<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It wouldn't matter to Scott Skiles that LeBron James is the face of the NBA, ranks 46th on the Forbes Celebrity 100 List, owns endorsement deals worth $150 million, makes us laugh on those crazy LeBrons commercials, will appear two dozen times on national TV this season and is considered not only the greatest 21-year-old basketball player ever but a hit among nine of 10 Chinese teenagers. No, Skiles would have lost his lid Tuesday night if he was LeBron's coach. From the view of an old-school, play-to-the-last-nanosecond hoops lifer who always had to work hard for his dreams, he'd have been mortified when James literally quit on his team, walking off the floor and toward the tunnel with 13 seconds left and the Cavaliers trailing the Atlanta Hawks 104-95. What this brooding display reminds us, with Skiles and the Bulls in Cleveland tonight for one of those televised showcases, is that we shouldn't be so quick to elevate LeBron to legendhood and assume he'll gravitate into the next Michael Jordan. Seems he's still a kid, hardly immune from doing the wrong thing and creating a national stir. ''The game was over. It wasn't like I walked to the locker room,'' James tried to explain Wednesday. ''You're down seven points with three seconds left, there's no miracle in the world that is going to make you come back. This ain't Rock-n-Jock. There's no seven-point plays in our game.''</div> Source
I said it once and I'll say it again, LeBron is going to replace Kobe as the new NBA villian. The media is so predictable, they build up these players to be larger than life sport heros, and then shred them apart when they don't live up to unrealistic expectations. LeBron walking off the court just opened Pandora's box for his critics lying in wait to pounce on him. There's going to be a recycled material about LeBron and the Hummer, LeBron and the throwback jerseys, and of course references to LeBronze. Brace yourselves Cleveland fans.
Yeh, Wade is taking LeBrons place as the NBA poster child. I agree with what LeBron is saying about them not having a chance of winning but he should have stayed on the court for the sake of the teams chemistry. The media builds these players up and knocks them down.
What lebron did wasn't cool. but omg the media makes it out like he was the first player to ever do that. They write whole articles about it. It shows thought that lebron isnt immune from the media like alot of people think. and shape your right. If lebron ever ends up doing some stuff even on the level that carmelo has done (weed, snitching dvd) he'll be trashed.
I don't think this should be a big deal at all. James plays almost the entire game, every game. He never takes plays off, doesn't sit with nagging injuries that many other players use as excuses. He doesn't have the on-court attitude of Kobe, not sharing the ball or demanding more touches. Shape is right, this is just the media trying to make an issue so they have something to write about.
I thought this was fairly predictable. If there's one things that captures more interest than a feel-good story, it's a self-destructive story about a "villain." In the end Lebron, like Kobe, can't really complain, though. He's made enough money off his "good guy" image and he'll probably make more money off the "me against the world" concept, if he ever gets the Kobe treatment.
The media just writes the stories...their not the bad guys here, they didn't walk off the floor with time left on the clock..
It's really a shame with Lebron, although he's really up to the challenge for being the poster boy of the NBA. 13 seconds left in a game to really catch up, but he needs to show more class in dealing with these situations. Dwyane has clearly matured a bit faster than Lebron, but it's really also due to the fact that Shaq is there and allows for him to mature. Lebron really has to go on this at his own, with this youngish team, and when things seem grim, he should set the example being the best player on the team and show that he doesn't give up, even being down 20 with 10 seconds left or whatever.
I would be more worried about what his teammates think of him. Thats not cool what he did, just makes him look like a spoiled brat.
I'm used to living and supporting the media's scapegoat. The same thing happens in soccer: David Beckham after being sent off the '98 World Cup. People all around the country were burning ephergies of him, and threatening to kill him (a bit more extreme than anything else). Then, after this World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has been a scapegoat for apparently telling a referee to send Wayne Rooney off. Both have been totally out of order, but I've seen and supported players who have turned into media scapegoats. It is hard for the players mentally, though.
