LeBron James: It's Complicated

Enjoy a player as they are in the game. Debating who is "The Greatest of All Time" usually degenerates into "The greatest I ever saw". It is rarely historical. If Albert Pujols played his entire career in St. Louis he would have more hits than Stan Musial, over eight hundred home runs and would have been considered the greatest hitter of his generation.

Sometimes taking more money is not the solution. Albert Pujols was virtually forgotten in Anaheim. Returning to St Louis reminded fans why he was beloved. LeBron James started the "Taking my talents to ______" that many players followed.

Some for better, some for worse. Kevin Durant asked to go to Brooklyn to play with Kyrie Irving. He went to Golden State after almost beating them in Oklahoma City.

No player is greater than the sport. Any sport. LeBron James is thirty-six points away from breaking the scoring record held by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It won't change the dysfunction on the Lakers who might occasionally play well.

As Anthony Davis goes, so go the Lakers. A colleague cynically calls him "Street clothes." Bill Walton was injured all the time until he played as a sixth man for the Celtics.

There is so much hype and noise around LeBron James I cannot appreciate his accomplishments. He had an immediate impact and made the Cavaliers relevant.

The pursuit of championship rings leads to players moving to other teams instead of staying with one team and having pieces brought to them. The Lakers are discussed as much as the Dallas Cowboys and are equally successful.

Too many people hate the Dallas Cowboys who haven't won anything in nearly thirty years. LeBron James has played at a high level for twenty years. The sad thing about breaking the record is not that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is here to pass the torch (he will still have more championships and NCAA titles) it reminds me that when Emmitt Smith broke the NFL rushing record Walter Payton was not around to congratulate him.

Stupid liver cancer. Henry Aaron congratulated Barry Bonds when the home run record was broken. Regardless what others think of Barry Bonds- he will congratulate the player who hits 763 home runs if it happens in his lifetime.

Baseball records are the most memorable. No one cares how many articles I have written on this site. It matters to me because there is a trajectory that has carried me through eight and a half years. It will be significant when and if LeBron James scores 40,000 points since no one has done that.

He has also been married many years, has children including a son he wants to play with professionally. There is a lot to like about him. I don't want to hear about his team every minute of every day. When was the last news story on The Sacramento Kings? They are currently in first place in their division with the Lakers in the cellar.

Take your "Greatest player ever" debates to the bar or barbershop. Enjoy the entertainment value of a player who has opinions leading to hateful newscasters to say "Shut up and dribble." Speak your mind. Don't take up every minutes of a sports report.

That might be the fault of corporate media. They might overtake about the Cowboys or the New York Knicks who are rarely relevant. There are many interesting players and sometimes the media acts like there is only one. Learn about many.