At the age of 28, LeBron James has now achieved what he ever wanted. He is a two-time NBA champion, a four-time regular season MVP and a two-time Olympic Gold medalist. What could a player like LeBron want more, now that he is in the top of the world?
Usually, motivation fades away as success comes. That’s why, we might have expected LeBron to take his focus off improving his game and staying at the highest level, after the two rings he earned. But that’s just not who he is.
During a media day when he appeared to be relaxed, confident and satisfied with his achievements up to now, the King also stated that he hasn’t given up his effort to continue to grow as a player and as a man. In fact, he stated that his motivation now is to reach the Greatest of All Time level. All those trophies he has earned and the two NBA championships are simply not enough for him.
The encouraging fact for his effort to make it to the list of the greatest players to ever pass from the courts of the NBA is that he now has little pressure. After conquering what he came for in Miami, the King can now continue his evolving as a player without the tons of pressure that were on his shoulders, when he first came to South Beach and especially after the devastating loss in the 2011 NBA Finals.
Of course, the road ahead is long. He will at first need to stay healthy, in order to come down to history as one of the best players in the league. LeBron needs to keep his game at the highest level, the one he has been playing at during the past few seasons. But he will also need to be a member of a competitive team, which will give him the opportunity to win more rings. It’s still uncertain if the Miami Heat will be able to retain their current core or even if LeBron will be member of the team after the end of the 2013-2014 season. However, it’s almost sure; that the King will be able to make every team he will be a part of drastically better.
The answer to the question if LeBron will go down in history as one of the greatest players of all time can’t still be answered. If he continues to play at the level he currently is, that will be certain. The first half of his career has been extraordinary and also successful. Hopefully, the second half of his course will continue to be equally good. Judging from his up to now achievements, his style of play and his improvement course, we could easily say that James has all the potential to reach the level of Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson. His name can and most probably will be remembered for years and decades to come.
Ron Leyba is the content manager of FantasyBasketballMoneyLeagues.Com – premier source of fantasy basketball updates, rankings and rumors. For more fantasy basketball news, follow Fantasy Basketball Money Leagues at Google+.