July 8th, 2010 is a day, that for many die hard basketball fans, will live in infamy (or at least on YouTube). Lebron James had a private interview on ESPN titled The Decision where he announced to the nation that he will be "taking his talents to South Beach" forever joining his legacy with Dwayne Wade. Little did we know then, that we would be comparing him to kid who went undrafted a mere 13 days prior in the 2010 NBA draft.
I have always respected Lebron's greatness and loved to watch him play basketball, but I could not have been more upset about him choosing Miami. To make matters worse for himself, the celebration that followed in Miami set the bar for their expectations (not 2, not 3 not 4, 5, 6, 7....championships) and in many ways vilified them to the rest of the league. In an era where many of the top basketball players consider themselves "brands" this decision was a major let down. We didn't want to see him join forces with a previous rival, we wanted to see him go after history. And if it was truly about the brand, he must have forgot where the top market in the world is. Needless to say, I joined forces with everyone who doesn't live in Miami in rooting for the Dallas Mavericks to win the finals, and had a hard time distinguishing if I was celebrating their victory or the Heat's loss.
Cut to February when the Knicks were crushed by injuries and sitting at a 8-14 record. The last man on the bench was almost forced to play, and when his opportunity came, he took full advantage of it. Linsanitiy was officially born. Jeremy Lin, now a more popular Harvard graduate than our President, was the previously mentioned undrafted kid back on June 24th, 2010. He helped turn around the Knicks season getting them back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture becoming a world wide phenomenon in the process. A month ago, nobody knew his name, and now he is tops in jersey sales in the entire NBA. His endorsement opportunities are endless, and he calls basketball's Mecca, Madison Square Garden, his home.
The Knicks haven't won a title since the famous 1973 finals, and even with Lin, probably won't this year either. Knicks fans are widely regarded as the best and most knowledgeable fans in the league. Madison Square Garden is historic, and that team and fans have been starving to make it great again. This is where Lebron went wrong. New York was the place he should be. Those endorsements were his that he left on the table. And most importantly, he didn't need to win 6 or 7 titles there. All he needed was 1 to enshrine him as the most popular person in the world, let alone New York City. Lebron calls himself King James yet he passed up his throne for a lawn chair on the beach.
The Miami Heat are still favorites to make a championship run this season (as they should be). Lebron is also putting up numbers we haven't seen since a guy named Michael Jordan wore number 23 for the Bulls. 24.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per game is remarkable! Amazing statistics that should be celebrated, yet all anyone can talk about are Lebron's 4th quarter flaws from last year, because we all secretly want them to lose again. Jeremy Lin is writing himself a terrific story in New York. I've never seen anyone become so beloved so quickly. We all love an underdog story, but its a story I wish would have happened elsewhere. Seeing what Jeremy Lin has done in the last month in New York with the Knicks has only gotten me thinking about what could have been if Lebron went there. Mel Brooks famously said "Its good to be the king" in his movie History of the World Part One, and just like that movie, Lebron, the 'common' people have revolted against you.
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