Finally, respect for LeBron

The city of Cleveland is basking in the joy of its first-ever NBA championship, in large part thanks to the superhuman efforts of its superhuman forward LeBron James. The discussion of how the Cavaliers came back from an improbable 1-3 deficit to win a Game 7 on the road will sit in our collective memory until some other team comes close to approximating that achievement. But for once, it seems difficult to paint the Cavs as the black hats who spoiled a back-to-back party for the white knight Golden State Warriors. There are no clear-cut bad guys in this Finals. Why is that? What changed in this series?

Looking back just a few years ago, when this same LeBron James made a big deal out of leaving his home state Cavs and actually had NBA suitor teams calling on him instead of the other way around, the whole experience left a bad taste in the mouth. Who was he to do that? Of course, many Cleveland fans felt betrayed. Some even burned huge numbers of his shoes and jerseys in the streets, and many made a public display of tearing down his posters and billboards. There was no shortage of hate being spewed on James, even though he was well within his rights to move to another team as a free agent. He was just branded an arrogant brat and worse.

And when he returned, there seemed to be tempered excitement. Was this just temporary, a publicity stunt, a pit stop before he raced on to another, bigger, more media-friendly city? Were the fans going to shower him with their undying love once again, only to have him leave them unfulfilled and pining for a championship trophy? The headlines on his return home were nowhere near as glowing as the fiery tone of the ones when he left acrimoniously. He had become a villain, a mercenary who forsook them and found favor in sunny Miami, where he took up with enemies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and won championships, while they, the fans in Cleveland, still had none. 

So there was that matter of trust. But it goes much deeper than that.

Everyone is impressed with a phenomenal athlete, and throughout history, very few can compare with the physical gifts of LeBron James. Perhaps only Wilt Chamberlain could compare with how dominant he was at his position, no, in his sport, physically and in terms of will. He was the first high school player whose games were covered by ESPN2, and had a documentary made on that same high school team. He told people how good he was, and proved it. It seemed as if there was nothing he couldn’t do on the basketball court. But why did many people refuse to embrace this prodigy? We didn’t hate LeBron. It was deeper than that. We didn’t like him. We didn’t trust him, when you hate someone, you out and out show it, and people did. But when you dislike or don’t trust someone, it shows up in withholding affection or support. It involves a certain subterfuge, a degree of betrayal. 

In truth, we were always more than a little envious of the man dubbed early on as “The King” and “The Chosen One”, and we chose to be put off by what he said and did off the basketball court. And in our hearts, we spited him by not giving him enough credit, and eroding his greatness among ourselves. Worst of all, we raised our own standards so much that he would inevitably fall to our unfairness. When he missed a game winner, it was his fault. But when he also tried to pass the ball to unready teammates, causing turnovers, it was also his fault. He never got a break. And just when we were about to like him – again – he said that golden boy Steph Curry’s unanimous MVP award was “not for the best player”. We hated him again. But you know what? It turns out he was right.

This season, perhaps more than any other, James has never been more human, just when he is most triumphant. The Finals comeback, the triple double for the series, chasing down that game-saving block, and subsequently almost breaking his arm at the end of Game 7, all have added to an unparalleled treasure trove of highlights. We forgave Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant for their braggadocio. Why not LeBron? He’s earned it. With these last finals, we’ve started to peel back our own self-imposed veils, and see, perhaps for the first time willingly, just how great LeBron James is as a player and – okay, grudgingly – as a human being. Maybe now, we can also revisit how we have graded him all these years, and in our private embarrassment, revise how unfair we have been to him, how petty, how unforgiving.

If greatness is the only standard by which we’ve graded others, then it should be the only standard by which we should judge LeBron James. And it’s about time.

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Congratulations to the Nagkakaisang Kapatiran para sa Bayan at Kabataan (NKBK) for their successful medical mission, job fair, blood-letting and distribution of school supplies in Barangay 576 in Sampaloc, Manila on June 18. NKBK is composed of five of the biggest college fraternities in the country: Alpha Kappa Rho (AKRHO) represented by Atty. Flint Cruz, Alpha Phi Omega (APO) through Arch. Tony Dimaano, Scout Royal Brothers (SRB) represented by Manny Sipin, CAPAZCEPA represented by Engr. Ben Singanon and the Tau Gamma led by Atty. Jay Castro. The project benefited over 500 residents of the area, setting the tone of love for country and unity for future outreach projects? Joining the effort was guest fraternity Lex Talions led by Abe Siu.