(Here is an article I wrote a while ago and never found a sports-based home for. It is almost outdated, so I figured I would post it here.)
As the Miami Heat heat up and LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh finally insert their dominance on the NBA, the drama that was LeBron’s departure and return to Cleveland is finally subsiding. The media have put away their cameras and fans have put away their pitchforks. We are back to normalcy.
However, in the wake of what has been a very interesting year for LeBron, I noticed something very interesting. In his more “stressful” interviews, LeBron James resorts to a very strange tense of speech.
Following LeBron’s return to Cleveland on December 2nd he said, “I have the utmost respect for (Cleveland), the utmost respect for these fans, and just continue the greatness for myself here in Miami and try to get better every day.”
“Continue the greatness for myself”.
Like the more famous “bring my talents to South Beach” phrase used during The Decision, “continue the greatness for myself” is not only a very awkward statement, it reveals an interesting facet in LeBron James’s character: when stressed, LeBron detaches himself from his talent.
LeBron’s proclamation that his talent and accomplishments is separate from another part of him is almost Zen-like. Like a Buddhist monk searching for enlightenment who believes in the detachment of mind and body, perhaps LeBron is making the claim that his mental ability doesn’t directly control his physical action, that his mind and feelings are a direct result of his natural instinct on the basketball court. To pass, drive, shoot, or dunk are as natural actions for LeBron as to breathe is to the rest of us.
I would be very surprised if LeBron uses this awkward phrasing off the court. This type of speech could only work as a crutch in facets of his life where he displays dominance. He might say he brings his dancing skills to the club, or his culinary skills to the kitchen, but I doubt he would use it anywhere he feels uncomfortable - “I’m bringing my diplomatic skills to Sudan”, for example.
This pattern of speech – this detached physicality – is a rare perspective. It is not a boastful 1st person, the awkward 2nd person (which thankfully no athlete has embraced), or the supremely confident yet often mocked 3rd person. LeBron is not saying he is great, a la Muhammad Ali, he is saying only that his skills are.
Perhaps LeBron long ago learned to embrace his talent and promote separately as it grew more and more powerful, like a true-life symbiote alien organism from the Marvel comics. According to the Almighty Wikipedia, a symbiote gives the host “Superhuman strength” and “Superior speed and agility” while it “Enhances other physical attributes as well”. Sounds like LeBron.
Maybe as LeBron’s physical body grew and became more honed in the art of basketball, the mind stayed apart in an attempt to control the fury of the basketball-playing symbiote. The mind negotiates real life, while the symbiote controls the body, doing wonderful and amazing things on the basketball court.
Further evidence in LeBron’s mind-body dichotomy is his stunning lack of psychology in effecting or enhancing his game. LeBron is not known as a trash talker. His in-game psychology is not as well-known as his legendary predecessors. The only time that comes to mind is his attempt to mess with Gilbert Arenas’s head during the 2006 playoffs. His legendary forefathers, players such as Jordan and Bird, would not only dominate physically, but mentally as well. LeBron has yet to do that. He allows his physical gifts to overwhelm his opponents, as Mike Tyson did 25 years ago. There is no need for psychology when physical skills are so dominate. They make their own statement.
This “4th person” pattern of speech can only work for superstars such as LeBron. Such statements look foolish when said by lesser players. Remember Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell thanking his hands for making him great? He not only sounded ridiculous, but his anemic performances made him a punchline throughout his career.
Will we see more successful athletes emulating LeBron and talking about their talent as if it is something distant from themselves? Although I can imagine Dwight Howard or Shaq mimicking this style for laughs, the Super Duo are much less socially aloof when cornered. I think it is fair to say this verbal tic will stay in the realm of King James. After all, according to the Marvel stories, Symbiotes prefer feeding off hosts who can perform death-defying feats.
As the Miami Heat heat up and LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh finally insert their dominance on the NBA, the drama that was LeBron’s departure and return to Cleveland is finally subsiding. The media have put away their cameras and fans have put away their pitchforks. We are back to normalcy.
However, in the wake of what has been a very interesting year for LeBron, I noticed something very interesting. In his more “stressful” interviews, LeBron James resorts to a very strange tense of speech.
Following LeBron’s return to Cleveland on December 2nd he said, “I have the utmost respect for (Cleveland), the utmost respect for these fans, and just continue the greatness for myself here in Miami and try to get better every day.”
“Continue the greatness for myself”.
Like the more famous “bring my talents to South Beach” phrase used during The Decision, “continue the greatness for myself” is not only a very awkward statement, it reveals an interesting facet in LeBron James’s character: when stressed, LeBron detaches himself from his talent.
LeBron’s proclamation that his talent and accomplishments is separate from another part of him is almost Zen-like. Like a Buddhist monk searching for enlightenment who believes in the detachment of mind and body, perhaps LeBron is making the claim that his mental ability doesn’t directly control his physical action, that his mind and feelings are a direct result of his natural instinct on the basketball court. To pass, drive, shoot, or dunk are as natural actions for LeBron as to breathe is to the rest of us.
I would be very surprised if LeBron uses this awkward phrasing off the court. This type of speech could only work as a crutch in facets of his life where he displays dominance. He might say he brings his dancing skills to the club, or his culinary skills to the kitchen, but I doubt he would use it anywhere he feels uncomfortable - “I’m bringing my diplomatic skills to Sudan”, for example.
This pattern of speech – this detached physicality – is a rare perspective. It is not a boastful 1st person, the awkward 2nd person (which thankfully no athlete has embraced), or the supremely confident yet often mocked 3rd person. LeBron is not saying he is great, a la Muhammad Ali, he is saying only that his skills are.
Perhaps LeBron long ago learned to embrace his talent and promote separately as it grew more and more powerful, like a true-life symbiote alien organism from the Marvel comics. According to the Almighty Wikipedia, a symbiote gives the host “Superhuman strength” and “Superior speed and agility” while it “Enhances other physical attributes as well”. Sounds like LeBron.
Maybe as LeBron’s physical body grew and became more honed in the art of basketball, the mind stayed apart in an attempt to control the fury of the basketball-playing symbiote. The mind negotiates real life, while the symbiote controls the body, doing wonderful and amazing things on the basketball court.
Further evidence in LeBron’s mind-body dichotomy is his stunning lack of psychology in effecting or enhancing his game. LeBron is not known as a trash talker. His in-game psychology is not as well-known as his legendary predecessors. The only time that comes to mind is his attempt to mess with Gilbert Arenas’s head during the 2006 playoffs. His legendary forefathers, players such as Jordan and Bird, would not only dominate physically, but mentally as well. LeBron has yet to do that. He allows his physical gifts to overwhelm his opponents, as Mike Tyson did 25 years ago. There is no need for psychology when physical skills are so dominate. They make their own statement.
This “4th person” pattern of speech can only work for superstars such as LeBron. Such statements look foolish when said by lesser players. Remember Eagles wide receiver Freddie Mitchell thanking his hands for making him great? He not only sounded ridiculous, but his anemic performances made him a punchline throughout his career.
Will we see more successful athletes emulating LeBron and talking about their talent as if it is something distant from themselves? Although I can imagine Dwight Howard or Shaq mimicking this style for laughs, the Super Duo are much less socially aloof when cornered. I think it is fair to say this verbal tic will stay in the realm of King James. After all, according to the Marvel stories, Symbiotes prefer feeding off hosts who can perform death-defying feats.
