LeBron James: 4 Reasons why his “Revenge Season” had better work

LeBron James is reportedly coming to this NBA season more fired up than in recent memory. Fans and media are calling this season his “Revenge Season”. Lake Show Life lays out reasons why this season had better work out for LeBron James. No excuses.

The Los Angeles Lakers are close to officially starting training camp next week. Leading the team will be LeBron James, back from a interesting season.

NBA fans are screaming HALLELUJAH as of this writing. Gone are the endless speculations of roster structure and unofficial “fantasy” theories of who will win the NBA title this year. Next week starts real analysis based on what happens on the basketball floor, not those workout videos seen on social media.

The final NBA players ratings on paper were done by ESPN. For the first time since the countdown was created back in 2011, LeBron James will not be at the top of the list. After wearing a groove out at the top spot, he will reside in the 3rd spot to start the season.

The top two players will almost certainly be Kawhi Leonard of the crosstown Los Angeles Clippers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. It makes perfect sense.

Kawhi Leonard is coming off a title year with the Toronto Raptors ending the Warriors dynasty while the “Greek Freak” is the MVP of the league. SI already posted their top 100 list with these two at the top with James behind them.

These player rankings mean very little to how the season plays out. This concept was laid out in detail last year when LeBron James held the spot over two time Finals MVP, Kevin Durant (No. 2 last year) and Stephen Curry (No. 3 last year), both who were back to back champions. The concept made no sense last year no more than it does this year.

The story is not about James being removed from the top spot for the first time in the history of the ranking. It’s why he dropped. This is the first time since the induction of the ESPN rankings, there is a ton of unknown storylines surrounding the face of the NBA.

Looking back, he had just disappeared in the 2011 NBA Finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks. How bad was he in the Finals? The Mavericks put the assignment of defending him in crunch time to former point guard, now assistant coach, Jason Kidd. Even LeBron had to take a look in the mirror after that season and said so on his HBO show “The Shop”.

Sit back Lakers fans, this season will be an unprecedented experience for all NBA fans to enjoy. Why? Because this one might carry the most unknown scenarios.

Most NBA pundits won’t say that the NBA game is changing to the point that lead shot-creators such as James are not imperative for NBA titles. But, alas, there will be conversations like these until October 22nd and beyond.

Now let’s deal with reality. LeBron looked mortal in his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Injuries removed, his 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists stat lines covered a lot of chaos created by his hand.

LeBron apologists will throw up the Lakers being the 4th seed on Christmas Day. They will ignore the defensive lapses (Wait let’s call it like it is, apathy!) that helped the Lakers demise. Remember the Memphis game?

Lake Show Life basically laid out Luke Walton‘s challenges of keeping his job based on his top player’s history. Does anyone notice the drastic difference of the roster from last year? Man, the average age of the roster shot up, didn’t it Lakers fans? Lake Show Life saw the sands of time growing short of the young core as well.

These rankings only add fuel to the fire of one of the biggest storylines of the NBA season. It’s called LeBron’s “Revenge Season”.

This article is not about if the man will make a comeback for the ages to prove the haters wrong. This article is about one thing and one thing only.

It had better work.

Lake Show Life looks into the creation that is called the “Revenge Season”.

“Revenge Season” means many things. It just depends on how you see it.

“Revenge Season” will have three different meanings. LeBron has a definition. His fans and apologists have a definition and the NBA media itself has one. Let’s start with the man of the hour.

LeBron James: 

It has been noted on Lake Show Life numerous times, that LeBron James is not the best player in the NBA. It’s not hate, it’s just the honest truth. Father Time hasn’t lost a bout yet in any sport that anyone has heard of. Despite James putting up the best fight of any athlete in recent history, this season will see if he finally succumbs like everyone else.

He may not be the King of the hardwood anymore, but he is the most powerful. Period. It’s not even close. James is notoriously passive-aggressive which has been looked over for years because of his undeniable talents. When the talents start to erode, so does the tolerance of bad habits.

For years, “The King” has indirectly (and allegedly!) bullied on players, killed coaches’ careers, challenged front offices and owners who dared to defy his method of getting championship rings. Maybe that’s why David Griffin’s interview with SI caused so much of a media firestorm this past summer.

Something about being miserable building around LeBron James?

Well, that brought out a “statement”.

Now he has to live up to it. No injuries, no roster excuses or front office mistakes will hide James from unprecedented criticism if the Lakers don’t make the conference finals at least.

NBA media:

LeBron James is so big to the NBA media, he will probably keep Kevin Durant relevant this year. No, not because of his Achilles, but the phrase that pays from last year told to Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report.

"“So much hype comes from being around LeBron from other people,” Durant said. “He has so many fanboys in the media. Even the beat writers just fawn over him. I’m like, we’re playing basketball here, and it’s not even about basketball at certain points. So I get why anyone wouldn’t want to be in that environment because it’s toxic. Especially when the attention is bulls— attention, fluff. It’s not LeBron’s fault at all; it’s just the fact you have so many groupies in the media that love to hang on every word. Just get out-of-the-way and let us play basketball.”"

Pfft. Good luck with that.

https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/1170832145369055238

Let’s take a look at the video again, shall we? It’s from Klutch Sports Group. A company run by James’ best friend Rich Paul. The same guy that was targeted by the NCAA and took a serious PR shot when LeBron got involved. Coincidence? More on that later.

Name any other sports athlete ever that uses social media so effectively? Look, Taco Tuesday made a comeback as a national phenomenon because of this guy, with the smarts to cash in and try to trademark it.

Jason Whitlock tried to gain ratings for his FS1 show by criticizing LeBron’s actions at an AAU game! ESPN has a studio across from the Staples Center. They used the UCLA Health Training Center as the venue to broadcast The Jump on Lakers’ media day. Coincidence?

LeBron James’ fanbase:

They will defend the narratives stated above, plus, excuse the narratives of load management this season. They will argue (vehemently!) that he needs to conserve his energy on the defensive end during meaningless regular-season contests (What is this? The Big 3?).

They will ignore the decline in his lateral quickness (Trae Young nutmegged him twice in the same game before the All-Star break!). Finally, they will pull out every stat since 2003 with video to back it up.

In short “Revenge Season” is a marketing machine that dares anyone to be first to state LeBron James is on the downside of his career.

Anthony Davis is now a Laker. LeBron James has to make it work!

This headline is not about LeBron’s legacy. This is about how the future of the Los Angeles Lakers will look for the next 10-15 years if LeBron’s ego gets in the way.

Dwight Howard‘s contract adds up to the amount of a box of Newports and Puma sweats until October 21st, but the last time the man was in purple in gold, the Lakers were in the playoffs. The same scenario that played out in 2012-13 could happen again.

Until a contract is in the Lakers computer system, Davis could still walk after this season. This franchise will be a dumpster fire if that happens. On paper, this duo has Vegas putting them in the NBA Finals. Others around the league don’t see the Lakers as the best team in the building yet.

It’s no secret that LeBron James shut it down after the failed attempt at landing Davis last year. Many apologists say that LeBron had to save his energy for games that matter. After the All-Star break, they ALL mattered. While James played defense so badly, it turned into an NBA reality show, excuses of needing another star persisted.

Well, he has one now. Probably the best one he’s going to get in his career.

The problem is, the Clippers have two across the hall in Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.

Between these four players, Los Angeles is now the basketball mecca of the basketball world. All eyes are on the “City of Angels”.

There will be struggles with LeBron and AD meshing their games together. Why? Because all big men have struggled to play with LeBron James. Don’t want to believe it? Give Chris Bosh and Kevin Love a call. It’s clear the Anthony Davis needs to be the number one guy in the offense. Will LeBron give up that spot after 16 years?

As for that defense, LeBron James saves himself for. Anthony Davis stated on record that he will hold James accountable. At least that’s what he said to Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports.

"“I want to be Defensive Player of the Year,” Davis told Yahoo Sports. “I think if I’m able to do that, I can help this team win. The offensive end will come around, but defensively, I want to hold myself, teammates, including LeBron, accountable in order for us to take on the challenge of being the best we can defensively."

We’ll just see what happens during the season. Can anyone name any players that accomplished that feat? Outside of Dwyane Wade, no one comes to mind.

Let’s be real here. We all were thinking it. Walt Frazier just said it. 

There were many writers on staff that saw the tendencies all last season. Luke Walton’s only saving grace was Jeanie Buss because it was clear that LeBron James didn’t want Walton to coach him.

When ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports James ignoring the plays after about six weeks into the season, the curtain had been pulled long before fans had to give up and notice the issues.

Then in one afternoon game in New York.

Oh, by the way, the Lakers lost. The Knicks swept the Lakers in the season series which really takes on a different meaning after this offseason.

LeBron James got his lunch money taken with a staredown in the final seconds by Mario Hezonja, a guy that the Knicks didn’t think enough to keep. LeBron James basically shot the Lakers out of the game missing 11-of-15 shots in the fourth quarter, marking the worst shooting quarter in LeBron James’ career.

The point? The NBA is not going to put up with that type of performance. Period. It’s one thing to have an attitude. It’s another to stink up Madison Square Garden doing it.

Question? How many Americans can actually go to work with an alcoholic beverage? I’ll wait.

How about that game when LeBron James backed out against the champs? That was on February 2nd, 2019. Wanna know where he was the day before?

The NBA changed the time schedule for all games on the west coast for LeBron James. Think about that. The man is believed to be part of the reason TV ratings are down. We aren’t talking about what happens on the floor anymore, this is about guys in power suits and ties.

If Adam Silver goes through all of this trouble just so fans can watch on the east coast, James had better give the Atlantic Ocean crowd a show.

Speaking of corporate guys in suits.

LeBron James is starting to accumulate powerful enemies.

This is not about his back and forth with Donald Trump. LaVar Ball accomplished that. This is not about media pundits making comments like “Shut up and Dribble”. LeBron is too media savvy to let those types bother him. This is about the legitimate power that LeBron James flexed big time this summer.

First, he used his social media influence that could change the landscape of sports for the next generation. It dealt with NCAA student-athletes possibly being able to be compensated financially for the first time (legally) in history.

James took to Twitter to support the “Senate Bill 206” or “SB 206” for short to allow college athletes to get paid for endorsements.

Read the last few words. Billions. The NCAA heads are not thrilled to see an athlete start a movement that will potentially cost them trillions over the next decade.

This happens right after LeBron basically caused a PR nightmare for the NCAA when they tried to implement agent criteria. One tweet from LeBron spelling out his views on the subject and the NCAA changed course quickly.

Not only was the rule rescinded but the NBA agents unanimously boycotted the agent exam. This is a power move never seen before. LeBron James took on an organization in the NCAA and won a couple of battles. He’s going to have to play well to stay in the war.

What is “Revenge Season”? Media propaganda. Nothing less, nothing more. It’s another marketing plan that feeds the NBA news cycle.

During the season, announcers will call LeBron James a force of nature, a runaway locomotive (Shout out to Cleveland Cavaliers announcer Austin Carr!), the definition of a champion (Mark Jackson might say this once, twice, okay a lot!).

Now NBA fans and others with interests outside of the arena will see if his iconic status of player empowerment off the court turns out to be his weakness on it.