Although he wasn’t the first, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James made it okay for superstars to jump ship, according to some anyway. Kevin Garnett wasn’t going anywhere in Minnesota and got a fresh start in Boston with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Kobe Bryant already had titles with Shaquille O’Neal, so joining him with Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom didn’t feel like a stretch. But perhaps it was the premeditation behind “The Decision” announcement that rubbed people the wrong way, like Iman Shumpert. James’ former teammate talked to Shaq on his Big Podcast about how ‘Bron forever ruined the NBA.
“I got crucified for this question already: Has Steph ruined the game? Because I was asked this and I said the person that ruined all of this was ‘Bron.
“Because I felt like Bron’s stance… It’s like if (Michael Jordan) would’ve made it okay for y’all to say, ‘I’m leaving this team and I’m going to another because I don’t like what the owners are saying.’ If Mike would’ve did that, there would’ve been no loyalty (anymore). Because we all quote-unquote ‘wanted to be like Mike,’ right? Even though Steph is good, I felt like ‘Bron was the guy that did it. When ‘Bron made it okay for people to team up, it stopped making the star player have to come back with something added to their game.”
What’s lost here a bit is that Shumpert believes star players are not “coming back with something added to their game,” which is also what is ruining the game. It’s a slightly more nuanced take, but the math ain’t mathin. Whether it was Curry or another sharpshooter, the three-pointer was ripe for exploitation.
Between Curry and a faster, up-tempo style of play ushered in by coaches like Mike D’Antoni, the game’s eventual move away from big men in the paint was inevitable.
Basketball evolves with or without the Lakers’ LeBron James
All sports move forward with ebbs and flows. The PED era of baseball is a distant memory as pitching matchups have compartmentalized the sport. The NFL experienced a pass-happy era for much of the 2000s, but a league-wide mandate to slow down Patrick Mahomes has made offenses much more focused on short passing and efficiency.
We could witness the next iteration of basketball’s evolution with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the defensive-minded Oklahoma City Thunder. Is the superteam era already over? The Lakers can’t add a third piece to complement LBJ and Anthony Davis. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard aren’t enough. We obviously can’t trust the process in Philadelphia. Are the Celtics a superteam now between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?
The Thunder should’ve been another superteam with Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. But they blew it up for draft picks, and they look like one of the most exciting young teams in years. The undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers followed a similar approach in the post-LeBron era, building chemistry around Donovan Mitchell with annual lottery picks.
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