The Chosen One Gets One for the Land
By: Steven Ngati
It all started with a Sports Illustrated cover in 2002, titled, “The Chosen One”. We were introduced to a 17 year old LeBron James of Akron, Ohio. This bold title and profile about a high school basketball player was unprecedented. The country hadn’t seen that kind of hype surrounding a teenager since Lew Alcindor in the 1960’s; and when we’re talking about hype, I mean as much hype as you can possibly muster in this society before the advent of YouTube and social media. All we had to go on were reports on a player who scouts said, was a more athletic Magic Johnson and the occasional SportsCenter clip where he was dunking on random 16 year old kids in Ohio. Everything changed during his senior year when ESPN decided to nationally televise his school St Vincent St Mary vs the national number one ranked Oak Hill Academy. From that night forward, the legend was born as he wowed fans and scouts around the country with his athleticism, passing and overall basketball IQ. The kid was oozing with talent and it was only a matter of time for him to be the next number one pick in the NBA draft.
Everyone knows how the rest of the story goes, the prodigal son gets picked first by his hometown team, quickly becomes a phenomenon in the league and puts Cleveland on the map as a contender. The son then becomes frustrated amidst media criticism and lack of roster support to win a title despite advancing to the Conference championship and NBA Finals. Cleveland’s native son decides to do something they never thought would happen, he made, “The Decision”. Their homegrown savior went to Miami to chase rings with his friends Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The Land was betrayed by their own, at least in their eyes so they turned on him with the venom of 100,000 salty ex-girlfriends. Now it didn’t look good that he seemed happy flaunting out with his new girl, The Miami Heat, in proclaiming that they would win more than 7 championships and how easy it would be to do it. For LeBron, that didn’t matter in the long run because he was serious about doing what was best for him and winning a title at all cost. The history books will note that LeBron ultimately made the right decision. 2011-2015, the guy won 3 MVP’s, went to the Finals every season, won 2 titles and 2 Final’s MVP’s. We as fans seem to have a short memory when it comes to looking at what LeBron endured in South Beach too. He felt the heat (no pun intended) of being the most hated man in the league post Decision and hit rock bottom during the 2011 NBA Finals when he completely melted down against the Dallas Mavericks. That disappointment will always be a part of LeBron’s legacy. He was scared of the moment, couldn’t shoot and resorted to standing in the corner as his team lost a 2-1 lead and ultimately the series. People who hated LeBron rejoiced and his fans were disappointed and couldn’t understand how he could wilt like that in a big spot. It was during this dark time that a seed of another one of his gifts was born.
LeBron’s ability to recover from crisis and disappointment is the best I’ve ever seen. Not only did he come back to win back to back titles in 2012 and 2013, but he put in incredible offseason work to reduce weaknesses in his game. LeBron couldn’t post up or play with his back to the basket to save his life before 2011. After seeing where he let his team down by being incapable to post and exploit his matchup he fixed the problem and became an excellent post player the following season. LeBron put the time in to become a respectable enough mid-range jump shooter to make teams pay for allowing him to take open jump shots. Defensively, he studied film, learned tendencies and became a great on ball defender. LeBron has always been sensational off the ball getting steals and chase down blocks, but now he was equally adept at shutting down other great scorers. People often criticize LeBron for not having a killer instinct, but I would reject the notion based on how he has recovered from repeated failures and the plays he has made to win games that aren’t necessarily game winning shots. There is no better example of this than his game saving chase down block on Andre Igoudala in Game 7 Sunday night. That play was the epitome of LeBron’s gift. You have to have a killer instinct to make a play like that with the whole season on the line. His comeback kid-like attitude combined with his physical gifts is why he has exceeded the daunting expectations bestowed upon him entering the league. All of these experiences, good and bad, helped LeBron become the guy he knew he needed to be to accomplish his ultimate goal of winning a championship for Cleveland.
With many expecting him to make a 5th Finals run in Miami, LeBron shocked the world by penning “The Letter”. The prodigal son was coming home to Ohio. How could LeBron return to a city that burned his jersey in the streets, an owner that lambasted him publicly, and a team that was once again a perennial lottery picking doormat? Quite simply he came back because there’s no place like home. Northeast Ohio means everything to LeBron and he did one of the most humane things we ever seen an otherworldly superstar do, he forgave them. LeBron’s forgiveness is the reason why the city of Cleveland’s 52 year title drought is over. We talk about killer instinct, toughness and strength all the time in sports, and rightfully so, but the key to LeBron accomplishing his greatest mission was his ability to have compassion and forgive his homeland. LeBron has ascended to another place in the history books and I personally have him as the 3rd greatest player of all time, behind Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (formerly known as Lew Alcindor). LeBron winning a title in Cleveland is the equivalent of another guy winning 3 titles somewhere else. Nobody wins in Cleveland, and one of their own now gets to put that notion to bed. The Chosen One finally got one for his Land.
