All Hail the King

Everything about LeBron James is larger than life. The hype around him when he came to the NBA out of high school. The scrutiny he faced when he couldn’t win it all in Cleveland. This. The public backlash and hatred by fans after “The Decision.” His statistics. His arguably undeserving nickname (until now), King James. The welcome party. His shortcomings in pressure filled moments and late game situations. His immense, once-in-a-generation talent.

The problem with LeBron is that he’s too good. In this day and age, with advances in modern technology and social media, the amount of people that watch the NBA has never been higher. LeBron has more eyes on what he says and does than superstars of the past had to deal with. We all see LeBron and the gifts he possesses on the basketball court. He should succeed. He has to succeed. It’s unfathomable to think that a player of his magnitude can't be successful. But until he won a championship, he was a massive disappointment to everyone around him. That sort of public pressure must be unbearable. But through all of it, LeBron persevered and found a way to win.

Now that LeBron has finally achieved his ultimate goal, maybe he’ll be free of some of the public hate and persecution. Maybe not. Unlike some of his indiscretions, "The Decision" may be the hardest for fans to get past. He went on national television to tell the world he wanted to leave his hometown team and go to South Beach. That sort of betrayel will never go away for Cleveland fans. But now that he has a ring, some of the performance-related criticism should start to go away. All we really know is that LeBron has climbed to the top of the mountain, and gotten over the hump. The hardest part is over. Now, we can only wait and see what he does next.