The King Is Actually A Wizard!
The King Is Actually A Wizard!
how i see the "summer of lebron" going down
How Lebron James fooled everyone, except me, and became the newest member of the Washington Wizards.
The writing was on the wall, not sure how so many missed it. Those in the sports world were shocked, Stephen A. Smith burst out his signature catchphrase “that's blasphemous!” before going into apoplexy. Chris Broussard was in a stupor. Max Kellerman with a smirk and a demonstrative wave of his hand claimed he knew it all the time. Shannon Sharpe, aka LeShannon, King James’ number one fan felt betrayed and even threw away his favorite pair of King James Autographed boxers which he was wearing. Cari Champion kept reviewing her show Riding With The Champion in which Lebron had been a passenger to see if she possibly missed something. It was on her show that further sparked debate and ignited political discourse but no mention of him joining the Wizards. Keshawn, George and L.Z. are still bickering and placing the blame on one another as they search for answers as to why they didn’t know the dramatic news. But like I said the writing was on the wall the whole time. It was clear to me that James was not going to L.A. And not because the exciting core L.A. is building is too young and not because of Lavar Ball and his antics but because he doesn’t need L.A.
Well let me be clear here, everyone needs or should need L.A., to a certain extent anyway, hell it’s arguably the best place on the planet but as Stephen A. would say, I digress. For Lebron, who already has a home in L.A., who is already entrenched in the entertainment, media and tech landscape that L.A. offers didn’t necessarily need to be on the team too. What he needed, and this is what everyone seemed to miss, is legacy beyond the court.
That’s right, LeBron is quite concerned with his legacy well beyond his basketball playing years. He has very seamlessly positioned himself as the NBA’s (maybe all of sports) most outspoken and relevant leader on social issues. The fact that his aforementioned home in one of L.A.’s most affluent neighborhoods was defaced with a racial slur put him right in the spotlight. By his choice or not, King James was thrown right in the middle and as with his personality as a bona fied leader he took the torch, accepted it and ran with it. You guys all missed it
LeBron speaking out on the Charlottesville incident at a kid’s charity event so eloquently saying “I have this platform and I'm somebody that has a voice of command, and the only way for us to be able to get better as a society and us to get better as people is love...” And later following that up with a tweet ‘ ““Hate has always existed in America. Yes, we know that but Donald Trump just made it fashionable again! Statues has nothing to do with us now!”
James’ more recent comments that President Donald Trump doesn’t give a “f*** about the people” and later getting a response from a Fox News pundit who called James’ comments ignorant and said “shut up and dribble” are only adding fuel to James’ post basketball fire.
With these political hot flashes you can see a pattern with James. He and his team are very calculating, cunning, like a cat creeping up on a ball of yarn eyeing it steadily, thoroughly, until the very last minute and then suddenly out of nowhere pouncing down on the yarn without the poor ball of yarn ever knowing it was being stalked.
This is how James is this is how he has always been. This is how by doing the math and all the calculations I knew he was going to the Wizards. So why you ask does he need to go to the Wizards to accomplish this? Can’t he do this from anywhere, heck it’s what he’s currently doing from Cleveland. True, but for political clout to go far beyond the annals of the basketball court, or even the media and to venture further than almost any other athlete has gone before LeBron needs to be right in the thick of the political landscape and Washington provides that for him. See Lebron is an astute student of the game and Im not talking about the bball game. I’m talking about the fact that he recognizes long term legacy.
He knows that passing Jordan in championships is a great accomplishment but even if he accomplishes this feat or not he also recognizes that feats of this sort are meant to be broken. One day someone, if not James himself, will surpass Jordan. Should that someone be James he knows that someday someone will come and surpass him. What he knows is the number of championship rings can and will someday be broken by the next phenom and media accomplishments, such as an Oscar or Emmy, are great but totally biased. There is one thing which can’t be surpassed which is far greater than on court accomplishment or media accolades and that is your voice beyond the court.
Anyone that knows sports knows who the true greatest is the G.O.A.T. and it’s not Jordan and even Jordan knows this, it’s Mohammed Ali, the GOAT the greatest of all time. For those that may not Ali is not the greatest because of his boxing prowess, although he was great in the ring, Ali is considered the greatest because of the long lasting legacy of his voice. His ability to speak out on social issues and represent those that had no voice and thus felt marginalized by society. That voice is what transcended Ali beyond the ring, beyond race, beyond the so called stats that most athletes are attached to. It was his voice that established Ali as the greatest of all time.
As an astute student of history, James knows this and therefore is ultimately not looking to necessarily surpass Jordan in the number of championship rings but to someday be in the rarefied air of the true greatest of all time Mohammed Ali. Being in Washington not only enables James to form what can be considered a super team with Otto Porter, Bradly Beele and John Wall but also puts him smack dab in Washington. Right in the middle of the political elite scene in the world’s most influential county where he will serve as de facto lobbyist for civil rights issues where his voice will be heard and lifted to that rarefied air as the Greatest of All Time.
-Antony L.