First and foremost, let it be known, I’m the biggest LeBron
James fan, but I’m also his biggest critic, at least in my own eyes. I was
watching First Take the other day and Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith were
debating something that was very intriguing; the fact that LeBron James and
Kevin Durant are working out together again this summer. And it had me
thinking, should athletes of the NBA distance themselves from their competition?
The days where players naturally hated their opponent are gone. Granted you
never saw Michael Jordan working out with Larry Bird or Magic working out with Isaiah
Thomas, but, this relationship formed by LeBron and Durant is something the NBA
has done on its own. With all the new rules, dress codes, and push for
sportsmanship after the infamous “Palace Brawl” that once scarred the league,
the NBA has done its best to lose its “bad boy” image of the past. Yes, you’ve
still got your trash talk and technical fouls and altercations here and there,
but tell me the NBA Finals last season wasn’t one of the most competitive if
not, fun to watch series in a very long time, I’ll wait.
Now, is it good that two of the biggest names in the NBA are
working out together? Yes, it is good because you see the carry over, you see
what each player has learned and improved upon. LeBron’s jump shot and shot
selection last season was much improved; can we credit Durant for that? Durant
actually posted up a lot more last season than he did any other previous
seasons; can we credit LeBron for that? Don’t get me wrong, yes, they’re two of
the biggest names in the NBA but what you can’t take away from their
relationship is the fact that you don’t see one of them taking it easier on the
other. If anything, you see that it’s harder for the other to score when they’re
guarding each other because they know every in and out of each other’s game;
THAT’S competition at it’s finest.
I remember the days
when my sister’s would bully me on the court because I was smaller than them
even though they were girls. But naturally, they were better because they knew
my weaknesses, what I didn’t do well, what they could do well, and so on.
Basketball isn’t football. Basketball is all about timing and knowing where
players are going be on certain cuts and screens. Basketball is about scoring
two or three points based on taking what the defense gives you and doing what
works in order to win. Basketball is a much more fluid sport than football. You’re
not resetting every time and lining back up, you have 24 seconds to score each
possession, that’s it. That’s where I think the fan’s perspective is lost. All
you hear is “LeBron and Durant are working out together,” but to what extent?
We, as fans, don’t really know, but we’re forced to look at the NBA’s history
and make snap judgments. Yes, Bird and Jordan would never work out together but
when Jordan came in the league, not many people liked him because of how good
he was. Players even went as far as to not pass Jordan the ball in the 1985 All
Star Game. It wasn’t until that 1992 Olympics in Barcelona that those players really
put down their pride and egos and worked together for a common cause: Winning.
LeBron and Durant working out together is about winning.
Their relationship is built on and has always been about winning. Many fans
screamed at LeBron to stop talking and win a ring, he did that. Why can’t
Durant learn from a guy like that? LeBron took the most criticism out of any player
for two seasons, not because of his ability to play basketball, but for his
want to be liked by all of those around him. You could see the fire and will to
win in his eyes last season, he was a complete player, maybe Durant helped him
deal with that mental piece? How many NBA players read “The Hunger Games” or
any other book to clear their minds before games? Physically, LeBron had all
the tools already to win a ring, but mentally, he couldn’t handle the boos and
constant reminder of how bad “The Decision” was in many people’s eyes. Maybe
Durant helped him quell those inner demons, is that a bad thing?
Let’s face it, Durant is one of the quietest assassins in
the NBA. His demeanor on the court was something to marvel at when he hit shot
after shot with ease and lead Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals. But it wasn’t
Durant who failed his team in the NBA Finals last season, it was his team who ultimately
failed him. James Harden never showed up, Perkins and Ibaka couldn’t stop the
Heat in the paint as the series wore on. Couldn’t those players benefit from
working out with outside influences in the offseason rather than trying to go
it alone?
Now, do I agree with LeBron and Durant working out together?
No…but they can do what they want, they’re professionals. The NBA has changed
its rules to deal with less non-sense and headaches and to cater to more
professionally dressed and mature adults, minus the Playoffs post-game
conferences of glasses and wild colored shirts. Working out together didn’t
hurt the NBA Finals. LeBron and Durant still played stellar but the LeBron and
Co.’s experience of losing to Dallas in the 2011 NBA Finals drove LeBron to
reach out to others for help. He tried to do it on his own and failed to the
delight of many fans but now that he has a ring, all of a sudden, it raises
fans eyebrows that he’s working out with one of the rising stars in the NBA? I
call cop out. If we really looked, you’d see a lot of players work out together
in the offseason, it’s just magnified when LeBron and Durant do it because they’re
the best. Some people feel the best shouldn’t work together since they’re on
opposing teams but who cares? I could understand if they were on the court
joking back and forth or taking it easy on each other, but can you honestly say
that about LeBron and Durant? As a basketball player, when you step on the
court, you’re a totally different person. You’re a teammate first and somebody’s
friend second. The friendships are dropped when the ball is thrown up in the
air to start the game and the team comes before the friendship. You may say, “Oh
well, Durant wasn’t physical enough with LeBron because of their friendship,”
but since WHEN has Durant ever been labeled a physical player? Not only that,
but when’s the last time somebody was more physical than LeBron? Ask Danny
Granger how “being physical” with LeBron worked out for him. LeBron’s one of
the strongest guys in the league for his size. Maybe Durant is trying to learn
how to be more physical from LeBron? Is that a bad thing?
Now, what does this tell us about the NBA? Not much. Players
are free to do whatever they want in the offseason until training camp starts
in October/September. You see guys playing in summer leagues from California to
North Carolina, wowing fans who may not always get to see them play in person.
So why be upset that LeBron and Durant are working out together behind closed
doors? Because that’s what the media wants you to do. Drive home the message
they want you to believe: “There’s no room for friendship in the sports world.”
We, as fans, forget that these athletes are people too. They have wives, aunts,
uncles, and kids just like the average fan does. I hate to sound cliché but they
put their pants on one leg at time too. They’re not always going to do what the
fans like, but are they hurting anybody by doing it? So why not just take this
working out as what it is, a chance for NBA players to come together and get
better. After all, the 2012 NBA Finals was one of the most watched playoff series’
since 2004. Think about that before you’re so quick to judge such a small thing
like two superstars working out together.
No comments:
Post a Comment