LeBron James
In a frequent sight of late, the Cavaliers' leader, LeBron James, relaxes on the bench late in a blowout victory. This one was against Washington on Friday.
(AP)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man in full at age 30, LeBron James is different now in his second term with the Cavaliers in more ways than his years alone.
The James of today is more mature in outlook, yet he is still, once he healed with two weeks off during the season, the best player on the planet.
That holds no matter how the Most Valuable Player voting comes out. Golden State's Stephen Curry, whom the media and marketing arms of the league are grooming as its new face, and Houston's James Harden, the NBA's top scorer, are probably the top contenders right now.
But, like his team, James is coming on strong.
James has been an MVP four times before. But even that wasn't the James of today. Although James frequently spoke about being a leader in his first seven years with the Cavaliers, he deferred to older players at first, a natural impulse since he was only 18 years old, when his first NBA season began.
When he did assume more of a leadership role, it was based on his play on the court, not on his perspectives off it.
He tried to mentor other players, even rivals such as Derrick Rose, probably with the view of signing them for his marketing firm. But he undercut the effort with childish antics on the sideline.
Sports are supposed to be fun. It was, however, impossible to think of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan or any San Antonio Spur kneeling and pretending to crank an old-fashioned newsreel camera beside the bench while Mo Williams hit a "home run" off the phantom baseball pitches of Delonte West. That was one of the Cavs' silly skits when James was here the first time.
Former players were appalled. A leader really can't be one of the guys. Plenty of magnificently talented players who were not psychologically suited to the burdens of leadership have found that out.
The Portland Trail Blazers thought they were getting some of Jordan's leadership ability when they acquired his sidekick, Scottie Pippen, in the break-up of the Chicago dynasty. But in the 2000 playoffs, Pippen was nowhere to be found when the Lakers, on their way to the first NBA championship in the Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant era, erupted in a 31-13 fourth-quarter rally to win the seventh game, 89-84.
Just as former Indians slugger Jason Giambi, a steroids user, said he had to "walk through the darkness to find the light," so James had to go through the fires of criticism and, probably, self-doubt to come out stronger.
I was hard on James for the way he left here, for the way he played before he left, and for the way he conducted himself at first in Miami.
That James, however, was a different James from the one of today.
Exposure to the demands made and discipline exacted by Miami team president Pat Riley changed James, and so did the two championships he won there as the undisputed primary offensive threat on the Heat team. James had let Dwyane Wade handle that role, by virtue of his seniority, in his first season with the Heat.
The transformation of James is obvious off the court, in his willingness to abandon the reticence of Jordan and speak out on issues of social justice.
James also has a new role as vice president of the NBA Players Association. The same player who once thoughtlessly said the league should look into "contraction" (a euphemism for eliminating some teams -- and many players' jobs) is now the most visible advocate for the rank and file.
James also actively recruits free agents for the Cavs now. For whatever reason, he did not make such pitches before, pointedly being absent from O'Neal's introductory news conference here.
James is more mature, more assured, more able to enjoy the small moments of by-play with reporters after his formal interviews. A couple of weeks ago, I asked him about his memories of a college game played here a decade ago for a forthcoming story.
James remembers almost everything, especially slights.
This was after his mass interview following a recent game. We chatted amicably for a couple of minutes about that distant game. There were very few such moments with him in the past.
Asked recently what made 3-point specialist Ray Allen good enough that the Cavs would still like to coax him out of retirement, James' said of his former Miami teammate, "The time he puts in, which you don't see. But I did."
Time changes us all. It made James wiser in thought and both bolder and more reflective in his remarks. Basketball's greatest prodigy isn't a kid anymore, but he's better than ever.