How could one memorable Lebron James interview with Jim Gray have made such an enormous impact on the NBA in less than a year's time?
The ESPN special? One hour. The announcement? Less than ten seconds. And yet, over a year later, that miniscule moment in time in which Lebron James made official his decision to play for the Miami Heat with fellow Class of 2003 draftees Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade has since had a huge impact not only in the game of basketball, but also in the world of sports.
Look, you and I both know what happened during "The Decision." Hell, you even know what I thought about "The Decision" if you ever read my three days late analysis of it last July. So instead, I'm just going to spend the rest of this Hall of Fame induction post giving you, the reader, a list of reasons (in honor of the amount of years left on James' contract with Miami) as to why I chose this to enshrinement as well as the impact that this fateful moment in early July 2010 had during this past NBA season and (pending a lockout that will last longer than four months) will continue to have for the next few years to come.
1. Well, as far as this blog is concerned, "The Decision" was part of a tiny list of posts I have ever done where the main topic of interest was NBA related. Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of basketball. However, my love and passion for the game just doesn't equal my love for other sports like, say, baseball or golf or especially football. However, that moment last July along with the vitriolic reaction against James was so dominant around the Internet and as a point of conversation that there was no reason why I shouldn't have pitched in (I did after all dedicated numerous posts beforehand to talking about James' upcoming free agency and how I would've love it had he decided to play for my Chicago Buls). Also, "The Decision" was such a big sports story that it swayed me to name Lebron James not only my July 2010 Person of the Month but also a member of my 2010 People of the Year. Plus, that first season with James in Miami? I talked more about his team in 2010-2011 than any other team in the NBA, including the Bulls (at least 15 posts have "miami heat" labels on it to date).
2. It wasn't just myself that found that 2010-2011 Miami Heat team captivating. Because of "The Decision," the signings of Wade and Bosh the day earlier and the fact that they now were the new villains in the NBA, interest in that team soared to Michael Vick-led Philadelphia Eagles and New York Yankees level heights. From their first regular season game against the Boston Celtics all the way to those NBA Finals game against the Dallas Mavericks, many took a rising interest in that team, for the most part just so they could either join its fanbase bandwagon or passionately root against them (mostly the latter), leading to big ratings whenever they were shown on national TV (fellow 2011 inductee Brett Favre was like that, too, in that he was also despised by many people while also drawing big game ratings to his last two seasons in Minnesota). When the team had those two periods where they were struggling, that was big news. When Lebron James returned to Cleveland, that was big news. When they were winning and made it to the Finals, that was also huge news. Not since the 2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers with its Kobe and Shaq feud has there been so much attention paid towards one specific NBA team.
Of course, no other sports enterprise profited from and later got the benefit from "The Decision" more than ESPN. They did everything they could to take that interest in Lebron James and make it into ratings gold, whether it was actually airing "The Decision" to having a Sportscenter crew actually cover their training camps (how often do you see that in the NBA?) to even creating something called the Heat Index, a place to go to on the ESPN website for daily Miami Heat stories and analysis. And you know what? It paid off. After all, just look at those Finals ratings. Game 6 alone got the highest ratings for any Finals game in 11 years, with viewership rising up to 25 million by the end of gametime. This bring me to my next point...
3. Not only did "The Decision" lead to an increase of interest in the Miami Heat and its quest for a title. It also lead interest into the NBA, making 2010-2011 one of its most exciting seasons ever. Don't believe me? Well, then, answer me this: when was the last time that you have ever been interest in the NBA as early as late October as you probably were when the Heat took on the Celtics on opening night? Or better yet, how often did you care more about an NBA season before this one? Here's the editor-in-chief of ESPN's Grantland and 2010 The mj15 Blog Hall of Famer Bill Simmons with a more detailed and more elaborate explanation during his 06/10 column on the NBA Finals (as if the Brett Favre mentioning wasn't enough of a connection between "The Decision" and other previous Hall of Famers):
"You may have noticed this, but the NBA is back. Not since Michael Jordan was coughing up mucus on Ahmad Rashad in Utah has the league been this compelling: personified by its incredible 2011 Finals, currently riding a four-game "Games That Will Be Shown On ESPN Classic" streak. The NBA has more marketable stars than every other American team sport combined. Its three biggest markets (Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago) feature three playoff teams, five of the best 15 players, the reigning MVP (Derrick Rose), one of the 10-best players ever (Kobe Bryant), and the league's most exciting young star (Blake Griffin). Its signature franchise (Miami) has been the single most polarizing American sports team since … since … (wait, has there ever been a more polarizing American sports team?). Even better, the league has gravitated toward an NFL-type model in which fans watch playoff games no matter who's involved, as we found out during the Oklahoma City-Memphis series."
He also went to talk about how well the league has been doing internationally, in the digital market and in the business of selling black athletes to a white-dominated fanbase, but that has really been years in the making, whether the majority of the examples listed in that paragraph can actually be tied to "The Decision" in a way. And to think, the NBA might have just blown that momentum they gained this season with a lockout that has a gloomier outlook at the moment than at any point during this NFL's 2011 lockout.
4. The impact on the two main teams involved in "The Decision," the Cleveland Cavaliers (James' former team) and the Miami Heat (James' current team), was huge. In less a season, the Miami Heat went 47-35 and an opening round playoff loss to the Celtics to 58-24 and an Eastern Conference championship. While the Heat vastly improved this season, the Cavaliers vastly tank in quality since James announced that he would leave the team during "The Decision," going from 61-21 in '09-'10 to 18-63 in '10-'11, and from the #1 seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs to the #1 worst record in the league...all because of the loss of one guy! If Derrick Rose hadn't led the Chicago Bulls to the NBA's best record this season, I would have been perfectly fine with James earning a third straight MVP award.
5. "The Decision" almost paid off for James and the Heat in year one! This season, the Miami Heat had many doubters wronged by proving that you can have great success in this league with only three good players, dominating all three rounds of the Eastern Conference playoffs and being just two games away from an NBA title, the second in franchise history and the first that Lebron James would have received (the sole purpose of him bothering to come to Miami). Unfortunately for the Heat, the team they faced in the NBA Finals was none other than the team on a mission, the Dallas Mavericks, led by Dirk Nowitzki who was making shots as if he were trying to save his life that season, and they lost that series in six games, 4 to 2 (including a 15 point comeback win in game 2). However, with the team having their Big Three under contract for five more years (at least), expect to see them remain one of the league's favorites to win it for years to come (and the mass-nationwide hatred of them to slowly deteriorate as the days since "The Decision" starts to grow overtime).
Be sure to come back Monday as I wrap up The mj15 Blog's Hall of Fame Week with the fifth and final inductee into the 2011 class (I felt like one tiny day off would be good). I'll give you a hint: it's a group of people, all of whom were mentioned multiple times on this site before, yet only one was brought in last year's Hall of Fame honorable mentions post. In the meantime, won't you please enjoy the rest of your Saturday? Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your pal: mj15
If you have any opinions on today's post, or if you just have any suggestions or tips for my next blog entry, e-mail me at: mj1599@aol.com. Your e-mails are greatly appreciated.
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