Shoutout to Lebron James, All-Star MVP(esque)

Lebron James actually looked older than the other 2022 All-Stars on court, like his posture.  That doesn't negate the fact that he's still better than 90% of them (and also tied Steph Curry for most minutes played in the game).  But I hope he doesn't end up being one of those athletes who plays for so long that by the time he retires, he can't like walk up a flight of stairs and shit.

Recently Adam Silver got to lamenting about how hard it is to imagine a post-Lebron NBA.  But it's always like that when the prospect of the league's signature player leaving comes up.  Michael Jordan was still in great playing shape when he retired in 1998 (which I will always consider as his real retirement).  He did so at the age of 35, which is still kinda young for a perennial All-Star.  Also, he did it right after winning a championship.  Many people still thought he was the best player in the game, and even if he necessarily wasn't, the NBA powers-that-be still favored him.  But it's like at that point the Bulls' braintrust was engaged in all types of BS, and MJ no longer had anything to prove.

So as it currently stands, Lebron intends on playing 2024-25 - when his son may join the NBA - so that he can play alongside Bronny.  Imagine that: a player actually mentoring his son, on court, in the NBA.

Under normal circumstances, the idea of someone doing so would be far-fetched.  Why?  Well even if you do last long enough to be active when your son joins the league, there's no guarantee the two of you will be on the same team anyway.  But this is Lebron we're talking about, a player who can theoretically force himself onto any squad or have the team he's playing on draft Bronny, even if he isn't good enough.

And speaking of Lebron Jr., based on what I've been able to gather he's not that good at basketball anyway.  Or by the looks things, if he does make it to the NBA it'll be on the strength of his pops.  That's the funny thing about NBA greatness.  You can have Jordan, who is considered by many to be the greatest player ever, but neither of sons, both of whom played Division I b-ball, made it to the NBA.  Then you have the likes of Jellybean Bryant or Mychal Thompson or Dell Curry who have never been All-Stars, but then they go on to give birth to like these legendary players.

CONCLUSION

I'm no longer going to argue that Lebron James should retire, since he's still a top 10 NBA player.  Some of these young cats may be good, but their skillsets aren't as diverse as LBJ's.  But what I will say is that I hope sometime in the near future Lebron will find himself on a team where he doesn't have to carry so much of a burden.

Jordan had the likes of Pippen, Kukoc, Rodman and some of the best role players the league had to offer by his side during the golden years.  Meanwhile the Lakers for the most part have always been exceptional at roster building - that is until Lebron James showed up.  So maybe this offseason, instead of LBJ and his people trying to influence the roster one way or another, they should just let the team's braintrust do their thing.

The Wiggins' Hate Continues

First of all let me say that I wouldn't necessarily consider myself an Andrew Wiggins' fan.  Under his era as the best player from Canada, the Canadians, despite having one of best teams in the world on paper, have absolutely faltered in international play.  If I remember correctly, the team he played for in college also fell a bit short.  But it ain't like I'm trying to diss dude, since he's like the first real basketball star from Canada anyway.

What I did always appreciate about Andrew though is the way he would just out of nowhere bang it somebody.  He would do the types of dunks that if you actually attended the game, you'd be going home with a smile on your face like 'yeah, the ticket was worth it'.

Wiggins proved talented enough to also go on to co-lead the Timberwolves alongside KAT.  That experiment too proved to be a disappointment, especially since for a time they also had Jimmy Butler on the squad.  And then, people started trying to diss Air Canada like he was garbage or something.  And I kinda liked seeing D'Angelo Russell on the Warriors in Klay Thompson's absence.  But despite remaining a dangerously-unpredictable hot head, Wiggins has been a better fit.  And even though Andrew has aged a bit, he still performs exciting dunks every now and then.

So it seems that he's been voted an All-Star starter, and a lot of media heads or cheesed.  I heard mention of Zaza Pachulia in relation to all of this and how he was almost voted into the All-Star Game due to social popular, until the NBA intervened or something.  But who I personally started thinking of as far as the current Wiggins' hate goes is Jeremy Lin, the most media-hated on player in NBA history.  But now as the years progress, I'm now starting to realize that decision to snub him out of the All-Star Game probably had like geopolitical implications or some crazy sh*t.

So we even have websites like Yahoo! Sports making statements like "do fans deserve 50% of (the All-Star) vote?"  I mean, look at the hubris.  Or who do they think it is that financially powers the NBA?  But after all, this is the COVID age we live in.  And speaking of COVID, let's not forget that earlier in the season that Andrew Wiggins was also one of the most-trending anti-vaxxers.

The hubris.

Sometimes I think the Wiggins hate dates back to how he was treated by Lebron.  No, there isn't any actual evidence that LBJ forced the Cavs to trade him for Kevin Love.  But it was obvious that Lebron, despite already being an elder statesman by that time, was more interested in instant superteaming than developing one.  So now this All-Star Game when they both start, that'll be the first time they play actually play together.

And one thing the Warriors never really get credit for is excellent team construction at its core.  Players like Shaun Livingston, Harrison Barnes, Kevin Durant, Andrew Bogut and especially Andre Igoudala fit wonderfully in the Warriors' system.  To me, Andrew Igoudala is what should be termed a quintessential 'positionless player'.  And that's because it's like you kinda forget he's even on the court until he's making some type of timely play.

CONCLUSION

At the end of the day, it isn't well-written articles or compelling analysis that sells the NBA.  Rather, it's phat dunks and players that fans can relate to.  One benefit the NBA has over other popular leagues is that in basketball there isn't really that many dudes on the squad.  So it becomes easier to 'get to know' players.

So if it's Zaza Pachulia, Jeremy Lin, let every MFer in.  Throughout the Lebron era, we've had some of the most boring All-Star games in history.  So yes, let's see some more young dudes and players who everyone slept on.  And I hope this year someone bangs it on Lebron.