For the First Time in More Than a Decade, I Am Rooting for LeBron James

I’m not a fan of LeBron James.  But I do recognize his greatness, and enjoy watching him play.  However, I simply find it more fun rooting against him.  First of all, he’s the best player in the NBA, and since he’s at the top of the food chain, he’s like the “big boss” of a video game to me.  The “big boss” is the strongest, biggest, baddest mofo, and you would want to see him beaten.

At the same time, since I recognize his greatness, it’s only fair that I expect him to play like a god among men.  Thus, I’m frustrated whenever he doesn’t.  Now, I don’t expect him to be perfect all the time.  But in big games, I want to see him go all out.  However, more often than not, when things aren’t going his way, he noticeably phones it in or even quits outright, mentally and effort-wise (the most recent Finals is the most recent example).  The lack of warrior spirit bugs me much.  Yes, he’s already a transcendental player.  But just imagine if he also had the same kind of fierce competitive fire that Kobe and MJ had.  He would be invincible.

Lastly, the Bronsexuals – i.e. his fans, which includes his raging, pretentious apologists in the media like Nick Wright – are quite obnoxious.

All these three factors have led me to become somewhat of a “hater.”

However, I did truly root for him at one point.  It was way back in the 2007 NBA Finals.  Honestly, the primary reason was I didn’t want the San Antonio Spurs to win and overtake the Lakers in titles won in that era.  But also, I was quite impressed with LeBron’s performance in the playoffs, and if he led the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Spurs, it would have been a fantastic, cinematic-esque underdog story.

That would be the last time I would be rooting for him.

In the subsequent seasons, he competed with Kobe Bryant for the title of the top dog in the league, and the “Kobe vs. LeBron” debate was rampant.  Of course, as a Kobe fan, I had to take his side.  And coming with it was noticing and getting annoyed of LeBron’s flaws – particularly his flopping, whining, and fame-whoring.  Then came “The Decision” and the “Heatles”era, which was when my anti-LeBron sentiments hit its peak.  Nevertheless, even when I was hatin’ on him, I always acknowledged that he was a special kind of player who could even become the GOAT in the end.

That’s why in the pre-season going into the 2014-2015 season, in which LeBron was a free agent, despite how unlikely it was, I mused about him helping Kobe win another title by joining the Lakers, who just had its worst season ever at that point.  However, he returned back to the Cavs, and I simply continued rooting against him.

Four years later, Kobe is long retired, and the Lakers have become a perennial losing team.  LeBron was a free agent again, and the rumors were, his preference was the Lakers.  This time around, I didn’t want him.  I had high hopes for Coach Walton’s vision and the young core that the Lakers had assembled from the draft.   I believed that the addition of LeBron – who would have made everything about himself – could ruin it.

When the news dropped that he was indeed signing with the Lakers, I was shell-shocked.  I was unsure what to feel.  Heck, the season is about to start already as of writing, and I’m still unsure what to feel.  Another all-time great is now wearing the purple and gold, and that is worth getting excited about as a Laker fan, but I’ve been rooting against him for many years that the thought of rooting for him felt weird and unfamiliar.

Yes, though I don’t like him, as a Laker fan, I have to root for him now – and I will.

Actually, in a way, I’m kind of impressed of LeBron’s decision to sign with the Lakers.  He’s not really known for making ballsy moves.  And signing with the Lakers is pretty ballsy, for the following reasons:

1. For the first time ever, he decided from free agency to join a team that has no other All-Star.  Sure, the Lakers have a collection of promising young talents.  But still.  None of them are legit stars yet.
2. This is not just any other franchise.  This is the freakin’ LA Lakers!   A ton of all-time greats have played for them.  Not only that, but their currency is championships.  Thus, it doesn’t matter if you’re a GOAT contender.  If you can’t bring home a championship, you would be deemed a failure.  Not all superstars have what it takes to handle such pressure (*cough* Dwight Howard *cough*).
3. One of the strongest criticisms thrown at LeBron is that he was only dominating because he was playing in the East, and that it would be another story if he had been playing in the much tougher West.  And now, for the first time in sixteen seasons, he has finally decided to play in the West, to prove that he can also reign supreme here... at 33 years old!  Sure, he’s still somehow in his peak after all this time, which is incredible, but still, the likelihood of him starting the downward curve of his career in the following years is greater than the opposite.  Hence, to take on such challenge at this stage took guts.

That, or he simply doesn’t care that much anymore in adding to his legacy, and he just wants to enjoy the glitz and glamor of the Hollywood lifestyle.  After all, it has been reported that he’s involved in the production of several TV and film projects – most noteworthy of which is, ugh, Space Jam 2.

Anyway, hopefully, I would eventually get to root for him out of fondness rather than duty.  And that day may come sooner than later after seeing stuff like these in the pre-season:

Just gorgeous.

He's developing great chemistry with Ingram.

May he desire to become part of the All-Defensive Team once again.

Hopefully, the Lakers playing in a fast pace means we'll often see freight train LeBron.

In the end, I’m genuinely wishing him success as the new face of the Lakers.  Above all, at the very least, I hope his stint with the purple and gold will result to a couple of championships, but on top of that, I hope he would have a positive effect on the young core’s development and future in the team.  If these are accomplished, I may even happily become a LeBron apologist myself, arguing the case that he’s the GOAT.