There are many factors that make LeBron James one of the best — if not the best — NBA players of all time. He is a transcendent figure — one of those rare players in any sport that even a non-fan can identify as simply better than everyone else. (I’ve seen that happen when a non-sports-oriented friend or family member happens to watch a few minutes of a game LeBron is in on TV — “Hey, that one guy is WAY better than the rest.”)
That doesn’t mean I’m not tired of him. I tired of LeBron once we reached that tipping point where everything he says and does gets top billing. We’ve seen the same thing with other overexposed athletes. I remember ESPN actually running a spring training story — not a crawl, a story — in 2012 or so about how the Yankees would have to soldier on without Derek Jeter for a game because he had a cold. Or maybe his dog was sick. Anyway, it was Jeter, so it was news. Similarly, if it’s LeBron, it’s news.
And no matter how deep I plumb the depths of my sympathy, when it comes to basketball, I simply never, ever feel sorry for LeBron at all in any way whatsoever. He’s always whining about something, to begin with, so he never presents as sympathetic. (N.B. I’m just talking about basketball, not his role as an international celebrity.)
At this writing, we’re in the third or fourth iteration of his desire to remake his team and acquire new teammates. The latest shipment won’t fare any differently from the waves before them. That’s because LeBron demands players then subsequently usurps the role they supposedly were hired to fill. Maybe he’s bored, but he does the same thing every time– he sets them– and us– up. “I want a point guard” is almost guaranteed to be followed by LeBron playing more point guard to show he’s better than anyone else at that, too.
Anyway, maybe someday I’ll miss being tired of LeBron, but I doubt it. I don’t miss Jeter or Kobe or any other great player who became the story instead of part of the story.