Tag: LeBron James

LeBron James is Maximizing His Platform to Speak Out on Racial and Political Issues

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Yahoo – LeBron James took the opportunity to reflect on what [Martin Luther] King’s legacy means to him, and the importance of continuing to advocate for social justice a half-century after King’s death. He also discussed the challenge of doing so at a time in which President Donald Trump — whom the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player reportedly never mentioned by name — and other forces seek “to divide us.” From Scott Sargent of Waiting for Next Year:

“You always hear about people risking their life — [King] actually gave up his life for the betterment of all of us. To be able to live in a free world, and for us to be able to have a voice, to go out and be free no matter your skin color, no matter who you are — height, size, or weight, whatever the case may be. He had a vision and took a bullet for all of us. Literally — the rawest form you can say that. He took a bullet for all of us.
“For us to stand here right now, even though we’re trying to be divided by somebody, it’s a great day for people to realize how we all have to stand united as one. As Americans, we all know and believe this is the greatest country.”

As much as I like to give LeBron shit for all the diva antics he pulls, its generally just busting the chops of one of the greatest players of all-time. He seems like a genuinely good dude off the court. So when an athlete as prominent as LeBron James comes out more and more frequently to offer his thoughts and opinions on hot button racial and political issues its refreshing.

“Without specifically naming the president, James on Monday spoke about the need to stand firm in the face of racism no matter its virulence or the height from which it’s spoken. From Tom Withers of The Associated Press:

“The state of racism will never die, but what we cannot do is allow it to conquer us as people. We can’t allow it to divide us,” said James, the four-time league MVP. “The guy in control has given people and racism, and negative racism, an opportunity to be out and outspoken without fear. And that’s the fearful thing for us because it’s with you, and it’s around every day. But he’s allowed people to come out and just feel confident about doing negative things. “We can’t allow that to stop us from continuing to be together and preach the right word of living and loving and laughing and things of that nature. Because would we want to live anywhere else? I don’t think so. We love this place.”

Good for him for using the platform he has to speak his mind on various issues in this country. That was one of the biggest gripes about the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. As amazing as he was on the court, the guy just wanted to ball out and sell sneakers.

And to all the people saying LeBron should “stick to sports” — pipe down. Those are the same people complaining that athletes give canned responses and don’t actually say anything of note in interviews. Can’t have it both ways. So its good to see athletes becoming increasingly vocal when they have more influence on culture than ever before.

LeBron James Snuck in the Most Absurd Quote of of the Year Just Before New Years Eve

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ESPN – “LeBron James will spend his 33rd birthday on Saturday playing on the road against the Utah Jazz — a place where his teams have lost their past six games. “I need a win here. I suck here,” James said before the Cleveland Cavaliers’ morning shootaround Saturday. “I personally don’t suck, but my team sucks when we come here. We cannot win a game. So hopefully we can change that.”

Sigh. I really want to like LeBron, I really do. He’s one of, if not the best player, of our generation and will probably finish his career behind only Michael Jordan in terms of GOAT status. But then he says just the most cringeworthy shit. Like even if you’re the biggest LeBron fan in the world, how do you defend a quote like that? Its just a microcosm of his entire career. The guy is completely and utterly tone deaf. Whether its The Decision or the blatant subtweeting or the Arthur memes or the constant throwing of teammates under the bus, he is just always saying things that make it impossible to like him. Which is a goddamn shame because aside from that he seems like a genuinely good guy. He donates to charity, he builds schools, he speaks out on issues he’s passionate about, he’s never been involved in ANY type of scandal or been arrested, and he is amazing to watch play. But then he drops a quote like that and I just feel like Sweet Dee.

Cleveland Cavaliers Blame Having to Travel for Why They’re Not Playing Well

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ESPN –  The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets 115-107 to finish their four-game road trip at 3-1, and an adjustment to their travel itinerary may have aided in their success. While in years past it was customary for the Cavs to fly out to the next city on their schedule immediately following a road game, this season they are changing how they approach trips, choosing to stay over in the city where they played and flying out the next day after each leg. “The biggest thing for recovery is sleep,” Cavs head athletic trainer Steve Spiro told ESPN. “There isn’t anything better, and for these guys that are taxing their bodies through travel and through their workload on the court, and practice, and extra work or whatever, we can have all the technology in the world, but obviously a great night’s sleep plays a role into performance. There’s no doubt about it. So you have to have your finger on the pulse of it.”

Oh my god, what a bunch of fucking babies. Now the Cavs are blaming the fact that they have to travel, ya know like every other team in the NBA, on why they’re struggling?

“We’re old, man,” said James, who turns 33 next month. “Whenever we get a chance to stay over for the night this season, we have to do that.”

And then look at this line about Kevin Love.

“There are still some kinks to the system, however. Love, for instance, would have preferred if the Cavs had left Dallas a few hours earlier Sunday since they were losing an hour with the time-zone change from Central to Eastern on their flight to New York City. By the time they got to their hotel in New York, it was already past 7 p.m., and he felt as if the day was lost.“

Cream cheese soft. I actually can’t wait for this plan to backfire when the first player misses the team flight the next day because he went out and got bombed the night before instead of flying out like a normal team.

If there was ever one thing that signified the end of the Cavs reign in the East, its this. Not the fact they have the oldest roster in the league, not the fact that LeBron is subtweeting Arthur memes like a high school chick, nope none of that. They’re complaining if they don’t get a full 9-10 hours of sleep every night like a goddamn cat. Cavs are done. Make them slightly uncomfortable and they’ll crumble. Celtics will be in the NBA Finals this year, book it.

LeBron Rides the Subway Like an Asshole

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Celebrities, they’re just like us! This is like when some fashion company started selling ripped, beat up, paint splattered jeans for like $800 dollars and Mike Rowe called it a “blue collar costume for rich people.” Thats exactly what LeBron riding the subway is. Its his Halloween costume as he pretends to be a poor person like the rest of us. Laughing it up for the Gram and posting pics with all his buddies while everyone just wants to get to their miserable jobs and back without getting stuck on a broken down train or being harassed by a heroin addict.

Enter the normal guy with his headphones in just looking to get home without ending up on the wrong end of a World Star knockout video. LeBron is documenting his time on the subway and this guy is NOT having it.

The subway is no place for fun, which is why I’m surprised more pan handlers singing and dancing in the middle of subway cars don’t get absolutely mauled by some angry guy that just got shitcanned from his 9-5. Moral of the story? Keep your head down and your headphones on while riding public transport or risk taking your life into your own hands. Public transport is not for the faint of heart.

Kyrie Irving Just Triggered the Shit Out of LeBron James

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SUBTWEETING LEBRON IS BACK! Kyrie just went off for 35 points and carried the Celtics down the stretch for a tight win. He was hitting off balance shots, draining huge 3 pointers with no space, and iso-ing guys to kill the clock and ice the game. In other words he was doing what a franchise player does. I loved it. But you know who didn’t? LeBron James.

Bron Bron grammed that at 10:07 pm, which was about six minutes after the Celtics game ended. LeBron was straight up triggered watching “the kid” go off as Kyrie carries a franchise to a 9-game winning streak. All while LeBron’s Cavs are stumbling without Kyrie, sporting a 4-6 record and currently sitting at 12th place in the East. Haven’t seen LeBron this shook since the Celtics broke him in 2010 and forced him to run to Miami.

CUE THE KYRIE HIGHLIGHTS!

New Look Boston Celtics Make Their Season Debut Tonight

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A lot of the Brooklyn Nets’ blood, sweat, and tears have gone into the making of this team and tonight we get our first look at the new look Celtics. For the first time since the days of Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen the Celtics have 3 legitimate elite NBA players on their roster. No longer are they the plucky underdogs. Not to say they’ll be able to top the Cavs or the Warriors, but this team is much closer than last year’s team was. And while Isaiah Thomas will always be one of my favorite C’s players ever, Kyrie Irving is objectively speaking just a better all around player. Kyrie’s been one of the most entertaining players to watch since his (limited) days at Duke so I’m excited to see him lace up his sexy shamrock sneakers for the first time.

Not to mention unwrapping the first starting 5 of the year. Brad Stevens has a shit ton of new toys to play with this season.

I love it. Its that positional flexibility that the NBA thrives on these days as each player in this lineup can score from various levels. Its also the same starting 5 I use in NBA2K, no biggie. I’m excited to see Tatum go up against the big boys too after looking silky smooth in the summer league.

And most of all, its great to have a team that can legitimately compete with LeBron once again. Its been a long road back from The Big 3 days, but this team should push the Cavs for a spot in the NBA Finals. Especially with LeBron still dismissively referring to Kyrie as “the kid” every opportunity he gets, Kyrie may legitimately murder LeBron before we even get to the playoffs.

In True LeBron Fashion, He’s Still a “Game Time Decision” for Tonight’s Season Opener

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Bleacher Report – Cleveland Cavaliers small forward LeBron James is officially listed as a game-time decision for Tuesday’s home matchup with the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena due to an ankle injury. Dave McMenamin of ESPN noted James participated in the Cavs’ morning shootaround session, but the team didn’t immediately announce whether he would play in the season-opening contest.

It wouldn’t be the NBA without everyone catering to LeBron’s every whim. Dude’s always gotta make the story about him. Legit 8 hours before the game and he doesn’t know if he can play?

Bullshit. If he has a competitive bone in his body there’s zero chance he misses this game.

He just wants to control the story, he doesn’t want all the headlines to be about Kyrie Irving coming back to Cleveland. LeBron wants it to be about LeBron. Not “the kid.”

Eminem Album Coming Soon and He Just Dropped the Gloves on Donald Trump in BET Cypher

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Rap-Up – Is Slim Shady ready for his return? Four years after The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem will reportedly release his eighth major label solo studio album on Nov. 17, according to HITS Daily Double. 

LETS. FUCKING. GO. The world is just a better place when Eminem is a part of it. His last album MMLP2 went 4x Platinum too so lets not act like his last album didn’t bang. Its been about four years since Em’s last drop so its about that time for him to make his return. You think the guy doesn’t have it anymore? Or he doesn’t still have the fire? Well, I would like to point you to this cypher he did on the BET Awards last night where he goes IN on Donald Trump for 4 minutes straight.

And Twitter was going nuts with huge names like LeBron, Colin Kaepernick, Keith Olbermann and more weighing in on the cypher so this one mayyy have some legs.

Wherever you sit on the political merry go round, you don’t spit like that off the dome for 4 minutes if you don’t have some shit to say. Not that I’m necessarily hoping for a 16 track political commentary from Em, but he’s a 44 year old man who’s seen a lot, and with that age comes shifting perspectives. I for one will be first in line to buy that shit and hear what B Rabbit has got to say.

CUE THE HIGHLIGHTS!

Dwyane Wade Close to Signing with the Cavs, Which Can Only Mean One Thing

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ESPN – Twelve-time NBA All-Star guard Dwyane Wade is nearing a commitment to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers and could finalize his decision as soon as Wednesday, league sources told ESPN.Wade, who agreed to a contract buyout with Chicago, will clear waivers on Wednesday and become an unrestricted free agent. Wade has been intrigued by the idea of rejoining LeBron James on the Cavaliers. Wade and James are longtime friends and won two championships and made four trips to the NBA Finals as teammates on with the Miami Heat.

THE BANANA BOAT IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!

When LeBron was at the peak of his powers no one, save for Tim Duncan, could stop him. That Miami Heat team is one of the most dominant teams we’ve seen in a long time, which people are quick to forget because of how dominant the Warriors have become since LeBron left Miami. Its like every move villain ever. One falls and another pops up to take its place. So Bron Bron is calling in the reinforcements. He’s getting the Banana Boat back together. When times were simpler and LeBron was bullying teams en route to back to back championships. Back then Super Teams were fun because he was on the best one. Unfortunately Chris Paul is already in Houston, but maybe with 2/3 Banana Boat power levels LeBron and D-Wade can do some damage.

PS – How awesome must it be to be so fucking rich that you negotiate a buyout of your GUARANTEED $23 million salary to go play with your buddies for 10% of that and not even bat an eye. Goddamn.

“Wade, 35, is eligible to sign a one-year, $2.3 million veterans minimum contract with the Cavaliers…Wade gave back $8 million of his $23.8 million 2017-18 salary to reach a buyout agreement, league sources said.”

LeBron Gives Celtics Rivalry Some Juice with Latest Comments on Kyrie Irving

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I for one am ecstatic that the Celtics-LeBron rivalry is getting some much needed juice. I’ll always love going up against LeBron, but it really hasn’t been the same since the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Ya know when he ripped our guts out in Game 6 with an otherworldly performance? Yea that was the final stand of the Big 3 and the launching of the LeBron we know now.

Its been a long road back but the Celtics are finally competing with LeBron for a trip to the Finals once again. He’s just been the one coming out of the East for the last 7 years in a row… So its been a little one sided. And while playing LeBron is always contentious, I feel like we haven’t really had that venom since Pierce, KG, and Rondo left the team. Rondo was the last guy who visibly hated LeBron James. So these games just haven’t had that extra juice.

Until now.

Kyrie Irving seemed to have had enough of LeBron son-ing him and by LeBron’s comments at Media Day today I can see why.

“I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out and be the best player he could be…Other than that, I wish the kid great health and the kid wanted to do what’s best for his career.” via UPROXX

THAT. That right there is the condescending shit I’m sure Irving was sick of. Now, yes, LeBron is the best player in the world and you’d be stupid not to take his advice, but there comes a time and a point where you gotta stop treating people like children, which LeBron seems to be missing here.

Bleacher Report even said as much, citing a Stephen A. Smith report on the situation:

“James showed a little disrespect Monday while referring to his former teammate as “the kid,” which was apparently an underlying problem in their relationship. Stephen A. Smith of The Undefeated noted there was a problem of the veteran treating Irving like a child.”

So Kyrie said enough of this shit and shot his way out of town. Followed up by cryptic silences and then his since viral appearance on First Take where he basically told LeBron to fuck himself.

Now we’ve got LeBron coming out with this sob story like a scorned lover saying “I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out.”

Don’t give me that bullshit LeBron. Kyrie Irving carried the Cavs down the stretch in Game 7 of the 2016 Finals and hit the goddamn game winner and ya didn’t even mention his name once afterwards. So Kyrie was over it, time to move on. Now what would make it all the sweeter? Beating LeBron on the way of course.

But, I gotta give respect where its due though because thats what makes me a Big-J Journalist. As soft as LeBron comes off at times, this was an A+ response when asked what advice he’d give Kyrie now. Sounds like something Kobe would have said in his prime:

“If my son went to another team and asked for advice, I ain’t giving him s–t,” he told the media, per Ben Axelrod of WKYC.