Seven months ago, LeBron James willed the Lakers to a bubble championship, the fourth title of his career, then declared “I want my damn respect, too!” This convinced me to finally acknowledge that James is pretty good at basketball. Feel free to join me.
James was referring to the MVP vote—Giannis Antetokounmpo won, and only one voter placed James first. But “I want my damn respect” would be a good slogan for the NBA playoffs every year. Basketball players have an outsized influence on how much their team wins, so we judge them for winning and losing far more than we do other team-sport athletes. When the Angels miss the playoffs, we don’t blame Mike Trout; we bemoan the lack of talent…
