HEAT/Spurs Game 7

[Landshark]

Realistically, what did LeBron do to deserve all the hate?  People mad about the LeBron-a-thon thing on ESPN from 3 years ago?  Still?  Really?  Or people mad that he wanted to go to a team where his buddy was playing?

Is that really deserving?

Is he a drug dealer?  Does he run a dog-fighting ring?  Does he go kicking people's dogs or punching babies?  Or you just hate him because he's a great player and doesn't play for your favorite team?

I just don't understand all the LeBron hate.  If you live in Cleveland, fine.  Then I get it.  But most people hating on him (and the Heat as a whole) just because, and can't even explain why.

We like to build people up, tear them down, and then build them up again.

People loved to see Lebron rise up as a rookie.  Then, they wanted to tear him down.  They used "The Decision", a charity show that raised millions for the YMCA to justify it.  Plus, the fact that he went to the small market HEAT, instead of LA, Chicago, NY, etc -- that pissed people off, too.

It's the way he went about it.  The Decision was him acting all big, bad, and cocky and selling out his hometown team up the Cuyahoga.  That one night right there earned him all this hate.  If he had quietly gone about signing his contract with the Heat like the other free agents did, there wouldn't be all this fuss.

[Brian Fein]

^^ Is that really a valid reason to hate the guy all these years later?  Do you hate ESPN for wanting him to do it?  Do you hate the charities he gave the proceeds to?

I don't understand how you could hate a guy for raising money to charity.  Everyone says he's the best basketball player in the game.  Maybe in the world.  And you hate him because he went on TV 3 years ago to make an announcement?

Seems extremely shallow.

[Sunstroke]

^^ Is that really a valid reason to hate the guy all these years later?  Do you hate ESPN for wanting him to do it?  Do you hate the charities he gave the proceeds to?

I don't understand how you could hate a guy for raising money to charity.  Everyone says he's the best basketball player in the game.  Maybe in the world.  And you hate him because he went on TV 3 years ago to make an announcement?

Seems extremely shallow. 

I agree completely...puddle-caliber shallow.  IMO, other than true Cavaliers fans, anyone who harbors a shitload of hate for LeBron because of "The Decision" should seek professional psychological help.

[Landshark]

^^ Is that really a valid reason to hate the guy all these years later?  Do you hate ESPN for wanting him to do it?  Do you hate the charities he gave the proceeds to?

I don't understand how you could hate a guy for raising money to charity.  Everyone says he's the best basketball player in the game.  Maybe in the world.  And you hate him because he went on TV 3 years ago to make an announcement?

Seems extremely shallow.

Hey easy now.  My post was analyzing why he is hated by most diehard NBA fans and doesn't apply to me personally.  I'll stop short of saying he is the best in the game.  There are a number of other players deserving of that honor

[Brian Fein]

^^ I'm addressing it to the same people you speak of.

But I'd love to hear your discussion of who you think is a better basketball player than LeBron James right now.

[Landshark]

^^ I'm addressing it to the same people you speak of.

But I'd love to hear your discussion of who you think is a better basketball player than LeBron James right now.

Are you referring to current players or all time? Right now he is the best but if you drop him back in the mid 90s when teams were actually allowed to play D, he wouldn't stand a chance.

[Spider-Dan]

^^ Is that really a valid reason to hate the guy all these years later?

When would people have stopped?

People didn't like Kobe because of the Colorado deal and the way he ran off Shaq.  People still don't like Kobe today.  Why would they change their mind?

[Spider-Dan]

Are you referring to current players or all time? Right now he is the best but if you drop him back in the mid 90s when teams were actually allowed to play D, he wouldn't stand a chance.

And what if you put the players from the '90s in the '60s?

This excuse is tired.

[bsmooth]

Realistically, what did LeBron do to deserve all the hate?  People mad about the LeBron-a-thon thing on ESPN from 3 years ago?  Still?  Really?  Or people mad that he wanted to go to a team where his buddy was playing?

Is that really deserving?

Is he a drug dealer?  Does he run a dog-fighting ring?  Does he go kicking people's dogs or punching babies?  Or you just hate him because he's a great player and doesn't play for your favorite team?

I just don't understand all the LeBron hate.  If you live in Cleveland, fine.  Then I get it.  But most people hating on him (and the Heat as a whole) just because, and can't even explain why.

First of all, the use of the word hate is thrown around way too much. I do not hate LeBron. He is a great basketball player. However I do not like him as a person. He totally fucked the Cavaliers and their fans just to pump up his own ego. Same with the Decision, he did that to assuage his over inflated ego again...the charity thing was a p.r. move to lessen the negative reaction. Of course their is the whole calling himself King James before he accomplished anything. Then we have the pep rally and the talking about all the championships they are going to win.
You can respect a player for their ability on the court, while simultaneously not liking them off court or their behavior. The problem with fanbois, is they cannot fathom that people are capable of this kind of thought process and therefore constantly accuse others of "hatin".
Do I hate ESPN for collaborating with LeBron's egofest? No. But then again I have lost a lot of respect for ESPN in general and this was just another example of why I do not like ESPN. It was cheesy, and classless, but it made great ratings for them.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ How did he "fuck the Cavaliers and their fans?" By leaving via free agency? Or by giving them seven of the best seasons that their franchise has ever had?

As for The Decision, LeBron wasn't even in the building when Jim Gray came up with the idea and pitched it to the CEO of James' marketing company and a talent scout named Ari Emanuel. Unless you're claiming ego by proxy or something...

He also didn't give himself the nickname "King James." It came either from his HS teammates or the HS basketball announcers, depending on which reports you believe.

I'm summing up your post as "Haters really hate being called haters."

[Brian Fein]

Wow, telling Heat fans that they're going to win championships at a pep rally for Heat fans.  The gall of him!  What an egomaniac!  That event wasn't even supposed to be televised.

Heaven forbid a guy should try to get fans amped up after one of the franchise's biggest free agent signings.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ Arguably the biggest free agent signing ever, by any franchise...

[Dave Gray]

It's such sour grapes.

The reason that he's hated is because he had a press conference (FOR CHARITY!).

Get. The. Fuck. Out.

People hate him because they WANT to hate him.  He's a MODEL NBA player: not in trouble, doesn't have a big mouth, doesn't talk a lot of trash, respectful to teammates, the media, and the fans, and the community -- he SMART and he even took less money (people say it's always about the money) to play with his friends.  It's what everyone claims that they want, until they actually get it.  He may have an occasional slip up or is taken out of context, because he's a person, but the guy is a model citizen and player for 9 years.

He gave the Cavs the best 6 years of their franchise's existence and dipshit Dan Gilbert took it for granted and never tried to bring anyone else in there.  Lebron kept his options open to get the best deal for himself and chose the HEAT, because they had the foresight to clear the cap room.  Then the "fans" in Cleveland burn their native son in effigy and Gilbert public badmouths him.  F that garbage useless, jobless town.

[Landshark]

And what if you put the players from the '90s in the '60s?

This excuse is tired.

Do you honestly believe LBJ would be able to penetrate and score with guys like Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, or Patrick Ewing in the paint?  Get real.  They would swat him down like a bug.

[Sunstroke]

^^^ Was Michael Jordan able to penetrate and score with those guys in the paint? If you answer yes, then yes...I believe LeBron could have had the same level of success.

The fact that Barkley was on that list does sort of detract from your point though. Barkley's only basketball skill was having a wide ass to back his way down into the low post.