LeBron James is our
Athlete of the Year
by rick olivares
The picture above says a lot.
LeBron James is skying in for a massive tomahawk jam;
the violence of the moment yet to be consummated. That happens about only a
hundred times in a season (maybe more).
If you look more closely, it is James, leaving not
only the Los Angeles Lakers but also Kobe Bryant in his wake.
With Bryant out once again due to his second most
serious basketball injury in his career, the torch has been clearly passed to
LeBron James.
Peyton Manning has been named Sports Illustrated’s
Sportsman of the Year. Verily, he is deserving for what he is accomplishing on
the gridiron at the age of 37 but the Super Bowl has yet to be won.
Manny Pacquiao should have been in the running for
any athlete of the year award but even with his brutalizing Brandon Rios, the
image of his snoozing on the canvas at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez sticks
in my craw and most of everyone’s noggin.
Cristiano Ronaldo is doing well individually but his
Real Madrid team is five points adrift of Barcelona sans an injured Lionel
Messi that is still on track to win a second consecutive La Liga title. At the
moment, the Portuguese sensation isn’t even leading the Spanish league in
goal-scoring as that honor belongs to city rivals Atletico Madrid where forward
Diego Costa has 19 to Ronaldo’s 18.
LeBron James on the other hand was and is still atop
professional basketball’s firmament where he is now mentioned in the same
breath as the all-time all-universe greatest players.
Clearly, he is at the peak of his powers. He is the
master of all he surveys.
He is a two-time NBA champion and with two Olympic
Gold Medals to cement his greatness the world over. He is running away with a
possible fifth MVP Award where he will join some dudes named Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Bill Russell. Barring
disaster, his Miami Heat look like they will win a third straight Larry O’Brien
Trophy.
In this season that isn’t at its halfway mark, he has
also eclipsed Bryant in one more aspect – tops in NBA jersey sales worldwide.
When he left the Cleveland Cavaliers (rather
controversially) for the Miami Heat, it was theorized and chastised by many,
including myself, that he had given up being the man to play back up to Dwyane
Wade. That was tantamount to like being second guitarist Don Felder to lead
guitarist Joe Walsh in the Eagles. Like being Robin to Batman.
However, James has been anything but a back up for
anyone in Miami. With Wade mostly injured and Chris Bosh putting on his guise
as the Invisible Man (now you see him, now you don’t), James has been nothing
short of spectacular.
He is the Man. And at only 28 years of age. So you
know there’s more to come.
Like Jordan in his later years, he has improved his
jumper. The transformation from a dunker to a complete basketball player is
nearly done. He has added a devastating post-up game to his already wicked
arsenal. He’s got the point forward position down pat. What can he not do on
the basketball court?
Like the other great athletes of our time, he has
transcended his sport. He graces magazine covers including one with supermodel
Giselle Bundchen. He has even co-hosted the ESPYS! He did some of the best
adverts until Cleveland guard Kyrie Irving’s Uncle Drew commercials came along.
What athlete has gone from being the most disliked to
the most liked? And to think that even before he got drafted, he had already
put up a foundation that helps poor kids get an education.
I liked James then I disliked him. But I have to
admit that he has turned things around and how! And for that and everything he
is done in the past and this year, I’d say he is my Athlete of the Year.
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