Time to give the guy his due

LeBron James is corny and incredible. Not in that order.

The man from Akron (no, not Steph Curry) is undeniably one of the best basketball players of all time. People thoroughly enjoy the debate about the GOAT (greatest of all time), and I could make a convincing argument for several players. There can be no definitive answer, but if your list of potential candidates doesn’t include LeBron James, you’ve lost all credibility with me.

The man is in his 21st season playing NBA basketball and has been competing at an All-Star level the entire time. He is the league’s all time leading scorer and just eclipsed 40,000 points. The man has averaged 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists a game over his entire career despite somehow never actually scoring exactly 27 points whilst grabbing seven rebounds and getting seven assists in a game. His ability to play basketball is astounding.

He was asked by a reporter recently what he would tell his 18-year-old self if he could go back in time after scoring 40,000 points. He mentioned in his response that aside from his family, friends and city, that nobody wanted to see him succeed. I don’t remember it that way.

I remember him on the cover of Slam Magazine and Sports Illustrated (back when that was a thing) when he was at Saint James Academy. I did not have to look up the name of his high school, I remembered it because he was so hyped up during that time.

I remember that gold Hummer he drove as a senior and that unprecedented Nike contract. Everyone believed in him and they had me believing in him.

The man has developed haters over the years, but I don’t know anybody that doesn’t believe in his greatness. The haters are a result of a few different things in my opinion.

First and foremost is how great he is at basketball. Not everyone is a fan. There is a large group of people who believe Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time and they become defensive when LeBron James’ name comes up in comparison.

This contingent includes my mother, Stu from the Dan LeBatard Show and most of the talking heads on ESPN. I also live in Wilmington where MJ grew up so pretty much everyone around here feels that way too.

There are a younger group of people who are just as passionate about Kobe Bryant and they too don’t like the idea of LeBron being considered by others as better than their guy.

There are some people though who just think he’s corny. That’s me… I’m that guy. I am awed by his talent and surprised by just how corny the dude can be. The gold hummer fooled me.

I thought LeBron James was going to be cool. Instead, we got the banana boat guy who makes videos about Taco Tuesday and hanging out with his family. I don’t expect my professional athletes to act like me.

Maybe you think he needs a few more rings to be in the conversation of Jordan or maybe you can’t get past how good he might’ve been if he had the Mamba Mentality or maybe you just want LeBron James to be cooler. Regardless of how you may feel, the time has come for everyone who cares about basketball to give that man the respect he deserves for his NBA career. That means you too, Mom.