LeBron James tends to send some cryptic messages every now and then on social media, and we got another one recently. James took to Instagram to share some comments made by Christopher Nolan on that iconic line in his film, The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain.”
Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent delivered this line in that second film of the Dark Knight Trilogy, and he was referring to Julius Caesar and Batman. The actual line was a little bit different in the film, but it conveys the same point regardless.
I think what Nolan mentioned at the end there is perfectly applicable to the NBA world and it’s what I think LeBron meant to convey as well when he shared this. So many young stars get built up and held on this pedestal by the media and fans, only to then be torn down by them.
LeBron saw that happen to himself as well. He was the darling of the basketball world as a teenager, was hailed as ‘The Chosen One,’ and had incredible expectations placed on him. Then, just because ultimate success in the NBA didn’t come immediately, the teardown slowly began. When LeBron finally did break through and win, the critics started waiting for the next time he would fail, so they could tear him down again.
Something like this might well happen to Anthony Edwards as well. He is the one now being held up on that pedestal, being compared to Michael Jordan and whatnot. If he doesn’t win in the next few years, he’ll start being torn down too.
Interestingly, this is not the first time that James has brought up that line from the film. He posted it all the way back in 2011 on X (then known as Twitter) as well.
“Dark Knight Feeling, Die or be a Hero, or Live Long Enough to Yourself Become a Villain.”
"Dark Knight Feeling, Die or be a Hero, or Live Long Enough to Yourself Become a Villain"
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 1, 2011
LeBron had, in a way, lived long enough to be the villain at that point. He had left the Cleveland Cavaliers to form a super team with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat in 2010. Returning to the Cavaliers in 2014 and then winning a championship in 2016 certainly helped his image afterward, but during those four seasons with the Heat, James truly was the villain.
Will LeBron James Opt-Out And Re-Sign With The Lakers?
Some have viewed that story as James indicating he might be leaving the Los Angeles Lakers to form another superteam as he did with the Heat, but I don’t think that’s the case. LeBron is expected to opt out of his $51.4 million player option for 2024-25 with the Lakers and become a free agent, but I think the 20-time All-Star will remain in LA.
As per ESPN’s Bobby Marks, LeBron can get a deal worth $164 million over three years if he opts in and extends. If the 39-year-old opts out and re-signs, the max he would get is $161 million, but he would be eligible to get a no-trade clause.
I think that clause is something LeBron would want and losing out on a couple of million dollars isn’t something he would be losing too much sleep over. On the other side of this, we would normally say it’s crazy to give a man who is almost 40 years old that kind of deal, but James did just average 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in the regular season. There is certainly gas left in the tank.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
