Despite possessing a huge number of antifans, few people can deny LeBron James’ huge influence on the entire NBA.
There is no need to argue further when asserting that LeBron James is the biggest basketball star in the world at the present time. However, this popularity is always accompanied by jealousy for every little action of the Akron-born player. They are upset because LeBron James created the Big Three trend in the NBA or is always looking for a bigger voice for the players. But no one can deny that he changed the whole tournament.
Sports Insider news agency once released a map of the most hated players by state in the US. By using algorithms to analyze tweets, hashtags or statuses with phrases that demean an NBA player such as “I hate player A”, “Player B is so bad”,… After When analyzing the form of more than 70,000 tweets, hashtags and statuses mentioned above, Sports Insider came to a rather interesting conclusion.
According to analysis results, Lebron James is “honored” to receive the title of most hated player in America with 24 states showing extreme hostility to the Ohio-born player. Players on the Los Angeles Lakers payroll are hated from the West Coast to the East Coast. It’s very funny that a state at the northernmost point adjacent to the North Pole with a population of only 731,545 people like Alaska also shows dislike for LeBron James.
The fact that LeBron James is hated throughout America is actually not too difficult to understand and can be explained clearly. There are two big reasons why King James is disliked by fans, one is this superstar’s performance against the team representing their state and the second comes from his personal life.
The second aspect is private life, this is a quite sensitive issue but can also be explained logically. NBA fans at this point all know that LeBron James is a very hard-working player who participates in social and political activities. He is a great voice representing the African American community and especially the football players. So if you notice that the anti-LeBron Western states all have a majority of middle-class white populations such as Oregon, Utah, Nebraska,…
However, according to former Golden State coach Mark Jackson, LeBron James actually did nothing wrong in his career from a personal perspective. Including creating the super team trend or the trend of having a greater voice for the players. During his appearance on the show Club Shay Shay, the former coach born in 1965 emphasized that the Lakers star made all players realize that they can control their own destiny.
“LeBron James changed basketball and he is not missed at all. LeBron changed everything not only as a basketball player but also as a businessman. He makes every player realize what they have in hand. That power is nothing more than making decisions that benefit your career.”
Mark Jackson explains the influence of LeBron James
Not stopping here, Mark Jackson took Kevin Durant as a typical example of a player who knows how to follow LeBron James’ example: “Look at how Kevin Durant decided he would go to the Golden State Warriors in search of a championship. . Then he left to join the Brooklyn Nets. All of those decisions are fine. People realized that they could hold both their future and their legacy in their hands. That’s why they must know how to make moves that benefit themselves.”
It’s clear that LeBron James’ actions off the court have had a profound impact on the NBA and especially the players. Although the results may bring imbalance to the tournament for a period of time, it cannot be denied that the star born in 1984 has truly “given power” to the players. That is perhaps the true value of the nickname “King”.
