LeBron James and Giving It Your All
While he won’t win the MVP, LeBron James is having the most impressive season in basketball. Now 33 years old and in his 15th year (18th if you count playoff mileage), James has single-handedly kept the Cavs afloat through a tumultuous season that’s included locker room drama, enormous roster turnover, and most recently, the absence of head coach Tyronn Lue. They’re currently a precarious third in the East; they could start the postseason on the road. But as James has said repeatedly, they just need to make the playoffs to have a shot at a title, because that’s how things work when you have LeBron James on your team.
But James Harden will get the award, maybe even unanimously. There are plenty of reasons why Harden makes a more attractive candidate then LeBron. The Rockets have the best record in the league; while the Cavs are way better than they have any right to be, they’re no powerhouse. After several MVP-caliber seasons, it’s Harden’s “turn,” whereas James already has four to his name. Part of Harden’s MVP case—and maybe the most important knock on LeBron—is that the former is maxing out his talents every single night, while the latter is somehow holding back or coasting at times. And why we don’t exactly criticize him for it, it puts him out of step with one of sports’ foundational myths.
There’s nothing more vaunted in sports than giving it your all. Never mind that this judgment is often totally superficial—grimacing uncontrollably and sweating buckets have no inherent moral value. No matter what the competitive outcome, an athlete can always be evaluated according to our totally speculative insight into their state of mind. In the NBA, Michael Jordan’s GOAT case rests on the fact that he never took a day off, and was allergic to anything less than total investment in the moment. His forgettable stint with the Wizards was, if nothing else, gutsy proof that MJ refused to quit. Kobe Bryant’s popularity hinges on a warped, pathological version of this thinking and if you ask around about Russell Westbrook, his willingness to subject himself to extreme states is lauded as much, if not more, than his all-around skill set.
LeBron, though, is never talked about this way. It’s been eons since LeBron was criticized for lacking a “killer instinct” or “not wanting to take the big shots.” At this point, it’s generally accepted that there are subtler and more sophisticated ways to dominate a basketball game than just racking up points. He’s never been more impressive as an all-around offensive weapon and his ability to stitch together a winning team out of dross is nothing short of astounding.
Still, the way we talk about LeBron hinges on a qualitative distinction. He’ll “turn it on” for the playoffs. He was great last night because he was “engaged.” He “really got up for this one.” We’ve come to understand that, when you’re dealing with James, there’s more than one way to be “on,” and rarely, if ever, do we watch LeBron and think “he’s not doing enough.” But when James has one of those games—which, this season, have happened with alarming regularity—we invariably wonder why we don’t see this LeBron every night. We lament that we don’t get all of LeBron every time down the court.
"What separates James from past superstars is that, rather than seeking to maximize himself at all times, he optimizes himself at any given moment with an eye toward the long, long game."
The easy counter is that James understands his impact on the game can take many forms, and sometimes opts for one that’s more cerebral or reserved. But this choice often involves expending less energy or appearing to apply himself way less sedulously. In theory, LeBron could always make himself unstoppable if he wanted to and a lot of the time decides to go another route. Make no mistake, though, this isn’t a personal failing or on-the-fly determination. For James, this is a strategy. He doesn’t do what he could do at all times, he does what he has to do to produce a desired outcome. Damn straight he’s doing the bare minimum at all times, saving himself for the playoffs, and only selectively kicking his game into overdrive; he just needs to make the playoffs to have a shot at the title, because that’s just how things work when you have LeBron James on your team.
His longevity is no mystery: Despite always logging high minutes, LeBron conserves energy and marshals his resources in a way that reduces wear and tear. What separates James from past superstars is that, rather than seeking to maximize himself at all times, he optimizes himself at any given moment with an eye toward the long, long game. This runs afoul of the 110 percent rule and should mark LeBron as somehow deficient. And for a long time, James’s greatness was discussed relative to his potential, as if he had to max that out before being worthy of comparison to other players. At this point, though, it’s impossible to dispute his track record, which—more than our anecdotal or superficial judgments—is his real legacy.
The ends justify the means here and James’s output is undeniable; outside of the infamous Game 5 against Boston in 2010, you’d be hard-pressed to identify an instance where LeBron came up short because he didn’t do enough. Historically, willingness to expend all-out effort has taken on a nearly moral quality. It’s a reflection on an athlete’s character.
James, who as a rule has no use for false idols, has collapsed the binary. Being the best you can be sometimes requires downplaying your full capabilities. It’s a break with conventional thinking that has more to do with our present-day technology than it does sports’ one-time humanistic bent.
All of this transforms the way we watch LeBron. Instead of expecting to have our socks knocked off at all times, we have to understand that the quiet moments build anticipation for a pay-off down the road. It may not be that quarter or even that game. But at some point, James will harness what he has stored up and he will be all the mightier for it. Appreciating LeBron, one of the most singularly impressive athletes who ever lived, involves a certain measure of patience. There’s an inevitability there that’s also tampered by unpredictability. You’re going to get what you want. You just don’t know when. You’ll probably have to wait. And when you get it, the wait only makes it more overwhelming.
