LeBron ended my NBA title hopes three times. It’s even better now, in every way | Sport

me I know from personal experience how great LeBron James is as a basketball player. During my time with the Washington Wizards, we were paired three years in a row against a Cleveland Cavaliers team led by young LeBron. And three years in a row they beat us.

His ability, vision, and superhuman ability were obvious. I was on the court in 2006 for the first playoff game of his career when LeBron, 21, hit a triple-double with 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

But he has never simply been a great player. He was also a great teammate. For the entirety of that series, my teammate Gilbert Arenas had been interrupting and dominating Damon Jones to the point where the Cavaliers point guard’s performance declined and he was benched. LeBron took action. Gilbert had two free throws to help seal Game 6 and level the best-of-seven series at 3-3. After missing the first shot, LeBron walked up to Gilbert and whispered in his ear, “If you miss these, you know who will finish the game.” Gilbert did Miss and I could only see how, on the next play, LeBron drove the middle of the line and kicked Damon, who dunked a 23-foot ball from the baseline to eliminate us from the playoffs. At just 21 years old, LeBron knew he shouldn’t be the one to seal the series. Instead, he wanted Damon to be the hero and claim some pride after Gilbert embarrassed him. Even though that ended our season, I respected how LeBron had his teammate’s back.

He showed that empathy again when we faced the Cavaliers in the playoffs in 2008. I had recently had heart surgery and LeBron took the time to ask me how my recovery went. He joked about not having to come up with a game plan against me after surgery, but was also sincere when he said that I should think about my health first.

So I find it strange when people think with such confidence that they know the personality and character of an athlete like LeBron from what they see on television or read on Twitter. I remember when the whole country turned against LeBron after “The Decision.” The accusation was that LeBron was not good enough to win a title on his own in Cleveland, and had to move to the Miami Heat, where he was able to get help from Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That he was arrogant when he came to Miami and spoke of forming a dynasty to compare to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. That “disappeared” when the Heat lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 final.

But even if those accusations are true, they ignore the fact that athletes evolve. Mavericks CEO Mark Cuban admitted that when I interviewed him for my show, The Rematch.

“Now he has the IQ level of basketball, he’s just a basketball savant. The way he sees and reads what’s happening on the court in real time and stays three steps ahead is incredible, ”Cuban told me. “And he didn’t have that [back in 2011]. We ran a zone against him and he would hesitate and not know what to do. He will not hesitate now. He knows exactly what is coming and what to do and he anticipates.

“He can talk to you about a basketball game and [he can describe] every play that has happened, as if some of us are talking about a book we have just read. Those two things are huge differences. Now he can beat you in many different ways. His skill set has improved. His passing. But all of those relate to his basketball IQ. And that is something that was not as developed as it is now. “

However, many have been reluctant to allow LeBron to grow. In fact, his performance this season, both on and off the court, should have silenced all his critics. He has led the Lakers to an NBA championship game in the same year his friend (and Lakers legend) Kobe Bryant died. All the while showing his willingness to use his platform to speak out about racism, police brutality and the importance of voting. In fact, in one of the most important elections in American history, he launched More Than A Vote, a voting rights organization that aims to combat voter suppression. More Than a Vote has also hired 10,000 volunteer poll workers and received praise from Barack Obama.

Despite this, I’m sure LeBron James haters will find something new to complain about. Not that that bothers him if he wins another title on Friday night.