I say I don't care about him, but this is something to talk about.

[Redz]

and on the other side of the coin he gives a lot of time and money to worthy causes

I'm sure a lot of our lives would seem pretty lavish to a large portion of the earth's population.

But, if he bought a house for "only" $30 million, he would have everything he needs in it for the rest of his life. That extra $20 million could be put towards worthy causes.

I'm not saying these athletes and billionaires aren't philanthropists, because most are. But if they donate less than 1% of their income, it is only to help them sleep at night. They, along with their entire families, can easily live off of 50% of their net worth.

The homes and cars and jewelry that these American athletes possess astounds me.

No doubt.  He could give more.  We all could.  But the fact of the matter is the amount Lebron gives (and a lot of these guys do) is still plenty to make a real difference in the lives of the people they focus on helping.

Stuff like the Vince Carter Sanctuary for addiction treatment.  Built from the ground up based on an individuals charity.

It's easy to knock these guys, but they do give a hell of a lot.  Not saying Lebron needs a bigass mansion.  But the fact that the amount he gives may amount to a small portion compared to what he chooses to keep for himself doesn't lessen the effect of the sum he does give. 

How much is enough? 

[action781]

and on the other side of the coin he gives a lot of time and money to worthy causes

I'm sure a lot of our lives would seem pretty lavish to a large portion of the earth's population.

This is 100% true.  I did 3 months of volunteer work at a school in the slums of Guatemala City and became pretty close with some of the older students.  We'd talk about sports and stuff, they had a decent idea of the big teams in American sports like the Yankees, Celtics, etc.  I told one kid that I was a big fan and had season tickets to the Celtics.  He asked me how much the tickets cost and I told him $35 per seat.  He was astounded.  Something like "Total or for each game?!?" was his response.  I was almost embarassed to admit that I spend that much for every game.  And then I thought about how many $6 (? So many that I don't even remember how much they cost) beers I consume.  These kids' families only make $10-15 per week!  I was really embarrassed to admit how much I spend on a luxury when they are struggling to feed and clothe themselves.  The bottom line:  We can all live on less.

I had a tough time justifying not giving up my tickets when I returned to give the money back to the poor.  I guess I just realized that my life is different than theirs and I am very fortunate for that.  I think athlete's lives are very different also.  I give a portion of my salary to charity, they give a portion of their salary to charity.  Personally, I like to think I would spend and live more like Warren Buffet than Lebron James.  But hey, I'm nobody to tell him what to do with his money just like poor people from third world countries are nobody to tell me I need to give up my season tickets to donate more money.

[Witch-King]

As much as I'm tempted to compare the NBA to a 'glorified cafeteria for tall-people', first of all, we must acknowledge the fact that NBA basketball players are arguably some of the most talented athletes on the planet, and LeBron James just so happens to be the most valuable basketball player in the league.

It would not be too much of a stretch to call LeBron James the best basketball player in the world, at least right now.

Obviously, with that comes the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by famous super-athletes who are at the very top of their respective fields; though we all know that that sort of living can only be enjoyed by a very limited few and there are many more who have made it 'to the top' per say and then squandered their millions (Antoine Walker, Scottie Pippen to name a few).

The NBA is at the forefront of this sort of superstar adulation, even with team salary caps that limit just how much cash (in theory) that a team can pay one player, NBA all-stars are notorious for having their own shoe contracts, some of them their own 'brand', appearing in commercials, T.V. shows, movies, etc.

This phenomenon might occur because of the archetypal 'form' of the NBA athlete:

a muscular, athletic male, usually very tall in stature (sometimes even bordering on gigantic at times), or a quick, also relatively tall guard, also with exceptional athletic abilities. Several NBA athletes are known to have excelled at multiple sports in their high-school and collegiate years (Wilt Chamberlain, Steve Nash, Rajon Rondo, Allen Iverson, etc.) and this is part of the reason why pro basketball in America is so fun to watch in the first place.

I mean, it's not like the 24th ranked male tennis player in the world is a house-hold name, or even has his own shoe contract, but the 24th best player in the NBA still is good enough to make the All-Star game, and likely has his own shoe deal.

Even world famous footballers (soccer) rarely have their own 'custom' shoes, though they certainly do endorse shoes/other sporting products as well as appear in commercials and are certainly household names within the market that they are being advertised to/on an international basis.

All I'm saying is that the 'LeBron James Brand' is not going to just go away overnight, and that even though athletes recieve alot of scrutiny for spending alot on a lavish lifestyle at this point LeBron is probably too famous, globally to ever be in real danger of irrepairably damaging his image/brand and going bankrupt. Heck, Kobe Bryant was involved in that infamous alleged-rape scandal last decade and look at him now. Also, look at Tiger Woods. 

LeBron James would have to be trying really hard in order to mess up his basketball career. Still hope the Celtics defeat the Miami Heat and the Lakers this post-season... 

[blackbird]

Okay, well why focus on LeBron? Why not look at our own hometown guys?

Paul Pierce's house in Weston and Ray Allen's place in Wellesley are each valued somewhere in the eight-figure range. Are we pointing out the speck in Miami's eye and ignoring the log in Boston's?

Moreover, if you think this is morally wrong, then I believe you are obligated to not support them. Without the money coming from the fans, they are regular guys forced to work regular jobs like the rest of us.

[bostonfan23]

It's a business. They have extraordinary talent that people will pay to see. There are TONS of other people besides just the players who profit big time off the game.

Businessmen, musicians, actors, prominent media members, etc. can also make huge money... they worked hard to get there. Are they lucky? Definitely. But if you have a problem with that system, you have an issue with the USA - (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's a core American value...)

[Tai]

Yeah, I won't call this topic dumb, but it's clear it has a somewhat sad agenda. People are just getting on Lebron for this cause they already know how much of an ass he is. That's it.

I mean, did he go on Cribs with this mansion or something?

[Snakehead]

LeBron cut me off in traffic once.

Okay, well why focus on LeBron? Why not look at our own hometown guys?

Paul Pierce's house in Weston and Ray Allen's place in Wellesley are each valued somewhere in the eight-figure range. Are we pointing out the speck in Miami's eye and ignoring the log in Boston's?

Moreover, if you think this is morally wrong, then I believe you are obligated to not support them. Without the money coming from the fans, they are regular guys forced to work regular jobs like the rest of us.

[Redz]

LeBron cut me off in traffic once.

Clearly you're not well aware of the laws regarding driving.  One does not get "cut off" by The King, one graciously lies down in front of The Kings vehicle so that the tires don't suffer any unnecessary tread wear.

[ram]

First off, where are the shot blockers? Opposing teams can drive with impunity. Anthony can blcok shots but can't stay on the floor (fouls) or do anything else. Haslem, if playing the 4/5 in crunch time can't block shots (0.3 per game). Z is the oldest 35 y/o around and can't do anything but shoot.
If Haslem is SO good, why did he only play 28 MPG last season? In the playoffs, Haslem only had 7.4 reb vs poor reb Celtics and shot 35% yet from what I read on here, he is a cross between Akeem and Kareem. Bosh is a 1 block per game defender.


Miller is good but has never played playoff ball (which is WAY different than reg season ball) past the first round. Also, can he hold up over a full season playing 36 minutes per? He's average just 62 games per season and only played heavy minutes in 2 seasons.

Are Lebron, Wade and espeically Bosh going to play 42-44 minutes per game in the late rounds of the playoffs?


The scariest thing about the heat is the defense of LJ and DW. Other than that, there are a lot of holes.

Miller, Haslem, Chalmers, Jones, Anthony, Z or 2008 Rondo, Perk, PJ, Posey, Powe, and House?

Their Big 3 is younger and more athletic but the rest of the team is severely lacking.