LeBron's inevitable homecoming

LeBron to Cleveland?!

Friday afternoon as I drove from Atlanta to Savannah to enjoy a slow, lazy and, of course, spirit-filled weekend (it's Savannah, after all), we heard BREAKING NEWS: LeBron James is returning home!

Well color me surprised! Just kidding, I'm not. Had LeBron chosen to stay in Miami I would have been shocked, because I believe that ending up back in Cleveland was always LeBron's plan. LeBron was forced to leave Cleveland in the first place because they didn't fully realize his worth and wouldn't build a championship team around him.

After the 2014 Finals,
who didn't see this coming?

LeBron always wanted to end up back in Cleveland. But he needed to leave in order to gain the power and sway to get what he needed to bring a championship to his hometown team. He could only get that power by leaving and doing it elsewhere. He had to make a point to Dan Gilbert: even though he loves his hometown, if they weren't going to surround him with talent to win a championship, he was going to find somewhere that would. He did that in Miami—with two championships and back-to-back MVP awards (bringing his total to four, just one behind MJ). Before, Gilbert seemed to think either LeBron could do it on his own with minimal surrounding talent, or that LeBron loved home so much that he would just accept Gilbert’s refusal to spend the money necessary to bring the right players to Cleveland. Now that Gilbert has seen what a LeBron-less Cavs team looks like, and that his superstar won’t sit back and just take it, his wallet is flying open.

But there’s another reason LeBron left Cleveland. It’s because a superstar of his caliber can't be in a town like Cleveland forever. It’s not like Jeter with the Yankees or Kobe with the Lakers – he couldn't stay with one team his whole career because his team was in Cleveland, not New York or LA; he had to get out and live somewhere a superstar lives for a few years to become “LEBRON JAMES.” Miami gave him the prestige, the “it factor,” to go along with his name. He lived it up for four years, and now he’s ready to settle down back home. LeBron got everything he wanted out of his time in Miami – two rings, the superstar lifestyle and the pull necessary to make this move back to Cleveland, where they will now do whatever he wants.

The old sweatshirt that was the
2014 Final's Miami Heat

LeBron's exit from Miami became was clear to me, and anyone else watching, during this year’s Finals. The Heat had become LeBron's favorite old sweatshirt — warm and cozy but, in reality, all worn out and he knew it was time to get rid of it. The magic was gone and would not return. The past four years with LeBron, Wade and Bosh were truly special, but by this year’s Finals they were running on fumes. I knew LeBron was gone because you could read the frustration on his face; he had gotten what he wanted out of his time in Miami and he was done.

There was no “Decision” this time. In fact, I don’t think there was much of a decision for LeBron to even make; his return to Cleveland was inevitable and inescapable. When a superstar like LeBron James keeps a home in AKRON, there is a reason: because it is home and that’s where—excuse the pun—his heart is.

Now that Cleveland lost LeBron once, they are going to do everything in their power to make him happy. What makes LeBron happy? Championships to add to his legacy. Cleveland has a better foundation upon which LeBron can build numerous more championships, with young talent like Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett and Andrew Wiggins. They also have the cap room with which to bring in key role players, and LeBron is someone people will take a pay cut to play alongside.

Every NBA player over age 30.

Now LeBron looks to cement his legacy as one of the greatest of all time by bringing Cleveland, his hometown, its first title in any sport in 50 years. I don’t think there is anyone who doubts he will do it. This was his plan all along.

The legacy of LeBron

Never before have we had an athlete like LeBron James. I don’t mean just in his athletic ability, but someone who has been scrutinized on a daily basis since he was 13 years old.

Since James’ Heat were defeated for the NBA title by the Dallas Mavericks, many are already talking about his legacy being tarnished – that, having lost two titles in two tries somehow says that he isn’t a clutch player, that he doesn’t have the drive to win numerous championships.

Since James was in high school, he was the “next greatest player,” being compared to the best ever – Michael Jordan. But, after eight years in the league and no championships, people are starting to question his drive.

Michael Jordan is the greatest NBA player of all time, but he was not the most gifted athlete the league has ever seen – what made Jordan so great was his relentless drive. There has never been someone as hungry – and with such a chip on his shoulder – than Michael Jordan.

LeBron James’ drive never has been and never can be equal to Jordan. Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team as a sophomore – to some that seems like a minor bump in the road, but to Jordan it was a punch in the gut . He took that and made it the driving force in his basketball life. Even after scoring 1,400 points in high school, getting a scholarship to the University of North Carolina, being drafted third overall in 1984, five NBA MVP awards, ten All-NBA First Team designations, nine All-Defensive First Team honors, fourteen NBA All-Star Game appearances, three All-Star Game MVP awards, ten scoring titles, three steals titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards and the 1988 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, he still brought up being cut from the varsity squad in high school at his Hall of Fame induction.

LeBron James has been called “The King” since he was 14 years old; his high school games were broadcast on ESPN; teams were hoping – in 2001 – to get the number one draft in 2003 so they could have him on their team. He has always been worshipped. Jordan in high school was a very good basketball player, but it wasn’t until he was cut as a 15 year old that he got the hunger that drove him – and still drives him – to prove everyone wrong. LeBron doesn’t have that drive; with the life he’s led, it would be impossible for him to have it.

In reality, the person we should compare LeBron to is Wilt Chamberlin – both had national visibility beginning in high school; both were the best amateur basketball players in their state since they were 14; both possess unfathomable natural gifts. Wilt, like LeBron, was a once-in-a-generation talent. Chamberlain was a four-time MVP, a 13-time All-Star, a seven-time scoring champion and a 13-time rebounding champion, and averaged 50.4 points per game during the 1961-62 season. But his he didn’t win his first championship until his eighth season in the league. 

LeBron and Wilt were both atop the league when they entered, and each year their stats were among the best. But the championships didn’t come like they did for Jordan.

Jordan’s drive to be the greatest ever was highlighted last year. After James joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, Jordan said “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.” He wanted to do it on his own, because he knew he could.

James’ talent is a great player; his talent is unquestionable. But he doesn’t possess the innate quality that made Jordan the greatest of all time – drive. James wants to win, perhaps more than anyone, but he still doesn’t have the level of drive that Jordan has and because of that, LeBron will never ascend above Jordan on the list of all-time greatest players.

In awe of Phelps

These are Michael Phelps' Olympics, and everyone else just happens to be there.

Through 5 events, Phelps has 5 gold medals, and 5 World Records. Oh yeah, and his total gold medal count now stands at 11, the most ever by an athlete in the Olympics.

And yet, even though this was expected of him, this dominance was almost a given, we are still in awe.

We are in awe of the man-fish, who, swimming against the best swimmers in the world, won the 200 meter freestyle by over two seconds, and broke the world record by more than a full second.

Even in his "questionable" race, meaning, not the one that he wasn't great at, but the one that had swimmers that were seemingly capable of beating him, it simply wasn't so -- Phelps won the gold by more than two seconds, with the man who everyone thought had a chance to beat him, teammate Ryan Lochte, fading to third, more than four seconds behind Phelps.

Much has been talked about Phelps and his natural abilities - his 6'4 frame, his abnormally long torso which is that of a man 6'8", and his shorter legs, which therefore create less drag in the water, with his core being lower in his body, more like that of a fish. His size 14 feet resemble flippers, he has a 6'7" wingspan, and is double jointed. Somehow his body creates about 1/2 the lactic acid of other world-class athletes, which prevents his muscles from tiring and cramping when others would. But, despite the physical attributes that make him almost born to spend much of his life in the water, it is Phelps' drive and determination that have made him the best Olympian ever. And he's not done yet.

Phelps' is Jordan-eque in his hatred of losing; he is Roger Clemens-esque in the intensity of his workouts (minus the 'roids)... he doesn't seem to hate killer workouts or putting his personal life on hold to concentrate on his ultimate goal.

He must consume between 8,000 and 10,000 calories a day just to make up for how hard he trains... and he has 2% body fat.

And to prove to the world that he isn't cheating, that it is God-given ability and hard-as-heck training that has made him the champion that he is, Phelps' volunteered for rigorous drug testing during the Olympics, being tested at LEAST once a day.

And I think one of the things that draws us into Phelps, besides his 6'4" perfect frame, is that he is like a kid when he gets each and every gold medal around his neck - smiling and taking it in, not like the Chinese robots who look solemn, and almost relieved, to get their gold.

So even though we expected this of Phelps, it is still fun to watch, we all still cheer him on each and every race, almost like we do Tiger Woods. They are two of the few Goliath-like athletes that the world cheers for against the underdog Davids of the sporting world. And that is because each time we see Phelps or Woods competing, we KNOW that we are watching history, the best to ever do their sport, and that is exciting, and awe-inspiring.


Oh, and for those of you keeping up, who want to see history live, here are Phelps' remaining races:
• Race No. 6 -- 200 individual medley: Friday morning Beijing time, Thursday night in the U.S.

• Race No. 7 -- 100 butterfly: Saturday morning Beijing time, Friday night in the U.S.

• Race No. 8 -- 4x100 medley relay: Sunday morning Beijing time, Saturday night in the U.S.


Finally, for your viewing pleasure...