I was in Akron when LeBron James was in high school. We watched a class act work and work and work and win. He never was about himself, always about his teammates, refusing to do an interview without his entire team. Even when he went to the NBA, he hired his old teammates to give them a payday for their help in making him great.
In Cleveland, LJ learned that the NBA is a business and people will lie to you to get more for them. When Boozer left the Cavs, it hurt LJ deeply. The two had a friendship and a commitment to each other that Boozer just walked away from. LJ had to learn how to win and couldn't do it in Cleveland.
His epic "going to south beach" show was a catastrophic mistake. He has admitted such and apologized. However, one understands why he went. Opportunity to play with his friends, whom he trusted. Opportunity to play for one of the great psychologists in the game (Phil Jackson) who knew how to win. LeBron learned, and won.
Coming back to Cleveland was a gargantuan move that no one believed. He humbled himself, apologized to the city and committed to fixing what was wrong. He single handedly changed not just a team, but an economy. We must also mention that LeBron had to coach the team for the first year and a half that he was there (seriously, nobody thought Blatt was actually coaching).
Add to this, that the media hates LeBron. Everything he does is criticized. Every action is mocked. He didn't answer his accusers until he won. Even then, he just asked them to look at the scoreboard. "Hey, haters. You said I couldn't. I did." The media is still in a frenzy over Steph Curry and what a darling he is while tearing down LeBron James for holding the trophy to high, or not making a final shot, or sending out a tweet that he won.
Is LeBron one of the all time greats? Yes.
Is he the greatest? Impossible to tell. The game has changed through the generations, so that stats cannot be the final determining factor.
