melvin is good!"  That kid has won my respect.
Also those small countries that allied with Hitler even though he didn't need them. Hungary and Mussolini. They played a good game. They fought hard. They totally won my respect. And Jar Jar Binks.  And the Arab Sheik that bought every horse in the Kentucky Derby. And those guys on Wall Street that hedged their hedges with more hedges and then hedged some more and needed to be bailed out, then used the money to give themselves bonuses. They all earned my respect. Good game. Good effort.

[Eja117]

Also the refs. They've done a great job this year. And David Stern. Heck of a commissioner. They've won my respect. And Switzerland for their world leadership. Good job. Good effort.

And Congress! How could I forget them? All those committees. Way to go!

[KGs Knee]

Eja, you are one funny dude!  Where do you get this stuff?

Tp for you!

[Eja117]

Eja, you are one funny dude!  Where do you get this stuff?

Tp for you!

Real life.  Real life is absolutely absurd. It literally writes itself.

[tenn_smoothie]

"Lebron has won my respect"

huh ?

i lost even more respect for the guy (if that's possible) with that nauseating walk to the bench on the late time-out - dragging his leg like he was Willis Reed.

i'm sure he sprained his ankle or cramped up or whatever, but he played it for all it was worth just to draw attention to himself in one more attempt to gain some credibility as a mentally tough player. i repeat, It Was All About Him.

he's hit some big shots these past couple of years in the playoffs, yes, good for him - i'll give him credit for being an absolute physical basketball freak.

i look at Lebron as the modern Wilt - a guy who is physically way beyond the league they respectively played in and who can do lots of different things spectacularly. but he still lacks the the heart & mindset of Russell, West, Cowens, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Hakeem, Garnett and even Bryant, though i think he may be even more self-centered than James.

even Wilt finally won a couple of titles, but that didn't make him Russell's equal........

 and Lebron hasn't won anything yet.

[soap07]

"Lebron has won my respect"

huh ?

i lost even more respect for the guy (if that's possible) with that nauseating walk to the bench on the late time-out - dragging his leg like he was Willis Reed.

i'm sure he sprained his ankle or cramped up or whatever, but he played it for all it was worth just to draw attention to himself in one more attempt to gain some credibility as a mentally tough player. i repeat, It Was All About Him.

he's hit some big shots these past couple of years in the playoffs, yes, good for him - i'll give him credit for being an absolute physical basketball freak.

i look at Lebron as the modern Wilt - a guy who is physically way beyond the league they respectively played in and who can do lots of different things spectacularly. but he still lacks the the heart & mindset of Russell, West, Cowens, Bird, Magic, Jordan, Hakeem, Garnett and even Bryant, though i think he may be even more self-centered than James.

even Wilt finally won a couple of titles, but that didn't make him Russell's equal........

 and Lebron hasn't won anything yet.

I'm curious - have you ever cramped up while playing? If so, were you able to play right away with no hinderance whatsoever and with no searing pain? And if that is the case, are you a demi-god of some sort?

[Eja117]

Is it common for world class athletes in their prime to just suddenly cramp up at the end of a long game?

[soap07]

Is it common for world class athletes in their prime to just suddenly cramp up at the end of a long game?

...sometimes? Cramps are sometimes random occurrences.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Im never gonna disrespect LeBron's game. The guy is the best player in the world

But he will never win my respect as a competitor. What he did, and if he wins, what it'll do to NBA would be devastating for the league and the fans alike. Never will I respect him again as a competitor.

[biggbird]

Is it common for world class athletes in their prime to just suddenly cramp up at the end of a long game?

...sometimes? Cramps are sometimes random occurrences.

What's his minutes average for the playoffs? Dude's been playing a hell of a lot, no real surprise to me that he cramped up.

And to all the people calling him out for going off and coming back, I hope you were doing the same when Pierce did it.

[Celtic Fan Forever]

I will NEVER respect LeBron James. He betrayed an entire city and basically showed he wasn't good enough to win without 2 other major superstars. Even Jordan said it: "There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry [Bird], called up Magic [Johnson] and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,'"

[bfrombleacher]

I agree with the OP.

The way Lebron played. It changed my life. I was wrong all along.
 
Watching Lebron play basketball has healed my apathy, cured my heartburn. I'm making peace with my neighbor as we speak.

I would take a bullet for LeBron. He's a genius, the ultimate human.

[blink]

I have to agree with this.  Sometimes there is no logic to when cramps hit.  I doubt he was faking it, he was one rebound from a triple double...

Is it common for world class athletes in their prime to just suddenly cramp up at the end of a long game?

...sometimes? Cramps are sometimes random occurrences.