We’re unlikely to deal with anything like “The Decision” should LeBron James enter free agency this summer. And despite all of the grief it caused him four years ago, LeBron says the televised PR disaster was a blessing in disguise. Per GQ:
The Decision show was a flop. He gets that. But the decision itself was just a man having a growth spurt. “The best thing that ever happened to me,” he says. “I needed it. It helped me grow as a man. As a professional, as a father. At the time, as a boyfriend. It helped me grow. Being confined, I spent my whole life in Akron, Ohio. For twenty-five years. Even though I played professionally in Cleveland, I still lived in Akron. Everything was comfortable. I knew everything, everybody knew me—everything was comfortable. I needed to become uncomfortable.
“Now I’ve seen everything on and off the floor this league has to offer,” he says. “I got an answer for everything. Winning, losing, being a free agent, staying, leaving, media, media down on you, media big up on you, agents, money, parking it, family, money. All, everything. So whatever your question is, I can deliver.”
Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel said in an interview that the thing he was most thankful for when getting crushed by the media was James texting him and giving him advice.
“Oh, seriously?” says James, flashing a grin. “He said that?”
What did he tell Manziel?
“My secret words.”
