I’ve watched exactly eight minutes of LeBron James playing basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and I am officially sick and tired of him. Eight minutes was more than enough time to hear “Thunder” Dan Majerle. Sean Elliot, and the rest of the ESPN lackies talk about how “The New King is in Town” or how “King Lebron reigns over all” or basically any comment that attempts to combine his name with a witty reference to royalty. They had nearly a year to come up with these silly phrases and this is the best they could up with. It’s really quite pitiful. Then, on SportsCenter immediately following the game, we are treated to yet another recap of the Cavs game that essentially replays every point or assist Lebron James made throughout the game. This is followed by more absurd comparisons to other rookies who skipped college, including Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Amare Stoudamire. The big conclusion tonight was that since he scored way more points than any other notable straight-from-high school rookie, Lebron James MUST have even more upside than any of those aforementioned players. It seems like a bit of a stretch to use the first game as a measuring stick for the rest of his career, especially when they are comparing him to the likes of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett, who may very well be the best players in the league. If he scored three times as many points in the first game, does that mean he’s going to be three times better than “Kobe” or “KG”? In four years, shall we expect to see him scoring 60 points, pulling down 50 rebounds, dishing out 25 assists, while blocking 15 shots and making 20 steals per game? Pretty ridiculous if you ask me. How about we wait a few games–at least until we can generate “averages”–and then reevaluate his entire career at that point.
* Movie Quote of the Day: “I see dead people.”
October 30, 2003
sports