NBA Playoffs – 2021-2022 There’s no LeBron but the Playoffs are Winning!
In his 19 years in the league, LeBron James has missed the playoffs only 4 times including this season. In the past this has been very bad news for the NBA as it’s TV ratings have slid without the King in post season action. After all, LBJ has scored more points in the playoffs than any other player in history. He has always been must see TV.
But that all changed this post season as the NBA is enjoying it’s highest TV ratings in the last 5 years. No James but a resurgence in viewership? Interesting. It feels like something is happening. A changing of the guard perhaps. Certainly time catches up with even the best players: Chamberlain, Jordan, Abdul-Jabbar, so it’s not a surprise that LeBron isn’t the best player in the NBA anymore and probably hasn’t been for the better part of half a decade. To anyone that follows the game, he’s moved from the centre to the periphery of the NBA, more of a carnival sideshow attraction out in Disneyland than a legitimate threat.
What’s puzzling is how a player who was once so popular and represented all that was good in the game, has fallen so far out of favour with fans only a decade later. Certainly the internet will provide you with a list of reasons longer than Kawhi Leonard’s wingspan, but I think the internet has it wrong.
Most of the internet seems to believe that James fell from grace because of his social justice messaging. I’d say from perusing the websites that are making this claim that they are right leaning and far right groups that don’t care for people of colour having an opinion. That of course is patently wrong and racist. People with money have a responsibility to speak out on behalf of the downtrodden and if that bothers you, you’re probably not downtrodden so back off and grow up.
No, LeBron James fell out of favour because he fell out with basketball and fell in love with his legacy. I’m not going to regurgitate here my previous post on LeBron and his best girlfriend – his Legacy, but I encourage you to scroll back and find it. It really speaks to an extraordinary talent with a strong desire to win and incredible willpower who became consumed by his own refection before he really got a chance to shine.
What got LeBron in the end wasn’t his injuries or his social justice stance. He didn’t mail it in after getting a big contract. But instead of focusing on the game itself, he instead chose to create a paint by numbers guide that would ensure everyone believed he was the GOAT. And in so doing, he made a mockery of the game and his part in it.
Adios LeBron, welcome to the new NBA.