Monday, August 22nd, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  83 responses

Week After NBA Finals the Worst of LeBron James’ Life


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Eight years into a Hall of Fame career, LeBron James says that winning that elusive NBA title has become something of an obsession for him.

So, you can understand that after the Dallas Mavericks shocked the world and won the championship over LBJ’s Miami Heat this past June, LeBron was more than a little bummed out.

LeBron James tells Hoopshype that days following the crushing defeat were the absolute worst of his life:

How did the media coverage that you got this season, which was pretty negative, affect the performance of the team? LJ: “For the most part we accomplished a lot of things that we wanted to accomplish. We didn’t accomplish our ultimate goal and that is to win the NBA championship, but for a team to come together for the first year, and get through what we got, and to do some of the things what we did with all the scrutiny and media coverage that we had throughout the season, I think it was a successful season.”

How was the week following the defeat at the Finals? LJ: “It was the worst week I ever had. I hate losing.” What did you do? LJ: “I did nothing. Nothing at all.”

This is not an uncommon thing for NBA superstars — Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and a host of other legends have expressed similar thoughts following defeats in the postseason. It’s one of the reasons these guys break down in tears after finally winning a ring.

One other interesting tidbit from the Q&A, is that LeBron James feels that his unpopular move to Miami last summer took him out of the MVP race before the season had even begun.

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  • LA Huey

    ^You lost me at Derrick Coleman

  • Heals

    I dunno gettin doubled up in comments by a DRose multiple championships piece on SLAMonline can’t feel all that great either…

  • CubicleWorker

    The same “psychic benefits” concept apply to the players… what’s more glamorous, playing in the NBA or some Lithuanian league? I’m sorry but Kris Humphries isn’t banging any Kardashian sisters coming from a Turkish basketball league..

  • LA Huey

    ^NBA players will follow the money. I thought the point of the article was if you’re getting into the NBA business, you aren’t getting into it for the financial payoff.

  • kobe tai 24 xxx

    i agree with cubicle worker. If u look at the owners as having psychic benefits, then players have it too. malcom gladwell said the owners should be people who really love basket ball more than business, maybe the players too. Some players who have ridiculous contracts like 60 million for 3 years and they themselves know for sure they dont deserve it maybe should change the contract for 4 million over 4 years, that will help their team get some cap space so they can assign the players needed, that is if they really love basketball, their franchise and wanna win. and its not like u cant live with 4 million over 4 years. i m just saying why is it only the owners who have to love the game of basketball, while SOME players just care for their own pockets. playing basketball for a living is also a psyhcic benefit. Just an opinion of mine.

  • http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-tell-Kobe-Bryant-what-he-can-t-do?urn=nba-233572 nbk

    i think the point of Gladwell’s article is that the owners need to come to the realization that owning a sports team is not the same as owning a business franchise whether they want us to believe so or not. Its still very possible to turn a profit, you just have to do it intelligently, rather then with brute force (taking advantage of your product (players) by cutting its share of the costs)

  • kobe tai 24 xxx

    And i dont know that much about basketball contracts and stuff, but i rarely see people talking or articles about a lot of underpaid players, but stuff about overpaid players are sure a lot. Just saying. And i think even for players that are now underpaid ( drose ) he will eventually get paid his price. But for the overpaid players, they will never pay back their prices. I m just saying. Like boozer really loves the bulls maybe he should take a paycut from his current contract coz he knows he doesnt live up to it and let the bulls use the money. But no one, not in an ideal world would do that. So i think the owners point of view are quite rational. For the upcoming contracts that is. Like make a new limit for player personal wages or contract limits and stuff. But for contracts from before, of course u cant ask their money back. They made a mistake in the past (by overpaying etc) and they just have to suck it up. U make mistakes and u live with it. U cant undo it. Like lebron cant undo some of his bad performance and ask for like a remedial for the 2011 finals. Hell no. U just have to fix ur mistakes and do better in the future. Thats what the owners are doing now, fixing their mistakes (the contract rules and stuff). Btw i m Jerry Buss so sorry if i’m a bit biased

  • kobe tai 24 xxx

    Btw i meant 16 million over 4 years. 4 million per year.

  • http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Video-Don-t-tell-Kobe-Bryant-what-he-can-t-do?urn=nba-233572 nbk

    Jerry Buss would likely be more in support of nixing the salary cap altogether. — He is the owner of the Lakers, that team will turn a profit no matter who they sign. The more stars, the more they can charge. But, Jerry, please call up the owner of the Timberwolves, Spurs, Kings, and Raptors, let me hear their take.

  • robb

    @Allenp thanks for posting that link. Great article.

  • Hicksy_4

    You all need to lay-off lebron he’s clearly the best player in the nba. So what if he’s not micheal jordan, so what if he’s not magic johnson, or larry bird etc. He’s the only Lebron James and what he’s done for basketball especially this generation is phenomonal!

  • http://www.slamonline.com big_ticket

    bron will still be GOAT…

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    mdshuai33: Uh… if Lebron retired today, he’d be a two time MVP, 7x all-star, 2x all-star MVP, 7x all-team NBA, 3x defensive first team with career averages of 28ppg, 7apg, 7rpg and almost two steals a game with two finals appearences under his cap… Why did you bring up Derrick Coleman again?

  • http://360special.blogspot.com/ dev0

    seriously comparing his competitive drive with “Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and a host of other legends?” If I wrote that, I’d get slaughtered.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    cosign jukai ….mdshuai33 ,mdshuai33, dev0 you guys can’t seriously debate this…

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    Hicksy…. what HAS LeBron done for the NBA since he’s been there/here??..
    —
    Jukai stated the accolades that he’s acquired whilst being a current player and they are beautiful statistics. Numbers always look nice. But he hasn’t altered the NBA landscape to a great extent. Unless you want to pin this lockout, or at least a share of it on his shoulders….
    —
    LeBron has dominated the league whilst he’s been here and he will continue to do this if his body/mind can handle it. Much in the same way as Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing have… he’ll be one of the top tier players at his position through his career but that little asterisk next to – CHAMPIONSHIPS: NIL will get bigger and the doubt for on lookers that he can over come this final hurdle will grow.
    —
    I wonder: Just what IS IT…that LeBron needs to get his championship? More team mates…? Less team mates? A weaker opponent? Or is it purely mental for LeBron…? The 4th quarter statistics in the finals were a remarkable sign that he is a human after all. We’re all witnesses.

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    Dacre: Uh… Lebron has been the most popular or second most popular player since coming into the league… He became a city, he became a global icon, he was David Stern’s new icon to spread it globally and a poster boy for the new hipster-youth league. What the hell does Lebron have to do to have an impact? How has Barkley changed the game more than Lebron? Goodness.
    Also, Lebron really doesn’t need anything more to win a championship… I mean, he came two games away with a brand new team who looked like they only knew two play calls. I mean, how about another year, can you give Lebron that?

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    Dave Bing: 7x NBA all-star, 1x NBA all-star MVP, 3x all-team NBA with career averages of 20 points, 4 rebounds and six assists a game… no playoff success. Impact on league: None.
    Billy Cunningham: ABA MVP, 6x NBA/ABA all-star, 5x all-NBA/ABA, career averages of 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists… one championship as a rookie. impact on the league: None.
    Dan Issel: 7x NBA/ABA all-star, 1 ABA all-star MVP, 5x all-ABA, with career averages of 22.6 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and a steal. impact on the league: None.
    Gus Johnson: 6x NBA all-star, 4x all-NBA, 2x all-defensive first team with career averages of 16 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 assists… one ABA championship when he got waived by the NBA and joined an ABA team and played ten minutes with them. Impact on the league: None.
    Gail Goodrich: 5x NBA All-star, 1x All-NBA with career averages of 18.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and a steal… one NBA championship. impact on the league: None
    Nate Thurmond: 7x NBA all-star, 5x all-first team defense, 0x all-NBA appearences with career averages of 15 points, 15 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2+ blocks… one finals appearence. Impact on the league: None.
    Lenny Wilkens: 9x NBA all-star, NBA All-star MVP, 0x all-nba appearences with career averages of 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and two steals… no playoff success. Impact on the league: None as a player.
    Walt Bellamy: 4x All-star, with career averages of 20 points, 13.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists… no playoff success. Impact on the league: Wilt Chamberlain’s punching bag.
    Oh, and Chris Mullin: 5x NBA All-Star, 4x All-NBA with career averages of 18 points, 4 rebounds and 3.5 assists… one finals appearence. Impact on the league: None.
    Guess what all these players have in common? Yepp…

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I’m happy to give LeBron his ENTIRE career to prove his worth in NBA folk lore…. what I’m not going to do is speculate that if someone was to say ‘That as of right now he’s a lock for hall of fame’ that I would agree with that. If Grant Hills career lasted all of 8 years he would look ‘golden’ as well and he’s had even less playoff success….
    —-
    I don’t get how LeBron compares with these guys that have all shaped entire careers around the NBA… ? He’s still a work in progress…. ? When did ‘lock for hall of fame’ become something achievable with “half” a career?
    —-
    LeBron has produced just as much negative activity for himself/the league as bad and the fiery KOBE -vs- LEBRON debates that rage are a testament to that. There is still too much “what if’s” and “potential” shrouding his legacy at this point… for my personal preference. And at the end of the day…. thats all I’m sprouting from my soap box.
    —-
    I love how you’ve just listed 8 guys that ALL have had amazing amounts of impact on the league during their tenures though….. and then said they’ve had none…. priceless.
    Way to rubbish the value of the NBA hall of fame.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    Back to the article at hand however: If you don’t love said sport. Don’t buy said team.

  • Justin

    Of course Lebron is a first ballot Hall of Famer, ring or not. I don’t understand why everyone puts so much emphasis on how many rings a player has when talking about his credability as a player. Karl Malone, John Stockton, Steve Nash, Charles Barkley…just a few that are in the top 5-10 in their positions all time and never won a title. Does that mean they were any less a player, or their individual accomplishments mean that much less? Of course not. Sometimes the team you are on is just not as good as those that won the title and that’s all there is to it

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    Please go about explaining how each of those guys have had a bigger impact than Lebron in the league. Because I’m mystified.
    The Grant Hill comment is odd. Yes, one would have looked at him being a lock as well but Grant Hill’s career at eight years is lightyears below Lebron’s:
    Grant Hill: 0x MVP, 5x all-star, 0x all-star MVP, 5x all-NBA, 0x all-defense, career stats of 20ppg, 7.7rpg, 6apg, and 1.5spg without ever having made it out of the first round.
    Lebron James: 2x MVP, 7x all-star, 2x all-star MVP, 7x all-team NBA, 3x all-defense, career stats of 28ppg, 7apg, 7rpg and 1.8spg with two finals appearences.
    Do you not see a massive difference? It seems your criteria on making the HoF just rests on number of games played.

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    Sorry, let me clarify what I said cause I know you will misunderstand, I did not write it well: Yes, people would have looked at Grant Hill then and said if his career progressed, he will be a lock… I don’t think it coudl have ended and been a lock. Lebron’s, he has enough statistics to be a lock for the HoF if he shattered his leg tomorrow and could never play the game again. As I showed before, many HoFers don’t have any of the individual success and some don’t even have the team success.
    I just don’t know what you mean by impact. You must mean “games played” when you say impact. I don’t see how Gus Johnson has more impact than Lebron James.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    Is he? Is he Justin? Neither LeBron nor Steve Nash have finished their careers so it’s a moot point a this stage. The reason you don’t understand why there is so much emphasis on championship rings and having them versus not having them is because thats what matters….

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    The focus for me is that you can’t just say well he’s tore up this league for 8 yrs.. he walks away tomorrow and thats a lock for the hall of fame….. (Gus Johnson is a great example actually Jukai because he helped carve out the role for the 6th man. The “microwave”, offense off the bench etc…. he’s HOF position has nothing do with being this ultimate offensive machine and team leader as I know you know…and more to do with a niche he was able to develop in the league. That has impact even today). Length of career (or even games played) has a lot to do with a valuable…(read: impactful career) career. Does Ming Yao get in? Whats the measuring stick for him? stat line…? all-star votes…. IMPACT on the league coming from China and helping to build an international bridge of interest???

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    I’m not going to deny LeBron WHEN he gets in to the HOF. I don’t hate the man. I don’t ignore what he’s being able to do statistically. But if he’s going to need a FULL career to make an impact as a CHAMPION then I’ll let that take his course…. patience. Which is probably what he’ll need to get his hands on that trophy and that label.

  • http://dskjfl.com Jukai

    Gus Johnson started the majority of his career. You’re thinking of Vinnie Johnson. Gus Johnson’s HoF actually has everything to do with being “this ultimate offensive machine.”
    Outside of number of games played, you have not given me one example of how any player I’ve listed had more of an impact on the NBA than Lebron.
    If your issue is that Lebron has not had a reasonable amount of seasons, that’s fine, it’s a valid critisism but you should come out and say it. Drop the impact nonsense.

  • Kobe

    People need to realize as much as it takes will to make it to get a ring it also takes luck. Everything and everyone has its time. Do you honestly believe in all you heart that it was all michael jordans will that won him 6 rings. you need a little luck you need that shot to fall at that time to really get you going mentally when your struggling. If Lebron was give some of the fouls he was given like he was earlier in the playoffs and got to the line and got in rythme then maybe things would have been different. Things dont always workout your way. Wasn’t jordan 29 or 30 when he won his first ring. kobe won in his first $ years does that make kobe a better player than jordan because he did it faster. No!! his time will come and if it doesnt again he has had and will have a great career.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    LeBron has not had a reasonable amount of season.
    —-
    Saying it like though doesn’t mean anything.
    —-
    And I can’t believe I got my Johnsons mixed up… what a bummer.

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    Its 11pm here. I’l respond further tomorrow. thanks.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    so lebron hasn’t had that much of an impact on the nba huh? oh…. dacre you’re out of your mind…

  • Hicksy_4

    cosign @jukai

  • http://www.triplejunearthed.com/dacre Dacre

    it’s the lack of NBA action! I can’t even recall what LeBrons crab dribble looks like.

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