LeBron James’ competitive nature is a blemish on a career nearing an end

LeBron James’ competitive nature is the only blemish on a great career

There’s no telling when LeBron James will retire. The guy has been so durable over the years that his playing career may outlive democracy for all we know.

But turning 36 by month’s end and having put his John Hancock on the dotted line of a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, it’s safe to say we are coming to the final act of his career.

The single PR blemish he has faced thus far is The Decision. The single blemish in his playing career has been shrinking in the 2011 NBA Finals with the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks.

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Throw those two offenses away. The formation of super-teams at every new stop he has descended to is a clear indictment of the man’s competitive nature.

In other words, what Charles Barkley said about LeBron a few years ago is 100 percent true: the man doesn’t have the same drive to compete as his predecessors. No one is arguing that it takes more than one great player to win a championship.

Jordan had Pippen.

Kobe had Shaq.

Magic had Kareem.

Here is the difference between those guys and LeBron James: those guys played with whoever management was able to get them.

LeBron hand-selected his supporting cast. He joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami.

He joined Kyrie Irving in his second go-round with the Cleveland Cavaliers and demanded that the franchise that had won the lottery three different times since his departure to Miami use its assets to get Kevin Love.

And last summer, he conspired with Anthony Davis and their mutual representation – the JAFA agency (Just A Kid From Akron) – to strong-arm the New Orleans Pelicans to trade him to Los Angeles

Does all this detract from LeBron James greatness? Perhaps. But it most certainly paints an unflattering image of his competitive nature It is also easy to understand why. No player entering the NBA has ever faced as much pressure and weighted expectations as LeBron James.

He’s been under a microscope since the day he stepped foot in the league. Everything LeBron has done over the years has been a strategic effort to add to his brand. He avoided the dunk contest all these years despite being arguably the most gifted athlete of all-time because the prospects of losing would tarnish his greatness.

He failed to rise to the occasion in one-on-one matchups against the likes of other superstars like Kobe Bryant during the All-Star Game at the fear of falling short.

When the Golden State Warriors were steam-rolling and swept the Cavs in the 2017 NBA Finals, LeBron quit on his team in the final game.

And in his first year with the Los Angeles Lakers and playing alongside a cast of young players, LeBron checked out on defense almost all-year-round.

The only reason that “the King” has avoided the type of backlash that befell Kevin Durant when the latter joined the Golden State Warriors is because LeBron and his PR team have always controlled the narrative of his moves.

Sure, you could call it “player empowerment” when a superstar decides to dictate his own fate rather than leave it to the competence of the general manager of the franchise he plays for.

But a more apt description to team with Wade and Bosh in Miami; Kyrie and Kevin Love in Cleveland; and conspire to get Anthony Davis in Los Angeles is just shortcutting the challenge of winning a championship.

How many more championships would Michael Jordan have won if he decided to leave the Chicago Bulls and play with Charles Barkley in Phoenix or Karl Malone and John Stockton in Utah?

What if Kobe had decided to leave the Lakers and team up with Tim Duncan in San Antonio once Shaq was traded to Miami?

By the way, on the subject of the Black Mamba, it is appropriate to draw a parallel that any NBA fan but especially Lakers fans can appreciate between LeBron and the late Kobe Bryant.

Kobe was such a competitor that he wanted Shaq kicked out of town just so he could prove that he could win a championship without the big man.

LeBron James, meanwhile, mailed in his first year as a Laker and didn’t really commit to playing at an MVP-level until he had another top-five player on his squad.

On top of that, he even tried to recruit Kawhi Leonard to join the Lakers last summer AFTER Anthony Davis was already traded there. To re-circle back to Barkley’s comments years ago when he took shots at LeBron’s competitive nature, LeBron responded in a way that was out of character.

He took personal shots at Barkley.

Logic would dictate that Barkley’s comments left such a stinging effect of truth that LeBron probably felt somewhat exposed.

That same unflattering nature of James has only shown itself one other time over his career.

It was after the Miami Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals and James seemed to aim low at critics who basked in his failure as a result of him (perhaps jokingly) predicting the Heat would win “…not one, not two, not three…”.

Once again, it’s safe to assume that LeBron probably felt exposed.

Living years and years under a microscope can cause a level of self-awareness that can be almost crippling, one would image. Maybe that’s why it was Ray Allen that made the signature shot to ultimately beat San Antonio in the 2013 NBA Finals. Not James. Maybe that’s why it was Kyrie Irving that made the signature shot to beat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. Not James.

On that day of days that LeBron finally hangs up his jersey and calls it a career, most will have him in their Mount Rushmore of all-time greats.

But the biggest blemish of his career will remain that, while other superstars like Jordan, Magic, and Kobe wanted to beat the best, LeBron simply wanted to play with them. And as harsh of a truth as it is, that is why the NBA will actually be in a better place when LeBron finally does retire.

Because there will finally be a competitive balance in the league again.