Why being the greatest athlete in the modern era is a curse.

In the era where literally every Tom, Dick and Harry as a platform to express his opinion from the comfort of his couch at home you would think that being the greatest athlete of his generation would be appreciated beyond measure. But unfortunately thats not the case for LeBron Raymone James Sr(The King). Lets have a look at whats he's been able achieve so far in a basketball journey that started at age 5 at a neighbourhood in (Akron Ohio Cleveland) where selling drugs, firing guns and being a gangsta was more popular than playing basketball.

Raised by a single mother LeBron fell in love with game basketball thanks to MJ( Michael Jordan) shooting those imaginary fade aways or practising game winners in the gym didnt install the feeling of "I" ,he from a very young age knew making "THE RIGHT PLAY" was more important than having the ego of making it all about himself in clutch situations and yet this aspect of his game is exactly what is used by so called pandits/analysts to criticise him. One would wonder that sticking to the principles of the game would be a pro in the argument that he's the G.O.A.T but surprise surprise its con.

BABY STEPS. St Vincent St Mary's High School the school LeBron represented dominated all schools across the entire country (A country which has 50 states) eventually winning the championship. At 16 LeBron made it the cover of Sports Illustrated yes thats right 16. Before he could reach the legal age of having a driving licence he was a national phenomenon. If you thought wow what pressure on a kid well when asked about it in a press conference he said and I quote "I take no pressure I do what I love and this is what I have been doing my entire life so there is no pressure".

BIRTH OF THE KING. This 18 year old kid took another brave decision when he decided to take part in the NBA by skipping college directly from high school. As destiny would have it he was drafted as the NO:1 pick in the class 2003 by..... of course Cleveland Cavs A team which had not won a major trophy for 35+ years in any sport!! As for all great athletes failure is inevitable no no LeBron as player didn't fail in-fact he took to NBA as fish to water. But yet his team was never worthy of a championship as a matter of fact if not for LeBron that team was not worthy of playing in the NBA. Yet this haunt the man not being able to cross the final hurdle for years and years and he finally decided enough is enough and in free agency time he moved to a team which was known for winning under the guidance of Dwayne Wade the Miami Heat. As expected this made him a villain and thus started a whole different level of hate the type of hate where his jersey was burned, banners of him were torn, house being attacked, his name cursed and so on.... For any other athlete it would have shaken,broken and torn them completely but for LeBron its motivation.

ART OF WINNING. This motivation which LeBron drew from the hate to his own admission it turned him into a BasketBall player he wasn't. This meant that again he failed to cross the final hurdle failed in the finals and that offseason was the toughest and what was just outside noise that he could never win turned into self doubt. Again came a moment in his life where settling for less and giving up was an easy way out but as the saying goes "Its not the situation that defines you it's how you react to the situation that does". He came back alright winning back to back championship for the franchise and after the first he said the famous line "ITS ABOUT DAMN TIME". In his 4 years with the franchise he won 2 titles and multiple Mvp's.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS. For all greats settling isnt a option and coming back and winning it for his city Cleveland which has not tasted success for 45+ years at that time it was meant to be and yes LeBron James returned to his hometown promising the fans of title. Winning a championship is never easy! even for the greats and in his first year injuries to his teammates meant he failed to win in the finals the first year going up against 4 future hall of famers(THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS). The year was 2016 LeBrons second year back to Cleveland here we are in his 6th consecutive finals appearance trying to win it for his hometown. The NBA finals is a 7 game series and Cleveland where down 3-1 up against the greatest team ever with a 73-9 record in the regular season consisting of 82 games having the home court advantage and what happened next was HISTORY. LeBron King James lead his team and his city to its first ever championship in 50 years.

NEVER SATISFIED. After reaching 4 consecutive finals and bringing a championship to his hometown LeBron knew that winning 3 titles wasn't enough and he decided moving LA Lakers was the best move for him and winning a title with the most successful franchise in NBA history would cement his legacy as the great. First year leading young lakers team which once the late great Kobe had retired had never even reached the playoffs suddenly found itself in a great position 42 games into the regular season thanks to the king. Just when it looked like he was going do the impossible at age 35 father time had other ideas a groin injury set him back an entire season his team failed to even qualify yet again. That offseason the hate again grew for the King, hashtags like #washedking where trending over and he was yet again in his career questioned and criticised upon. LeBron that off season decided he's not only going to talk the talk but walk the walk. Despite the season throwing many hurdles -Kobe's death, Pandemic, Bio-Bubble etc Lebron won the title for his team becoming only the first player in NBA history to win the finals MVP with three different franchise.

At every stage of his career even now people question his greatness and his ability and Its just pathetic, petty and sad.

Lebrons Achievements:

4× NBA champion: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020

4× NBA Finals Most Valuable Player: 2012, 2013, 2016, 2020

4× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013

17× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

3× NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008, 2018

16× All-NBA selection:

13× First team: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020

2× Second team: 2005, 2007

1× Third team: 2019

6× NBA All-Defensive selection:

5× First team: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

1× Second team: 2014

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004

NBA Scoring Champion: 2008

3× NBA minutes leader: 2007, 2017, 2018

J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award: 2017

NBA assists leader: 2020

3× Olympic medalist:

-2× Gold: 2008, 2012

-Bronze: 2004

FIBA World Cup medalist:

-Bronze: 2006

FIBA AmeriCup medalist:

-Gold: 2007

USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year: 2012

National Basketball champion: 2003

3× State champion: 2000, 2001, 2003

2× Gatorade National Player of the Year: 2002, 2003

2× Mr. Basketball USA: 2002, 2003

2× USA Today High School Player of the Year: 2002, 2003

3× Ohio Mr. Basketball: 2001, 2002, 2003

3× USA Today All-USA First Team: 2001, 2002, 2003

2× PARADE High School Player of the Year: 2002, 2003

2× First-team Parade All-American: 2002, 2003

Second-team Parade All-American: 2001

Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year: 2003

Naismith Prep Player of the Year: 2003

McDonald's National Player of the Year: 2003

McDonald's High School All-American: 2003

McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest (Powerade Jam Fest): 2003

McDonald's All-American Game MVP: 2003

EA Sports Roundball Classic MVP: 2003

Jordan Capital Classic MVP: 2003

Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year: 2003

Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year: 2012, 2016

Sporting News Athlete of the Year: 2012

Sporting News NBA MVP: 2006

Sporting News Rookie of the Year: 2004

Sports Illustrated NBA All-Decade First Team: 2000–2009

7× Best NBA Player ESPY Award: 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018

3× Best Male Athlete ESPY Award: 2012, 2013, 2016

Best Breakthrough Athlete ESPY Award: 2004

4× Best Championship Performance ESPY Award: 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016

6× BET Sportsman of the Year: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013

3× Associated Press Athlete of the Year: 2013, 2016, 2018

2× Hickok Belt: 2012, 2013

Jackie Robinson Sports Award: 2017

1st in career Value Over Replacement Player (VORP)

• 25.36 more than next player on the list.

2nd in career Box Plus/Minus (8.93).

• Behind Michael Jordan (9.22).

Most career assists by a forward (9,021).

Most consecutive double-digit scoring games: 1036 games.

Most times being named Conference Player of the Week (64 times).

Most times being named Conference Player of the Month (46 times).

Most All-NBA First Team selections (16).

2nd career in Player Efficiency Rating or PER (27.59)

• Behind Michael Jordan (27.91)

3rd most seasons with at least 2,000 points (10)

• Behind Karl Malone (12) and Michael Jordan (11).

3rd most 30-point games in NBA history (465)

• Behind Michael Jordan (562) and Wilt Chamberlain (515).

3rd most 20-point games in NBA history (1,000).

• Behind Karl Malone (1,134) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,122).

4th most NBA Most Valuable Player Awards (4).

Behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (6), Michael Jordan (5) and Bill Russell (5).

• Tied with Wilt Chamberlain (4).

Only player in NBA history to record at least 35,000 points, 9,000 rebounds, and 9,000 assists.

• No other player has at least 27,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, and 8,000 assists

Only player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 100 steals in four consecutive seasons.

Only player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, and 100 steals in a single season for at least eight seasons.

Only player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists in a single season for at least eight seasons.

Only player in NBA history to average at least 25 points per game for 15 consecutive seasons.

Only player in NBA history to be in the top 5 all-time in points and top 10 all-time in assists.

• No other player is in the top 10 in both categories 

Only player in NBA history to have at least 9,000 rebounds and 9,000 assists.

One of two players in NBA history to win four NBA Most Valuable Player Awards in a span of five years.

• The other is Bill Russell.

One of two players in NBA history to win at least two NBA Most Valuable Player Awards for two different franchises.

• The other is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

One of two players in NBA history to win NBA MVP, Finals MVP, and an Olympic Gold Medal in the same year.

• The other is Michael Jordan (1992).

One of two players in NBA history to win at least four NBA MVP awards and four NBA Finals MVP awards.

• The other is Michael Jordan.

One of two players in NBA history to record a triple double against all NBA teams.

• The other is Russell Westbrook.

One of six players in NBA history to win consecutive Finals MVP Awards.[38]

• Includes Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant

Only player in NBA history to score 10 points or more in 1,000 consecutive games

Most playoff games with at least 20 points (232).

Most playoff games with at least 25 points (181)

Most playoff games with at least 30 points (118)

Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (183)

Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (87)

Most playoff games with at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (26)

• All other active players have 33 combined 

Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (92)

Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (48).

Most playoff games with at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (15)

Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (25). 

• All other active players have 30 combined

Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (14)

Most playoff games with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (3)

• No other player has more than one (Jerry West, Charles Barkley, Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic, and Jimmy Butler)

Most playoff games with at least 45 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists (10)

• Tied with Michael Jordan

Most playoff games with at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists (4)

• Tied with Russell Westbrook

1st in Win Shares (51.0)

• 11.24 more than the next player on the list Michael Jordan (39.76).

2nd in Box Plus/Minus (10.16)

• 0.98 behind Michael Jordan (11.14)

1st in VORP - Value Over Replacement Player (33.1).

• 10.25 more than next player on the list Michael Jordan (22.85)

1st all-time for postseasons with at least 500 total points (9 times)

2nd for consecutive 20-point games to start a playoff career (19).

• Behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (27)

2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 35 points (61)

• Behind Michael Jordan (75)

2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 40 points (27)

• Behind Michael Jordan (38)

2nd place all-time for playoff games scoring at least 45 points (11)

• Behind Michael Jordan (23)

2nd place all-time for triple-doubles in the playoffs (28).

• Behind Magic Johnson (30)

2nd place all-time for most defensive rebounds in a playoffs career (1,756).

• Behind Tim Duncan (2,081)

2nd place all-time for most NBA Finals MVP Awards (4).

• Behind Michael Jordan (6)

Only player in NBA history to be in the top 10 all time in career playoff points, rebounds, assists and steals

Only player in NBA history to be in the top 5 all-time in career playoff points, assists, and steals

and much much more.....

One more reason why THE KING is the GOAT that he has managed to inspire a kid 13,568 km away to be great at his life and that kid is me.