The majestic environment of the 1980’s Forum will never again be emulated, due to the vastly inferior on the court product of the modern NBA, where selfish egos dominate a one-on-one style play leading to three pointers and dunks, and almost nothing in between.
The annoying trickle down effect to the 20 seconds of dribbling is the kids at the YMCA believe they can simply pick up a basketball and dribble incessantly before hoisting up a Stephan Curry long range ICBM strike. Other than the refreshing team concept of the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs, the league has reached a stagnant contrived plateau rivaling the tired formula of the WWE which has Vince McMahon wishing for the days of Hulk Hogan and Rick Flair, and NBA fans clamoring for the reincarnation of Jordan, Magic and Larry Bird.
In many cases franchises are known by single names. In Oklahoma city, it’s Westbrook, Houston of course is Harden, and Cleveland was LeBron. The key word, thank you Bill Clinton, is “was”, as the regal super brand name of James agreed to join the Los Angeles Lakers by signing a fair deal, equating to four years at $153 million, reports Fox Sports. Similar to a legendary list of predecessors, including Wilt Chamberlain and Shaq, LeBron chose the glitz and glamour of the purple and gold in further cementing his legacy as one of the top three hoopsters of all-time. Unlike the duo of Hall of Fame centers, James is not joining a star studded cast of talent or grit, and instead inherits the monumental task coexisting with father of the century candidate LaVar Ball. Following the Lakers just became a palatable experience, if only for the pending entertaining social networking wars between the two large personalities.
James, who was robbed of the MVP award for the 2017-2018 season thanks to the influence of the gaming crowd, will surely etch another gem into the annals of history if he can lead the Lakers into the finals through the minefield of a powerful Western Conference. He was able to win in his backyard of Cleveland and with Miami supported by two really good players, but this is LA, the big time, the glitter and glamour of mega celebrities, the vortex of the global entertainment industry, Disneyland and men and women on the streets of Hollywood dressed as superheros in tussling over dollar bills and pocket change from tourists. Does LeBron realize that he is a mere afterthought in a city that chews up and spits out more stars than an ill-tempered nebula bent on galactic annihilation?
Of course, the superstar owns a fledgling movie production company, and the segue to Southern California and a quasi retirement into the entertainment industry is a natural progression.
At 33-years-old and an ardent Trump critic, the face of the NBA is certainly past his athletic prime, and the cartoon time bomb clock is comically ticking aided by Ball and the crazy state politics, in securing another title.
Reports are coming out of Sacramento that the state lawmakers are scrambling to draft legislation that will employ a special luxury tax on professional sports players to fund research on public assisted sex change procedures for dogs and cats.
Read the Fox Sports story here.