Learning To Accept Lebron

Technically, there’s still a sequence of events that need to happen before the lockout is officially over, but don’t let that stop you from immersing yourself in the latest Chris Paul or Dwight Howard rumor, it’s been too long since we talked actual hoops.

Practice facilities will open later this week, free agency expected to start on December 9^th and the season will open on Christmas; which means I have little less than a month to gather my thoughts on the Miami Heat and decide whether I want them to succeed this year.

The first season of Lebron and Wade – I have too much respect for the knowledge of people reading this to include Bosh with these two – exceeded all expectations. We’ve all long forgotten about their slow start to the regular season,  how they came together in the playoffs against Boston and Chicago and all the game to game drama in between that.

In fact, after reading and watching so much of this team of villains last season, there is only one takeaway: they collapsed in the Finals.

I took satisfaction in seeing Miami fall apart and come up short, as I’m sure many did. I don’t think there’s a sense of personal hatred when it comes to Bron, Wade and Bosh. It just wouldn’t have felt right for their season to be so preordained. To have a victory parade before and after the season seemed a bit too much. It would have validated everything that they did.

Given this thought process, you couldn’t have scripted a better ending for the Heat.

But is there any value to root against them over and over again, season after season, in the hopes that it never works out for them? It inevitably becomes a question about how you feel about Lebron James.

It seems difficult to pinpoint what exactly we want from him, or why exactly we want to see his demise. He will be the defining player of this generation, like Kobe before him, Jordan before that.

On the court, he is as unselfish a superstar we’ve seen – almost to a fault, especially since he’s had consecutive years of coming up short in the biggest moments. Off the court, he is the exact opposite. He is only about himself and is either unaware of this perception or aware but unable to do anything about his because he’s spent his whole life being told he’s the greatest.

This is how I see Lebron, but even with all that, I can’t think of a reason why I wouldn’t want to see him win a championship. If a lesson needed to be learned, if egos needed to be humbled, than their loss to the Mavericks in the Finals served those purposes. But why would I want to see him fail anymore?

Like it or not, we are basketball fans in the Lebron James era. With all great players, there comes a point when no matter how much you despise them for your own reasons, you can’t help but respect what they’re doing on the court, even appreciate and root for them after a period of time.

That time will come for Lebron James. It always does. I just have to figure out whether I want to see him fail just a little bit longer.

- steven lebron

Follow @steven_lebron on twitter.