I'll admit, I'm a LeBron James "hater."
King James wanted that. With a Miami intro like a pro wrestling entrance, complete with smoke machines. With a proclamation that the Heat would win not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, but 7 world championships.
Well, he's right on one thing. He still has not 1 championship at all.
There's no doubt LeBron is one of the greatest talents of this generation. But at this point, that's all he is...a talent. He's great in the regular season. He puts up nice stats. But he comes up small in crunch time (-24 when he was on the floor in Game 6), can close and isn't a winner.
It's still not out of the realm of possibility that he could be like Wilt Chamberlain, an ultra-talented player that wins a title, but really doesn't make his team better. But if the self-proclaimed King truly wants to sit on the throne without Emporer's clothes, I have a few suggestions for him:
1. Check out what Dirk Nowitzki did. He was labeled soft. He lost the 2006 NBA Finals to the Heat. He went back to the drawing board, got tougher...and now he's a totally different player.
2. Develop a low post game, and use your body to your advantage. He's 6'8" and 260 pounds, and yet never posts anybody up...or shields a defender with his body and fires up a hook over them. Get in the blocks this summer and work on it.
3. Work on your game this summer. You want to become a worldwide brand. That's already happened. Forget the marketing. Get back to the basketball basics. Become a champion.
4. And if you don't want to dominate in crunch time, make sure you're a great complement to Dwyane Wade. He's one of the toughest guards in the league.
There's certainly still time. And I think LeBron will win a championship. But notice I said A championship. That's squandered talent, and he's capable of so much more.
Follow me on twitter @lanceallan
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