There has been nothing but hype the past two years about the Free Agency Class of 2010, headlined by LeBron James. They say it is the best Free Agency class since 1996, which headlined by Shaquille O'Neal and..yep you guessed it, His Airness Michael Jordan.
Jordan paved the way for the media hype behind the NBA today. The large Nike endorsements, Gatorade endorsements, McDonald's endorsements, movie deals, humongous contracts, etc. was started by none other than the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan. If the Internet was as advanced as it is today back in the late 1980s and 1990s, who knows what MJ could have done with that media.
There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron has the potential to be the best player to ever step foot on an NBA court. There is no doubt that he can have more endorsements and earn more money than MJ. But his legacy, sorry all die-hard LeBron fans (and I'm one of those people myself), will never surpass that of MJ. The reason...MJ made all of this possible by winning big games and winning championships.
LeBron has yet to win a title. Hell, he had yet to win an NBA game before he signed that ridiculously huge contract with Nike. And ever since then, he has built himself to be the perfect marketing brand...almost to the point where people thinks he cares more about his image than winning.
I blame MJ's legacy for this all. We all grew up wanting to "Like Mike." We wanted to wear shoes with our own emblem on them, make movies with Bugs Bunny, and have every thought or action of ours followed by millions. LeBron is following this path now, and I think it is hurting his reputation on the court.
So now comes Thursday, the prime time "Pursuit of LeBron-ness" at 9 PM. (really ESPN, an hour long special?) Hopefully, he makes a decision that will help improve his legacy on the court and not off the court.
Jordan paved the way for the media hype behind the NBA today. The large Nike endorsements, Gatorade endorsements, McDonald's endorsements, movie deals, humongous contracts, etc. was started by none other than the G.O.A.T. Michael Jordan. If the Internet was as advanced as it is today back in the late 1980s and 1990s, who knows what MJ could have done with that media.
There is no doubt in my mind that LeBron has the potential to be the best player to ever step foot on an NBA court. There is no doubt that he can have more endorsements and earn more money than MJ. But his legacy, sorry all die-hard LeBron fans (and I'm one of those people myself), will never surpass that of MJ. The reason...MJ made all of this possible by winning big games and winning championships.
LeBron has yet to win a title. Hell, he had yet to win an NBA game before he signed that ridiculously huge contract with Nike. And ever since then, he has built himself to be the perfect marketing brand...almost to the point where people thinks he cares more about his image than winning.
I blame MJ's legacy for this all. We all grew up wanting to "Like Mike." We wanted to wear shoes with our own emblem on them, make movies with Bugs Bunny, and have every thought or action of ours followed by millions. LeBron is following this path now, and I think it is hurting his reputation on the court.
So now comes Thursday, the prime time "Pursuit of LeBron-ness" at 9 PM. (really ESPN, an hour long special?) Hopefully, he makes a decision that will help improve his legacy on the court and not off the court.
Let me know your thoughts.
Joker
2 comments:
So when it comes down to it, should he sign with the Bulls?
I feel that he should sign with whatever team is the best for him to win the championship. If it's the Bulls in his opinion, then he should.
-Joker
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