PAYING IT FORWARD
LeBron James’ drive for greatness sets right example by a superstar.
The guest locker room at the AT&T Center isn’t anything special compared to the digs for the home team.
Typical NBA visitor’s digs. Eight lockers on the left. Eight more on the right.
There is this one locker that appears a bit displaced. It’s actually two lockers located next to the shower and beside the door leading out to the visitors’ team bus. This space is reserved for the other team’s superstar. Twice the locker space for one player and enough room to be comfortable while relaxing before the game.
It’s where Miami’s LeBron James addressed the media before Thursday’s game. A quick glance revealed the basic necessities of an NBA superstar on a road swing through Texas. High-priced head phones, shirts, slacks, snacks, etc.
James spent the minutes before taking the floor hamming it up with teammates Mario Chalmers, Michael Beasley, and Ray Allen while singing an indeterminable tune in a nightmarish key. James doesn’t care. He’s having yet another MVP season and the Heat are favored to win a third straight title.
As for the locker, there wasn’t a straitjacket hanging there with the words “Made by Kawhi Leonard” on the tag, because the Spurs’ forward gave league royalty all it could handle. In the process, the Spurs took an important
111-87 win, leading wireto-wire and breaking an 0-for-9 win drought against the other four teams — Indiana, Oklahoma City, Houston, and Miami — with the league’s top records.
Two games after scorching Charlotte for a career-high 61 points behind a protective mask, James finished with 19 points on 6 for 18, thanks in large part to Leonard and gave credence to his assessment earlier in the week that the Spurs are not an over-the-hill bunch incapable of winning another championship.
The Texas struggles aside, James has been on a Jordanesque roll since the All-Star break. An MVP race that appeared all but over with Kevin Durant’s torrid first half has now become a great two-man race. Durant’s numbers have been consistent, but he hasn’t been on that scorcher since point guard Russell Westbrook’s return from an injury.
James is already atop the current Mount Rushmore of NBA players, along with Durant and your two favorites — that’s for another discussion — but the thing that makes him a joy to watch these days is his appreciation for those who helped him get here.
News of him planning to attend the Saturday retirement ceremony of former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who also spent some time with him in Miami, has made the rounds in Miami. Some in the Heat camp suspect that Big Z, now an assistant GM with the Cavs, could be the conduit for James to eventually leave South Beach and return to the Cavs.
James has never made his appreciation of Ilgauskas a secret.
“I picked his brain on how to be a professional off the floor and what to expect coming in from high school, where I was used to playing 27-game seasons,” he said. “It was very encouraging to have someone like that. I want to be able to support in an unforgettable night for him.”
James also appears willing to pay it forward. Indiana’s Paul George, an emerging superstar who might be the final hurdle between James and a fourth straight Finals appearance, has said he would love to work out with James this summer to improve his already-formidable skill set.
When asked if he would be agreeable to an offseason get-together, James said, “Absolutely. I don’t mind at all giving guys whatever they want to ask about. The guys know I have an opendoor policy.”
James and players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker have set an oldschool example for newschool players like Leonard and George to follow. LeBron wants that fifth MVP and, while some may consider that selfish, the fact a player of his level is still willing to put in the extra effort during a long regular season necessary to pick up the biggest individual award in the sport, speaks to his desire to excel.
The modern game was built on the backs of superstars like Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan. All had the killer gene in their DNA that separated them from other great players.
Once considered a reluctant closer, LeBron now has it in spades.
Sometimes we forget he’s only 29.