No player in the NBA is bigger or richer than LeBron James. In the same month, the guy not only starred in his own movie but also became the first active basketball player to join the $1 billion club.
Still, despite all that LeBron has accomplished in his life and career, he still has more than his fair share of haters.
Jason Whitlock is at the top of the list, and once again took a jab at the King, who he blames for the country’s apparent indifference towards the Olympics.
Post-playing career, LeBron is not going to age well. He won’t be beloved the way Muhammad Ali was and Magic Johnson is. Ali stood against the Vietnam War. Magic has battled AIDS with dignity. Ali and Magic fought something real and dangerous. Lebron? Well, he compared himself to Emmett Till’s mother after an unidentified bandit allegedly spray-painted the back gate on his $20-million mansion. Oh, and he pretended to be petrified of going outside. LeBron’s a real freedom fighter.
American indifference to basketball and the Olympics falls at the feet of one man. LeBron won't be remembered the way we remember Ali, Jordan and Magic. pic.twitter.com/1KlvWUeCSL
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) July 26, 2021
Whitlock goes on to explain the difference between old-school players and LeBron, and how his attitude has changed the dynamic of basketball as a whole.
American basketball is in a worse place than where LeBron found it.
That’s what separates him from Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Russell.
Thirty years ago, when Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird led a Dream Team into the 1992 Olympics, there was talk that the NBA would overtake football as America’s pastime. Magic, Air Jordan, Larry Legend, Sir Charles, The Admiral, The Mailman, The Glide, and Pip were household names and American superheroes. They barnstormed Barcelona, repped American exceptionalism and made us all swell with pride.
Now we swell with indifference.
LeBron chose not to participate in the Olympics this summer, which is totally within his right.
Unfortunately, with Team USA struggling, it’s clear that they miss his presence.
Whether or not it’s fair to cast blame on Bron, he isn’t meeting the expectations some folk have for him.
It just comes with the territory of being the best player on the planet.
