Sir Charles in Charge
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Looking Back At LeBron James’ Journey Towards NBA Glory

By Clevis Murray

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We look back at everything LeBron James had to go through early in his career, to reap the benefits of his last five years in the NBA 

Pain. Anger. Hate. Sadness. Evilness. That’s all one man had to endure immediately following “The Decision” to leave home and create a troika in Miami.

The NBA’s most beloved and well-known powerhouse went from being the most likable talent to the most despised and hated within a sentence. Leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and joining the Miami Heat with Chris Bosh (who left the Toronto Raptors) and Dwyane Wade (who re-signed with the Heat) meant that a daily concoction of excoriation would be made for each of them, but mainly James.

The King’s start as heel began where his tenure as a babyface ended: Boston. From losing to the Celtics in 2008 and 2010 and ending his time with the Cavs by walking through that Boston tunnel in defeat. In his gait of sadness he would stop to kiss his mom, Gloria, and start to throw his arm sleeve and headband into the crowd, fist-bumping the crowd, taking his mouth guard out where it belongs, speed talking through everyone in his way as he took of his hometown teams away jersey for the last time as he entered the locker room.

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Dawning the colors associated with badness, black and dark red, James spent the entire 2010-11 season being booed in every arena possible. His inaugural season in Miami was as successful as everyone expected with him dismantling the Celtics, his old foe, playing and acting differently, and everything else in between that culminated into a special season. Everything was good for the King as he was atop his thrown until he met a German, J.E.T, Matrix, Kidd and a Puerto Rican who’s generously listed at 6-feet, in the Dallas Mavericks.

The Heat were heavily favored to beat the Mavericks, but the King fell and tumbled off of his pedestal and hit rock bottom. For the first time in his career he was in a new position of struggle, hate, and daily excoriation from fans and the media. He went from LeBron to “LeChoke” and “LeBrick” in a matter of minutes. James never struggled like that before in his life, and it was not befitting for a King. Without a true leader to lead the soldiers to the promised land, his team lost in six games to the underdogs in a David and Goliath story.

He made his away to the locker room after his congratulatory hugs and daps with his head down, jersey untucked and arms swaying back and forth as he disregarded every person and everything in his way. James’ face was emotionless with the only action he did while the cameras were on him was lift his drenched jersey to wipe himself of the liquid his head released after losing the battle.

That long four-month summer break in the basketball world was mainly about how the “Chosen One” chose to not to show up. Critics began to question if he was truly worth of being called a “King.” His mental toughness, commitment and drive were questioned by some of the most credible media personalities known today.

"“He wasn’t even LeRobin James, he was LeAlfred James, this was just pathetic… I wanted another commercial where LeBron says ‘like a good neighbors State Farm is there: with a clutch gene’ because he doesn’t have any clutch gene. We saw it, it was an all-time pathetic performance.” – Skip Bayless of ESPN after Game 5.“LeBron James is a great player. People [need to] shut up, he’s not shrinking from anything. Peoples brains are shrinking.” – Michael Wilbon of ESPN defending LeBron"

Everyday until the start of the 2011-12 season, everything about James was questioned and his performance was a running joke. Entering his ninth NBA season, James had everyone against him. It was him, family, teammates and the Heat organization vs. everyone else. Season number nine was crucial for him as he had to recover from his performance less than six months ago. He knew his play was horrible and that he could play better.

"[via Rachel Nichols]“Not great at all. Not the way I know how to play the game of basketball on a high level. I’m out there to be a game-changer, and I didn’t make enough game-changing plays.”“I just know I didn’t play well. I could’ve played down the stretch better. I didn’t have enough game-changing plays like I know I’m capable of having.”“Probably one of the hardest times in my life. After the Finals I sat in my room for two weeks. [I] did absolutely nothing. [I] talked to absolutely nobody.”"

James continued to reflect on his first season in Miami and even spoke on how he needed to revert back to the way he played the game of basketball, which was by having fun and joy. He realized that after being a face for seven years, it was hard to adjust to being the bad guy.

"“It was definitely tough for myself. It was a situation I [had] never been in before. It took a longtime to adjust to it.” – James admitted to Nichols."

James spent the offseason doing things he had never done before and dedicated a portion of it to working out with 2008 Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon. He added a post game to transcend his game and take advantage of his blessed girth to bully the undersized opposition.

Start of Redemption

After an offseason to decompress, analyze, reinvent and change, James’ start at redemption began against the team who ended it: The Mavs. As the Mavericks were preparing to start their title defense in a shortened season, James came out with an aggression and vengeance that he had been seeking since The Finals. His revenge was seen in front of a national TV audience on ABC during the league’s most infamous day with marquee match-ups: Christmas Day. Smelling blood, catching the prey and dismantling it never felt so good as James completed part one of his redemption by ending the night with 37 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Throughout the season he showed of his new and improved game. First off was a post game. It was his biggest weakness because it was something he hadn’t had before. He was already great and was living off the talent that got him to the NBA.

James didn’t really learn how to get an “easy” shot prior to his redemption season. With Olajuwon he learned to expand his game and become creative in the post. His time investment to attend camp as a student of the “Dream Shake” founder to make his biggest inability become a strength is why James became so dominant that season.

Becoming a bruiser of an old-fashioned game, James became as delicate on his feet as a gymnast in the Olympics. To understand his choreography was like trying to understand a Michael Jackson dance routine: arduous, tough and time consuming.

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Olajuwon’s superstar student became a walking library with a litany of post moves to make him become a smooth operator and to keep the defense thinking of what move he will do next. Will he drive to the hoop? Will he spin left or right? Will he face up? Will he use his left or right hook? Will he use an up and under? Will he pump fake by going up and down like an exotic dancer? His intricate dance moves throughout that season left our eyes dazzled, amazed and in awe. He became an author of his own manual on “how to dominate the post for dummies.”

With how refined post-game, James, broke the mold and stereotype of NBA stars living purely off their athletic ability during the early portion of their careers. Most players don’t develop a tool kit on the low-block until their career is slowly coming to a close and the basketball reapers start to approach them, in which then players begin to polish their fundamentals and go down on the left or right block.

The talent he naturally had was bound to catch up with him eventually. He developed skill, which is something you work on. Talent will typically fail you if you don’t develop any skill. His offensive répertoire was as mundane and banal as my closet – mainly because I wore uniform from the start of middle school to the end of high school, but that’s besides the point.

James’ increased basketball acumen became unquestionably unarguable. Instead of going to ‘play’ each night, he was going to ‘work‘

Instead of taking long bailout three-pointers or just simply settling for the ever most popular shot in basketball, James realized that shooting from deep wasn’t in his best interest. He reduced his attempts from around 200+ each season to a career-low 149 in the condensed season, which was around 2.4 per game. With a less reliance on the three-point shot, James was able to shoot a career-high 36.2% behind the arc, and post a career-high (at the time) with an Effective Field Goal Percentage (EFG%) of 55.4%, True Shooting Percentage (TS%) of 60.5%, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

With James taking a career-high 87.3% of his shots inside the arc, and 32.9% of his shots came from three-feet and in, he became a threat with newly added and threatening post-game. He shot a career-high 75.8% from that distance and in, making his tormenting summer and him going back to school as a student of the game worth it. He also became a better mid-range jump-shooter as he made 48.1% of his shots between ten and sixteen feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com.

James’ increased basketball acumen became unquestionably unarguable. Instead of going to “play” each night, he was going to “work.” Just so you know, the distance and difference between the words “work” and “play” is immense. James was going to “work” to complete a mission with great intensity, ferocity and drive. He did that while others went to “play” with smiles across their face and playing a relaxed type of game. The gap between the two words is immense, and that’s what separated James from the rest that season.

With undergoing one of the greatest single-season turnarounds for athlete in probably sports history, James led the Heat to a 46-20 record averaging 27.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.9 steals with a Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 30.7. With a speculator season completed he was on his road to true redemption and an elusive NBA Championship. James also was the recipient of his third career Most Valuable Player (MVP) award with eighty-four first-place votes, and earning 1,074 points of a possible 1,210.

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Stepping up against the odds

Entering the 2012 playoffs it was championship or bust for the Heat, and becoming a legend vs. a great player for James. It was time for him to step up and enter a mindset that he had never been before. As a villain, he dismantled the championship hopes and dreams of his best friend and New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony in the first-round. He didn’t take it easy on him and treated ‘Melo as just another person standing in his way of the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Knicks weren’t much of a threat as they lost in five-games, but were good practice for James as he had to go face-to-face with rising Indiana Pacers forward Paul George in round two.

Going against young-start Pacers and their core of George, David West, Roy Hibbert, George Hill and Danny Granger, the Heat and James were expected to enter a tough battle against a future contender in the Eastern Conference Finals. With the Pacers taking a 2-1 lead through three games and game four being Indiana, all eyes pointed to James to step-up when it matters on the road to deliver and carry his team.

As the Pacers start the game with a 9-0 run, James began to take over by scoring Miami’s first points of the game and pushing his team to obtain the lead and hold out before entering a 3-1 deficit. He was purely dominant and finished the game with 40 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists. It’s the type of performance Pacers fans hadn’t seen since Shaquille O’Neal decimated their team during the 2000 NBA Finals.

The Heat would avoid the upset and send the Pacers packing in six games. Before the series ended though, many people caught on to the writing on James’ mouthpiece which had the Roman numerals “XVI” in bold black on the front. Nobody really knew what those three numerals, except James and whomever wanted to do their research and figure it out. In translation, those three Roman numerals of “XVI” means sixteen. Sixteen is the number of wins it takes to win an NBA Championship in the Playoffs.

"“It’s just inspirational,” James told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports.” I know this is the biggest part of the season, the second part of the season, so it’s just an inspiration for me.”"

On to the Eastern Conference Finals, where James had a date set with a team that has caused him heartache in the past and one of the reasons why he went to Miami: the Celtics. For the fourth time in five years, James had to once again play a playoff series against the now Big-4 of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Seeing their mugs, clover green and play-styles is something James had become accustomed to viewing.

The first four games went to each team winning on their home-court. Game 5 ended with Pierce sizing up James and hitting a pull-up three over him giving the Celtics a 3-2 lead heading back to Boston. Yet again, James’ back was against the wall. Everyone looked to him to have a historic performance and prevent himself from once again losing the Celtics in the playoffs. If Miami were to lose Game 6, James would be excoriated for not showing up. Well, he showed up in a way nobody could’ve predicted.

June 7, 2012. That’s the day someone had an out-of-body experience on national TV. That’s the day someone became possessed. With his hands on his knees, goatee freshly thick and trimmed, and both eyes in the back of his head like he was the Undertaker, James went out there and truly became a villain. He ripped out the heart and soul of everyone Celtic fan around the world, and did it with no emotion. His face was stoned. His performance was historic. He was focused on passing the biggest test of his life. Nobody was going to take him out of his state-of-mind which was to dominate at all and any cost.

James played a complete basketball game that night. He was utilizing the three-point shot, driving to the hoop, using his post-game, rebounding, assisting, hitting the mid-range shot and getting to the free-throw line.

His demeanor was stone-faced. He wasn’t smiling nor high-fixing even his own teammates. He was at work while others were there to play. He was all business. That night he became a very bad and dangerous man. I’m not sure if you could him a “he” on the night. It was demented a thing compounded of blood, flesh and bone.

I remember watching the game and eventually changing the channel because he was too dominant. His greatness made me mad. I became furious he was doing this to my hometown team. I was irate he was that good. The Boston crowd and I were silent. There was nothing to cheer for, and we aren’t like other NBA crowds, we don’t cheer for great performances. Our silence is good enough.

When he scored, he showed no emotion. It was scary. Through my TV screen my heart went numb and I felt the coldness of his game. On that night he truly became a bad-guy. Like a true antagonist, he didn’t care what he was doing. He enjoyed crushing the hearts, dreams and hopes of an entire city. I never knew one man could be so heartless. His true demons were on display that night.

James concluded his career-defining game against the biggest obstacle of his career with 45 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, as he became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 (50 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists) to have 45-15-5 in a playoff game.

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    • After forcing a Game 7 back in Miami, James’ mentality was the same. The game was much closer, and the dagger in my heart when I was watching his performance came at the halfway point of the fourth quarter and forward Brandon Bass was guarding him. With the shot-clocking winding down, James somehow ended up parallel to the Eastern Conference Finals ball logo on the court. He dribbled from his right hand to his left, took a hard dribble and pulled-up from the logo.

    As the ball left his hand, James was just standing where shot the ball from, watching it enter the hoop with a complete follow-through as he his fingers were pointing towards the ground. With his shot having entered the hoop, he hopped back on defense and still held his follow-through. It was at that moment I realized nobody would stop him from complete redemption.

    The game ended with Miami returning to The Finals and James eliminating the Celtics in Game 7 with 31 points and 12 rebounds. This left him four more wins away from complete redemption and great achievement. James’ next obstacle was the NBA’s newest superstar babyface and his cast of his stars: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Serge Ibaka.

    Durant took James’ spot as the most liked player in the league. Every fan outside of Miami wanted Durant to outplay James in each game. Well, it was a nice thought. Durant outplayed James during Game 1 in Oklahoma City, but for the remainder of the series it became known as “The LeBron James Show.” Game 2 went to the Heat as the series shifted to Miami for Games three through five.

    Before each game in Miami, the organization played a pump-up video during players introspections to the tune of “Ni**as in Paris” by Kanye West and Jay-Z. The lyrics to the songs related to James in so many ways.

    "“Ball so hard, this sh*t crazyY’all don’t know that don’t sh*t phase me” – Jay-Z"

    Throughout the series James had been playing on another level and, despite the constant criticism he got for minuscule things and his defense on Durant, nothing phased him at all. He went out there and did what was necessary to win.

    "“You are now watching the throneDon’t let me get in my zone.” – Kanye West"

    James’ throne was the court. Each game and step he took in the playoffs was a step closer to him finally becoming “King James.” Each win he could start to picture the gold in his hand. Him getting his his zone was the most difficult and challenging thing any opponent and fan could watch. He was literally unstoppable when he entered his focused mindset.

    "“I’m definitely in my zone.” – Jay-Z and Kanye West"

    Despite everything everyone was saying to James, it couldn’t distract him from his goal. He was in his zone for sure as he led the Heat to their first NBA Championship since 2006. The closing moments of Game 5 against OKC were the first time he smiled all postseason. It was a blowout win, as being in the zone and going through what he did just a year prior was all worth it. He went to the bench dapping up his teammates.

    Redemption achieved

    As he stood there waiting for the final buzzer to sound it eventually hit James that he was a few minutes away from officially becoming a champion. On the sidelines he had taken off his headband, un-tucked his jersey and started jumping with his arms stretched out in jubilation with unbridle joy.

    During the trophy presentation, as the Larry O’Brien championship eventually made its way to James, he had it over his head in glory. As he brought it down slowly to eye level his eyes had lit up like a kid on Christmas Day. He smiled and hugged what he dreamed of since his NBA debut back in 2003. The trophy was tightly and securely his arms as if he was holding one of his kids. From a hold to a hug, he was enjoying the moment because no player knows when they’ll experience a championship again.

    Throughout Stuart Scott’s interviews with general manager Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra, all you see in the background is James just holding on to the trophy. The only reason he gave up the trophy to Bosh was because he had to prepare to accept the Bill Russell Finals MVP award from Mr. Russell. James accepted the award with his left hand and began holding up the No. 1 sign with with his right finger along with kissing to the crowd and shaking Russell’s hand. His averages at the end of the series were 28.6 points, 10.2 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 1.6 steals.

    Each series that year presented a challenge for him. If he didn’t dig deep down and find added motivation and strength when his team was down 2-1 to Indiana and 3-2 to Boston, then it would’ve just been a repeat of 2011. It would’ve been another offseason questioning him, and him entering another state of sadness and depression

    "“Losing in The Finals last year put me back in place. It humbled me a lot, and I was able to go back to the basics… At the end of the day I looked just at myself in the mirror and said ‘You need to be better. Both on and off the floor.” – James said to ESPN’s Doris Burke at the conclusion of Game 5"

    He had officially achieved redemption. From disappointment to happiness, thanks to the Mavs in 2011, a new LeBron James was born and ready to dominate the game basketball for years to come.

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    James entered the offseason at the top of the NBA totem and had officially been coronated as “King James.” He made history during the 2011-12 season, and did more later in the summer. Instead of resting on his laurels, James had decided to play for Team USA in London for the Olympics. He helped bring another gold medal back to the United States and became the first NBA player since Michael Jordan in 1992 to win regular-season MVP, an NBA Championship, Finals MVP and Olympic Gold in the same year. 2012 was (and is) clearly the best basketball year of James’ career.

    Going forward, James would dominate during the 2012-13 season and break more records, along with becoming a very efficient shooter. He led the Heat to another title against the San Antonio Spurs that season, only to lose to them on the same stage during the 2013-14 season. During that summer, James left Miami to return home to Cleveland and teamed up with perennial All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The team would make The Finals without Irving and Love, which led James to have a historic series, only to lose to Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors in six games.

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    Love what you’re seeing from “King James” now. It won’t last forever. 2011 was what he needed to go through, and 2012 was who he needed to become. There’s King Kong, Kong Kobra, and the all-mighty King James. Do me a favor and bask in his greatness, because it won’t be long until he’s known as the G.O.A.T.

    A lesson learned from the trials and tribulations that James had to go through is this: The best teacher in life is experience and you have to learn from it. You can sit their and mop about defeat, or do something about it and become great. It’s all up to you, so be about it.

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