LeBron: Rising Above The Hate

Picture it sports fans, Connecticut, Thursday night, July 8th, 2010. The hottest free agent in NBA History at that time, LeBron James, makes the decision to take his talents to South Beach and join Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and the rest of the Miami Heat.  In the days that followed, there was a swarm of enraged fans, mainly from LeBron's home town of Cleveland that were disappointed in him, so much so, fans started to BURN the Cavaliers Jersey's of their former hero, the owner of the Cavs, Dan Gilbert, sent the city of Cleveland a message, stating that LeBron is sending the "curse" with him to South Beach, being that he would never win an NBA championship, and fans of the NBA and some fans of LeBron saw LeBron James as a narcissistic player, who felt like he took the low road and decided to pair with two all stars to easily win an NBA championship.

In the beginning of the 2011 season, LeBron was seen as a villain, a man on a mission to prove the critics and the haters wrong, and believed that he would win the championship his first year in Miami, even though his first trip to the finals proved to be unsuccessful against the Dallas Mavericks.  That entire summer, LeBron would "look himself in the mirror," and see that he did not come to the NBA to prove critics wrong and be a villainous player, but to love playing the game of basketball, win championships, and go down as one of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.  When we fast forward one year after his finals collapse against Dallas, "The King" came back with the big 3 in a showdown against Oklahoma City and emphatically defeated them in 5 games.  "Its about DAMN time," LeBron said as he got his very first ring after 2 previous failed attempts in the finals.  But still and all, after his incredible comeback, and his 9 year long redemption, LeBron was still criticized and hated by the naysayers who still complained about the things that were wrong with his style of play, or the way he flopped, there was still a problem with the king, but what did he do, he accepted them and got better and better with time.

In a news conference after his Eastern Conference title win over the Indiana Pacers, LeBron stated going into his Finals match with the Spurs, that he's 20x, 40x. 50x better than what he was in 2007 and I wholeheartedly agree.  Not only has LeBron matured physically, but mentally as a basketball player, and three years after his decision, he has learned to overcome the haters and naysayers and make the best out of his days in South Beach.

This NBA Finals, I'm pulling for LeBron to get the job done and win ring #2 and hopefully finals MVP #2 in the process, the man has been through so much and has faced so much adversity throughout his NBA career and every opportunity he had to tell off the critics and haters, he stood down and let his basketball skills do the talking.  LeBron James is not only the best basketball player in the world right now at the moment, he's rising above the hate in the process.  And to all the naysayers, it is time to Rise above YOUR hate of this man, and move on, just that simple, respect LeBron James for the player he has become, and the player he will be for years to come, and the spectacle to behold that he will be through out these NBA finals!

-Parish Maynard