LeBron James is a good teammate.
Yeah, he drops dimes and helps his teammates shoot better off his passes. But that’s not even close to the point.
If you’re on his team, and presumably not plotting to ruin his reign, he’s going to buy you presents.
From Northeast Ohio Media Group’s Chris Haynes:
But before they went their separate ways that night of the meeting, James had another surprise. He gave them all brand new Apple watches.
It was another way of displaying his appreciation for his guys.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with some great partners and whatever I get, I like to share with my teammates,” James told NEOMG. “It’s just my way of showing them that I care. That’s it. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time.”
This is kind-of-sort-of-but-not-really like when you played little league sports and the mom or dad of your teammate would be in charge of refreshments after games. It’s just that in youth sports, you get juice boxes and cookies or pretzels or celery with peanut butter. At the NBA level, you get all kinds of cooler, way more expensive shit ranging from technologically advanced timepieces to free haircuts.
Oh, what, you didn’t think LeBron just handed out Apple watches, did you?
Feast your eyes on this, per Haynes:
When James concluded his address, he shifted the tone of the meeting to a looser, more casual setting. He arranged for food, music was blasting and he even brought in a barber for players to get haircuts.
The team relaxed and talked about family, the news and just life in general. This was his way of easing any pre-Finals tension they might have had.
This, for the record, was all part of a pre-Finals address in which LeBron cautioned the Cavaliers against the rigors and grievances of playing on a stage so bright, for stakes so high.
The message he delivered was a legitimate one—advice he is more than qualified to offer. He has been to six NBA Finals now, won two championships and been scrutinized in ways Michael Jordan himself couldn’t even dream up in his worst nightmares.
Personally, I’ve had mixed feelings about LeBron’s approach to leadership. He’s a good one, to be sure. But he seems like he wants you to know he’s a good one, which is weird. At the same time, he’s not on the playoff podium bragging about stuff like this, about the off-court impact he has on his teammates, about the hope and confidence and knowledge he imparts in them, even though his job, in theory, ends when the final buzzer sounds.
That’s the part of LeBron you cannot question or manipulate or portray as something other than awesome. Plus, his teammates’ vocal support, their outright respect for what he does, transcends anything you, I or anyone else may think about his postgame soliloquies or tepid support of head coach David Blatt.
LeBron can flat-out lead. End of story.
