Congratulations to the Miami Heat on their 2nd NBA Championship in franchise history. More specifically... congratulations to King James and his loyal followers on his first NBA Title. There's no doubt in my mind there will be more to come.
The past few years, I just haven't been into the NBA as much as in the past. I even tried to make the huge jump from being a Los Angeles Lakers fan to a Golden State Warriors fan this past season to shake things up. And although I truly enjoyed attending Warriors games this season, I just had no interest in watching any of the NBA Playoffs.
In fact, the only thing I wanted... was for someone... anyone (even the Boston Celtics) to beat the Heat. Call it "sour grapes", but I'm just not a fan of King James anymore. Like others... The Decision debacle made me realize he wasn't the type of player I wanted to support.
Oh well... someone has to win and it was only a matter of time before the best player in the game became a champion. So to honor LeBron, I figured I'd show off one of the very few PC items I have of The King:
It's an advertising sheet from a magazine from a few years back. I can't remember which magazine it came from, but if I had to guess, I'd say Dime Magazine. The sheet is perforated, so you can turn it into four postcards featuring The LeBrons: Business LeBron, Athlete LeBron, Wise LeBron, and Kid LeBron.
The entire sheet measures 7.5" x 10.5", but the post cards are your standard 3.5" x 5" and are printed on glossy card stock. Kudos to Nike and their creative marketing strategies.
Okay... since we already have the A's Predictions part of the contest. I'm going to make today's contest entry short and simple.
How many NBA Titles will LeBron James have at the end of his career?
1 point - Leave a response below... the simpler... the better.
I'll accept responses for this post until Sunday at 3pm (PST) and should have a Week 2 update as soon as I get the results from the A's/Giants game.
Have a great weekend and sayonara!
21 comments:
3
I will say 2 (though I hope just the one haha).
Good post though. I too rooted against LeBron (I kind of have to having gone to undergrad in Northeast Ohio and having a fiance from Akron), but he is an excellent player and he did play so well in these playoffs so he definitely deserved it. Still not my type of player, and I hope my Celtics or your Lakers (if the Heat get back to the finals) or any number of other teams win the title next year instead.
Oddly enough though, I watched TONS of basketball this year, including almost every playoff game. Last year I watched about 2 games total and one was in person. The 5 years before that I maybe watched one game total. I don't know what it is but I'm getting into basketball these days.
No offense, but how can you collect Kobe and Jordan yet say LeBron is not "the type of player" you want to support. Kobe and Jordan, by almost all accounts, are bad people. LeBron is a good person, and while the Decision show was a mistake, it made tons of money for kids and he has apologized for how it was handled.
Anyway, I'll say 3. I think they win one of the next two years, and then one late in his career.
I'll guess 5. I think if the Heat can win one more and then convince talent to come to them at a discount to win, they'll keep it rolling.
2
Multiple....I always hate picking exact numbers, it's the same as picking scores to me. What matters is who you pick to win. But since you asked, I'll say at least 3.
He could have ended up with 0 though and he'd still be one of the greatest considering I don't judge individuals based on team accomplishments. And like Spankee said, he's a significantly better person than Kobe (selfish on the court, adultery, possible rape) or MJ (major gambling addiction, alleged problems with teammates, Hitler mustache).
If the worst thing he ever does is raise millions for the Boys and Girls Club, I can live with that.
I will say 2 If OKC Dont win the next 4
This is a great topic... and I should use it as a post. But I'll go ahead and respond here.
I'll start off by saying that this post was intended to honor LeBron and Miami Heat fans and pay tribute to them. If I offended anyone by stating that "he's not the type of player I want to support", than I apologize in advance. That was not my intent.
Okay now that I've gotten that out of the way, I'll try my best to answer your question.
I collect and don't collect certain people for a variety of reasons that may or may not make sense to others... but they definitely make sense to me.
So I'll try my best to explain why I collect MJ and Kobe... but not King James:
I collect Jordan, because he's the greatest of all-time and I grew up watching him.
I collect Kobe, because I was a Lakers fan since the 80's and I've collected his cards since the mid to late 90's. BTW: I cheer for the Warriors now, but Kobe is still my favorite player.
I'll admit that Jordan and Kobe aren't perfect role models off the court, but neither are many of the athletes people collect. If I based my collecting tastes on their "personal life", than I couldn't collect any of these guys:
Tony Gwynn - Used "dip" for years... something I preach against during my tobacco lessons during the school year.
Brett Favre - Once was addicted to vicodin. I also encourage my students to avoid abusing drugs.
Ray Lewis - Indicted on murder & aggravated assault charges.
Kirby Puckett - Like Kobe... he wasn't faithful to his wife.
I could probably find more personal issues with other players I collect too, but I don't want to ruin the "collecting" experience for myself. Instead, I pick and choose who I collect based on their performance on the field, as well as other things like nationality, loyalty to teams, and birth place.
It's the reason I tell my students, nieces, and nephews that their parents, family members, teachers, coaches, and other important people in their life should be their role models and heroes... not their favorite athletes.
As for LeBron, I'll admit the decision to not support him were based on actions off of the court. However, it had a direct impact on the sport of basketball.
I don't think he's a bad guy. I just didn't like the way he handled The Decision. I'm also not a fan of teams that stack their talent through free agency to win championships. Now I know what you're thinking... Fuji, didn't you just say that you were once a Los Angeles Lakers fan?
Yep... I WAS. And they're the perfect example of a franchise that spends money to build championships year in and year out... much like the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. But I've been dealing with that issue for years... until this past season when I finally decided to support my local Golden State Warriors... who typically stink on a year to year basis.
Hopefully... this has clarified (instead of confusing you more) why I collect MJ and Kobe.
Basketball is turning more into an "in person" experience for me. I enjoy playing ball... and going to games. But I just don't really like watching it on television anymore. That could change in a few years... if the Warriors can build a decent team and contend.
Until then... I'll entertain myself by collecting worthless 90's inserts of basketball stars I enjoyed watching and pulling for anyone except the Miami Heat.
No doubt he's one of the greatest. But just like cars and food, we all have our own preferences.
I think he'll end up with three. No science behind it, bug two more sound right. Oh, and one of them will be in New York.
Really, I've got no problem with anyone collecting who they want. I just found the comment interesting. Trust me, I wasn't offended or anything. Considering I have Michael Vick and Marcus Vick collections, I'm hardly a "good guy" collector.
As for the free agency thing, I think LeBron was a little hamstrung. It's possible to argue he was the greatest free agent in all of sports history, yet only really had two options: Cleveland and leaving for less money. As long as LeBron stayed in Cleveland, they wouldn't get lottery picks because he made the team too good. That would make it difficult to build through the draft. The other option was free agency, which the ownership was reluctant to get involved in. So, I think leaving was a legitimate choice. Given the teams out there, I think just about anyone would have chosen the team that had his friend(s) and a big market.
I'm by no means questioning your collections, because I firmly believe in everyone's rights to collect who they want for any reason they want.
I would say he will end up with at least two. I personally like LeBron but I think Skip Bayless is the ultimate LeBron hater. He makes me angry and I feel he should not be making the claims he makes.
You're right about LeBron and his options... especially him and the lack of lottery picks. And it's rare to see any team build their franchise without support from free agency. Although it's pretty amazing to watch the Thunder with Durant, Ibaka, Westbrook, and Harden... all Seattle/OKC draft picks.
I've always felt LBJ had every right to leave Cleveland, so I agree that his choice was legit and justified. But I still didn't like the way it was handled.
It could also be that there's a part of me that enjoys rooting against teams/people, so LeBron and his decision was a case of perfect timing ;-)
LOL... he hates Kobe too. I dislike Bayless too, but that's probably exactly what he wants. If I had to guess, I'd say he says a lot of things to get a "reaction" from his audience (players, co-workers, the media, fans, etc.).
1 and done!
No mas.
Full disclosure: Elvin Hayes and Jack Marin played in the last NBA game I remember watching. But that aside, I'll guess five. Or one. I'm not really sure.
2.
Thanks for the responses... this part of the contest is now closed. As soon as the A's & Giants game is wrapped up, I'll tally up those scores and update the overall scoreboard.
I wonder if I'll be saying the same thing in a few years... only I'll be citing Stephen Curry & David Lee.
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