LeBron James and the quest for Process purity | Bob Ford

Can this man really be bad for a basketball team?While watching one of the Cleveland-Boston games in the NBA Eastern Conference finals, a game in which LeBron James of the Cavaliers scored 42 points, I was struck not by his scoring prowess or passing ability or defensive presence, but by how inorganic he looked there on the court.

It had never really occurred to me before – maybe I hadn’t been studying him closely enough – but as he went in for another massive dunk after breaking down his defender on the wing and followed that with a feathery three-pointer that dropped softly through the net, I had to sit up in the chair and say, “Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a less organic basketball…