Choosing Greatness

There are two different ways to make any decision in life; with your heart or with your head. Some people think rationally about every choice they make, weighing the pros and cons before going forward with anything they do. Others act purely according to what their heart tells them. I’ve always prided myself on finding a balance between the two in all parts of my life, including sports. This is why LeBron James and the Miami Heat winning the NBA Championship made me happy to no end but also felt very different than when the Packers won the Super Bowl a year and a half ago.

Not to brag, but I have a pretty impressive track record predicting the eventual greatness of young athletes. Among the players I’ve chosen as “my guys” early in their careers are Cristiano Ronaldo, Adrian Peterson, Rafael Nadal, Phil Ivey (not an athlete, still counts) and Rickie Weeks (shut up, he was an all-star last year). The only example I can think of who hasn’t completely panned out yet is Sergio Garcia. I made these decisions with my head, noticing unrealized potential that eventually surfaced in those individuals. While LeBron was, by far, the easiest to see that potential in, the decade-long journey as a lover of all things King James was anything but easy. But, it was worth the wait.

It was a strange feeling. Even though I’ve become extremely emotionally invested in LeBron, Thursday wasn’t heartwarming. A feeling of euphoria didn’t overwhelm me like it did when Ben Roethlisberger threw that final fourth-down incompletion. It was more a sense of relief. I’m sure that had a lot to do with the specific instance of LeBron. He finally realized the destiny that was inevitable but at the same time seemed like it would never come. He’s one of the most unique cases in history.

Maybe “relief” isn’t the correct word. It was just as much a feeling of accomplishment, granted I didn’t accomplish jack shit. It was what I imagine a proud parent feels when their child is named valedictorian or earns an athletic scholarship or gets married. No matter how many poor decisions took place along the way, and I’ll be the first to admit there were a few, someone I truly believed in achieved greatness.

I’ve always understood both the pro- and anti- LeBron camps, because, like I said, I understand the balance between heart and head. LeBron had every right to leave Cleveland. I’ve stood by that since the beginning, but we can all agree that “The Decision” wasn’t the best way to go about it. It just so happens that I’m part of maybe the only other fanbase who has experienced a more distasteful parting of ways with its once savior. Yes, technically it was the Packers’ “decision” to trade Brett Favre, but don’t act for one second like he didn’t push himself out of Green Bay with every intent to return to the division one year later and seek retribution.

This isn’t the time or place to get into how I feel about Favre (oh by the way he sent pictures of his wang to a smoking hot Jets employee while his wife was suffering from breast cancer; 1 million times worse than anything LeBron James has ever done). Luckily, we had a future MVP to replace the dolt, but it still hurt, and, as you can tell, I never forgave the traitor. So I can empathize with Cleveland fans.

But, like I said, LeBron had the right to leave, just like any athlete in the modern free agency era. Minus one big “Decision,” he has carried himself unbelievably well while facing more pressure than any athlete in history. With the exponential growth of social media and multi-platform sports coverage, even overwhelmingly liked athletes such as Derrick Rose and Tom Brady face more scrutiny than they would have in any other generation, and LeBron is analyzed 100 times more than either of them.

Every game, every quarter, every shot LeBron takes is picked apart by the hashtaggers and internet heroes. The pressure may have affected his play at times (vs. the Celtics in 2010, vs. the Mavs in 2011), but it never affected his composure off the court. Think about it. LeBron has never been in trouble with the law. By all accounts he is a loving fiancé and father. Practically every teammate he has ever had says only good things about the man. Yet he was broken down and dissected more than all the Pacmans, Mike Tysons and T.O.s combined. It’s because everyone saw his greatness, and deep down everyone wanted him to succeed because we all wanted to witness it.

Let’s also remember the greatness who embraced LeBron moments after the buzzer sounded at the end of Game 5, head shrouded by a Gatorade towel.

No matter how well I think LeBron has handled himself, while being the most scrutinized athlete of all time, it pales in comparison to the class and maturity Kevin Durant continues to display every day of his life. With all the chatter about how LeBron finally lived up to his name, I don’t think enough has been said about the way a 23-year-old handled losing and has handled everything throughout his career. I repeat; this dude is 23 YEARS OLD! He scored more than 30 points per game over the course of his first NBA Finals on 55 percent shooting, and when his team didn’t give him enough help to take down the Heat all he could do was hug his parents, fight off the tears and go to the podium to tell everyone how hard he would work to get better.

What were you doing at 23? I was still in college, sleeping all day and drinking all night. Durant has three NBA scoring titles and unanimous claim to being the second best basketball player in the world, and he’s just going to get better. Simply put, he was placed on this earth to score buckets in basketball games. He cares about his family, his fans and getting better at basketball. That’s it.

Three days after losing the NBA Finals, Durant tweeted:

Went and watched some basketball at Barry farms and@RiseAboveAll3 displayed the best pump fake I've ever seen, need to steal it!

He was watching a Euroleaguer and former Central Florida player hoop and thinking of how to add a move to his repertoire THREE DAYS AFTER LOSING THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! LeBron is my favorite athlete in the world, but this kid is making it damn hard.

The difference between the two is that Durant has always chosen greatness. He really isn’t close to the all-around talent that LeBron is, but every day of his life he wakes up and chooses to be the best player and the best person that he has the ability to be. It’s unbelievable character for someone his age.

No matter how much room Durant still has to grow, LeBron’s ceiling is significantly higher. He possesses arguably the most raw talent of any NBA player (or athlete in general) ever. The only thing that made it close was their mindsets.

LeBron always used (and overused) his head. Durant has almost exclusively followed his heart. LeBron made passes to wide open but less talented players at the end of games. You couldn't pry the ball out of Durant's hand with the game on the line. LeBron decided to team up with Dwyane Wade in South Beach. Durant signed a ridiculously long contract extension with OKC the first chance he got. LeBron tried so damn hard to please everyone. Durant was so damn affable that pleasing everyone came easy.

On the podium, LeBron admitted that he spent his first season in Miami thinking about the people who doubted him and playing with too much hate. But at one point over the last month, some might say it was down 2-1 to the Pacers, I would argue it wasn’t until Game 6 against the Celtics, a neat thing happened.

Finally, LeBron chose greatness.