LeBron James: Is he right to claim the GOAT title for himself?
By Ronald Agers
Does LeBron James have an agenda here?
We have heard from the other players stating their opinions on what LeBron James said about his position being the greatest. Now let’s go to the other side of the spectrum.
Danny Ainge compared James’ position to wait for it…Donald Trump.
"“His career’s not over,” Ainge said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich.” “I’d just like to — why he’s saying that, I don’t know. Maybe he thinks that that sells. Maybe he’s taking the Donald Trump approach and trying to sell himself. I don’t know.”"
Man I need a Celtics/Lakers NBA finals series now! But then he got diplomatic on his opinion on the G.O.A.T. discussion overall.
"“Obviously LeBron is in every conversation with who is the greatest player of all time,” Ainge said. “But time will tell. I don’t know if anyone knows who the greatest of all time is, because the years are so different.”"
For the record, Ainge did place LeBron James above Larry Bird on his all-time list.
But let’s go deeper into this analogy…
Let’s be perfectly clear here. LeBron James is no where near being like Donald Trump. This is not the narrative. It’s about the platforms that LeBron James has right now. It is clear that he has a growing media empire right now…
But is he using these platforms to pat himself on the back? I mentioned in a piece about his first episode of his HBO show, “The Shop” about editing and how things can be construed. But for the sake of debate, listen to what Chris Broussard and Rob Parker says about what LeBron James is trying to accomplish in their opinion…
Nobody in NBA history has the understanding of the media like LeBron James. He dominates social media and knows how to manipulate it for his benefit. Is this a bad thing? No. It’s a great thing. LeBron James is well on his way to being the first active NBA billionaire.
With these platforms his message can get out to his fans quite easier than when Jordan, Magic and players before this era were around. In the old days, the reputation was made grassroots style. Now with social media, everything is instantaneous!
Let’s go deeper into 2016 shall we?