It is not the basketball performance that continues to shadow LeBron James, but the leadership and decision making he shows in the locker room. The latest, a twitter feed to one of his teammates clearly shows that Mr. James is missing the point: Stop trying to find a way to FIT-OUT and just FIT-IN. Be part of something special! Just my thoughts.
Although we live in a world that is clearly dominated by communication through social media, especially with the younger generation, it is clear that the special locker room leaders understand the importance of keeping team communication inside the locker room.
LeBron James is no doubt the greatest basketball player on the planet and few would argue against him being
the greatest athlete as well. While the physicality of his game begins to slide, as is the norm with players over the age of 30 that have accumulated as many minutes as James, you would expect his leadership capability to grow. Many questioned his move to Miami, including one Hall-of-Famer who mentioned, “The greatest player on the planet does not leave to find players, players leave to play with him.”
While the comparisons of greatness are here and will increase with Mr. Jordan, it will include the the leadership component. While LeBron does not seem to be shy about talking about where he is taking his talents or how many championships his team is going to win, he still has an issue in speaking to teammates face to face.
Locker room apprehension is not a new thing: players don’t like other players; players gripe about playing time; and players interests are focused on free-agencies. The one constant is that “mess” in the locker room stays in the locker room.
We do not know exactly what happens inside the room with James, Love, or Irving. Still, we have seen the Twitter feed on the bottom of the TV while watching ESPN. My answer to that feed would read this, “Do you guys really care about winning a championship for Cleveland?”
While everyone knew who the leader was on those Chicago Bulls teams of the ’90s we are still trying to figure out who the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers is.
Dr. Timothy Foley is the Dean of Student Services and a faculty member for the United States Sports Academy. He can be reached at tfoley@ussa.edu.