Wait a minute... I am rooting for LeBron James?

For as long as I can remember, I have hated LeBron James. I hate how he was calling himself “The King” before he even played in the NBA. I hate the “Chosen One” tattoo, which Nike so kindly reminded us of with that stupid commercial yesterday. I hate the way he has been babied throughout his career. He is cocky and self centered. I honestly hate him so much. Fuck, I hate him…

Here are Ten Reasons I have always hated LeBron James (in no particular order)

1.)He cries about every call and any time he ever gets injured he milks it for all it is worth. Just google any one of his flopping videos.

2.)ESPN is seemingly in a deep romantic relationship with him. I get it, he is one of the greatest players ever, but I don’t need to be reminded daily.

3.)The Decision. Biggest Cock Move I have ever seen in my life. Then he guaranteed 7 championships. (This one is fun because of how badly it back fired but in the moment it looked like it could come true.)

4.)How he acted when he lost to the Mavericks in 2011.  A team beat a group of more talented individuals. Still my favorite NBA Finals of my lifetime.

5.)The NBA is actively trying to help him. In the 4 years Lebron was in Miami, the Cavs got three number 1 picks in the draft. Odds of that happening? 1 in 13,476. It was rigged, no doubt in my mind.

6.)The never-ending comparisons with MJ. Just stop. Both are all time greats.

7.)His team is mostly garbage right now because of him. When you take one year deals every year and sell the future for the present, eventually that will come back to haunt you.

8.)The fact I am writing this blog defending him.

9.)He is certainly on some sort of human performance-enhancing drug. He has so much money; he is probably taking the greatest serum in human history.

10.)He will do something in the next year that will make me regret writing this blog and remind me how much I hate him.

I have never really viewed LeBron as a human being. I don’t mean in the sense that he is other-worldly athletic, but more in the sense I have never seen him have to go through true struggle in his NBA career, until now.  LeBron could have quit 2 months ago. This team is not championship material (some of which is by his own doing). He could have quit against the Pacers. He could have quit against the Celtics. I thought he would, but he didn’t.

Game 1 was quite honestly one of the greatest performances I have ever seen in my life, in any sport. LeBron was going head-to-head with a team many consider to be the greatest basketball team of all time (thanks to KD the KowarD), and the Cavs should have won. This is the first time I have ever felt like LeBron is bigger than the Finals. Expectations have never been lower, yet the potential rewards have never been higher. If LeBron beats this Warriors team, I think many will finally say it: He is the greatest player of all time.

LeBron knows his team is so woefully overmatched, but that doesn’t seem to faze him. In Game 1, whenever the Cavs needed to make a big play, LeBron took it upon himself and immediately went into attack mode. When the Cavs were losing by 1 with :10 seconds left to play, I was damn certain LeBron was about to hit a game winning shot. Instead, he made the smart play and passed to a cutting George Hill, who forced a foul. But factors outside his control (referees, a missed free throw and JR Smith’s ultra-high basketball IQ) ultimately decided the game.

I think most of us knew the Cavs were not going to win Game 2 after such a deflating loss. Now the Cavs are in a 0-2 hole and if they lose any of these next two games, the series is over. However, I watch sports to see things I don’t believe can be done (for example, the Patriots comeback in Super Bowl 51). If LeBron overcomes this deficit with the busted roster the Cavs have, against one of the greatest teams of all time, let’s just say the table is set.

In the end, you have to come back to the fact the LeBron is just a human being, but he is being forced to play at a super-human level. The amount of pressure that has been thrust upon him by media, and by himself to perform in this particular Finals run is something I could never imagine. The way he has handled it (for the most part) and responded has been inspiring. It would appear to me that somehow he has broken through to the other side. For Christ’s sake, my mother called me this morning saying how upset she was that Cavs are down in the series, and she is a 53-year-old woman who has always hated LeBron, even more so than myself.

In the near future, I will probably go back to hating LeBron… but in this moment, in this playoff run of his, he is playing the best basketball I have ever seen in my life. No matter how hard I try, I simply cannot and will not root against him. Congratulations, sports media. You win. It only took 15 years of pushing him on me but I concede, I am rooting for “The King” LeBron James.

- Average Alex