He is Better Than He Thinks He Is

Lebron James will have close to if not one of the greatest seasons of any NBA player ever in the 2012-13 season.
Many claim he will do well but has reached career highs. The consensus is that the MVP will allude him next year.
I know it's a lot to ask for more from a athlete than what James contributed last year but here's my prediction, one that I will bet green paper on: The critics are wrong. Lebron James will improve in every major category professional basketball is comprised of and walk away with an MVP: Defense, rebounding, assists and even scoring. Lebron has just begun. Mark it, quote it, laugh at me if I'm wrong.
What LBJ had lacked most until last year was supreme confidence. The mere fact that this man has managed to turn out the way he has despite the insanity that his revolved around his life since he entered high-school speaks volumes about his mother, family, coaches etc. but more importantly it speaks volumes about his mental focus and dedication to craft.
He has at times appeared to lack supreme confidance until last season, I'm not saying he wasn't confidant, the man probably has more confidance in his pinky than 99% of the NBA. I'm talking "supreme confidence". Bruce Lee confidence. Buddha confidence. Confidence predicated on the maturation of young man living under extraordinary circumstances who finally put all pieces in place. He got the alternator in the jet and guess what? He's flying now. You still doubt me? You shouldn't but you are a skeptic, so we will put it into perspective.
Let's make you Lebron. You are heralded the second coming when you're fourteen, showered with money, fame, chicks wearing shirts with your name embossed on their breasts ...Cool right? Hell yeah...Easy,peasy right?...Wait...As "The Wolf", would say in Pulp Fiction "Let's not start *&$^%% each other's &$%^#$ just yet." It gets better. You go out to eat and people are gazing at you, asking you for autographs and staring at you like you're from another planet. Then reporters start digging into your personal life, your girl, your kids, your finances, what you do on vacation and judging every word (I mean ever word) out of your mouth. "C'mon man I'm an athlete, not a politician. " You say. "They dont write me speeches." You repeat.. "Ugg we don't care, we are making money off you and your name. My salary depends that I spew as much crap about you as I can." Someone called Skip something would say.
"You're a sell out and you are scared to play, you shy away, you pass a last second shot to an open teammate? What kind of man passes to an open teammate? Wimp!"
Never mind that a 45% wide open shooter was ten feet from the hole in his favorite spot. That doesn't matter, "You are still a coward because...ugghhh gosh darnit...You didn't want to be a hero."
"Why?" Someone like Skip asks.
"Maybe cause I'm smart....And knowledgable...And know the game I've been playing all my life better than you." You say.
"See the two guys in front of my face are making the shot percentage go down every millisecond. So yeah, I pass to my open teammate since it is a team game, you know? Let the heroes, play hero ball, I play basketball and I play, my way."
Great answer on your part but then to exponentiate matters, the talking heads expect you to get out there, clear your mind of their nonsense rhetoric and give "them" an A plus performance night after night.
"Get the hell out of here." You think....You would probably complain, possibly quit, maybe even cry and go shave your chest.
Lebron, however goes out there and gives an "A" plus performance and wins it all. Notice that I didn't say, gives "you" or "them" an "A" plus performance, he just gives one. This is what champions do.
Last season, we didnt see a kid on his way to a "deserved" title. Nobody deserves anything and Lebron knew this. Last season we saw a full grown man earning a title, being down to a game away from being ousted against Boston. He turned off the world and its expectations and judgements and relentlessly went after greatness. He turned off the Twitter, the TV, ESPN. Hell! He even turned off the phone and was reading books on who knows what, he looked calm and as focused as a person could be. My assessment: This pointed to a new stage in his development as an athlete and as a person doing what he does best; excel at his craft.
The outcome of this new maturity was rewarded with a new belief in himself. Those days of possibly getting jitters or being overly cocky in the 2010-11 Maverick-Heat Finals are history. The cockiness is gone and replaced with true "supreme" confidence. Bruce Lee, in his "Lost Interview" said that cockiness was a fake form of confidence where ego controlled output, controlled outlook and decisions. Ultimately cockiness could turn against you and lead you down a road where entitlement and emotions reign supreme.
LBJ as he has always been one of the most selfless players on the court, the lack of cocky dialect, entitlement and ego centered thinking seemed to have given him the freedom to know in his heart that "Yes, I can. I have prepared for this, I am ready, and yes, I am the best. I am the best so I dont have to say I'm the best, I dont have to hear you tell me I'm the best, I don't have to do a damn thing but let the game come to me and show you what happens when preparation and opportunity meet... Greatness." That is what we saw and continued to see throughout the Olympics.
An evolution is occurring in a great player. A true sense of humility, a true sense of embracing the self, flaws and all have taken over his being. The end result is a godly ability to embrace the moment. Yes, the present moment awareness we should all be trying to capture daily, the very one that keeps us level headed, clear, focused, happy and winning...he captured like lightning in a bottle.
During interviews in the Olympics he made it clear it was not about him, it was about the USA. After winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy he thanked coaches, teammates, declared how he was "happy just to contribute". The NBA should be very scared right about now for these are the marks of a true champion.
See we know the greatness that is Lebron James, we know what his contributions mean, this isnt baby caca....this is the real deal Holyfield as Dre would say. I'm sure he knows it too but that's for him to own silently. He doesnt have to tell the reporters or newspapers or you or your sister. Its his.
"We are owners of our thoughts , prisoner to our words." Whether James knows it or not he has embraced this new view, new philosophy. He has dropped the need for the pat on the back.
I'm sure he's always loved basketball but his love has deepened. He has learned to find a new admiration for the process, for the journey. The trajectory which will ironically carry him to a place with more pats on the back, more embraces,and more "your awesomes" than he's ever been privy to. Only now they wont be able to control him emotionally, they won't improve nor will they dectract and negatively impact his game. They will just be.
His greatest reward will be that Lebron James will be even greater than he thinks he can be. He will be even more threatening, more relentless and more of an assassin on the court. The rest of league will now be forced to deal with a man who has freed himself from the mental constraints society tried to chain him in. People are sick sometimes, they love the car accident. They wanted greatness to fail but the only fail was on society as a collective. Sure he could have handled the presser on his leaving Cleveland better or maybe he just needed a better PR agent. It is irrelevant as the outcome seems to indicate he made the right decision to leave for the sunny south.
It happen to MJ after his first ring and it will happen for LBJ. The entire team is predicated on his prodigiousness and other-worldly style of play. Riley, Spo, Wade, Bosh, Chalmers, UD, Shane and the team have created a locker room to envy, one built on the tenets of trust and team play. The various new adjustments will only make him explode to levels we have never seen in a player. I know it's bold to write this but there is still room for improvement...Much more room. A healthier jumper, a few "go to" moves in the post, 40% from the arc is possible....You name it...The best can always be better should be the motto. James is going to light it up night after night. And for the last time: He will be out to prove to himself that he's even better than we or he thinks he is.
Jordan used to say his biggest critic was himself. He demanded more from himself than coaches, teammates and fans. Lebron has the same bug. He lives to get better as a human and as a ball player because the game is not just on the court. Lebron knows this.
Haters be warned: They will not be able to deny him back to back MVPs if he can surpass 2012 and he will. It wont be easy but nothing is, It will be his greatest challenge, surpassing greatness, even if its his own. He will have to demand of himself and his work ethic, but that comes with the territory. Im fairly sure Lebron knows this already, knows he has the chance to be Greatest of All Time and if I had to put my money on it I'd say he's right.