Regardless of his MVPs and NBA championships, LeBron James is as hated as ever by a lot of fans, trying their best to diminish his achievements and his ability.
Maybe the most popular way of stirring up a discussion (not a healthy one) is putting up a comparison meme (or memes) of LeBron, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. The infamous G.O.A.T discussion. Usually, James comes out on the bottom of those.
But comparing James to Jordan doesn’t mean he’s not a great player on an all-time level. Comparing his title rings to Kobe Bryant doesn’t mean anything regarding their individual ability. Bryant, like every other Finals MVP, never won a championship “on his own.” It’s always been about shining through the best possible team. The same is true for Jordan, LeBron, Magic Johnson and anyone else you’re willing to put up on pedestal of “Greatest of all time”.
And yet James takes more hits than anyone else. Why? It always comes down to one moment in the summer of 2010 and his decision. Personally, I only started rooting for James to succeed and win that championship once he made the move to Miami. Maybe the PR of it was all wrong, but the hate and vilification of him went too far.
Personally, his return to Cleveland diminished my desire to see him win more championships, but that has nothing to do with the appreciation for his talents. He might not be the MVP of 2014 or 2015, but as a player? He still is the best in the league, even if he’s entering that stage of his career where it’s harder and harder for him to show it on a regular basis.
Trying to make it seem like he’s not the player he really is at every opportunity, like this traveling meme which should be made for a lot of other NBA stars, past and present, is more than just good fun. It’s the continuation of the hatred for him among certain people on a level that’s hard to describe or understand, but it keeps on thriving regardless of its ridiculousness and idiotic reasons of existence.