Top 10 Enemies of Miami Heat Superstar LeBron James: NBA Special Part- 1
LeBron ‘King’ James is one of the most phenomenal 'Neanderthal Man' of this era ever to grace the NBA. James is a beast on the court. He posses the finesse and skills of Michael Jordan, the toughness and tenacity of Kobe Bryant, and the athleticism and speed
unseen before. However, since announcement live on the national TV that he is taking his talents to the South Beach, he effectively became the biggest villain in the NBA’s history.
James, however, left the Cleveland Cavaliers for his own reasons as he wanted to win the precious NBA title and more importantly to play for a team who had a bigger impact on the basketball crazy nation.
While many people just followed the tide and banished James for ditching the Cleveland Cavaliers after seven years of for-granted service, there were people who intentionally made it a point to take a dig at James. Some of them had a rivalry with him while
others just feared that his inclusion will make the Miami Heat one of the most formidable units in the history of the game.
Here is the list of those, who directly and indirectly tried to criticise him whether seriously or ironically.
1- Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic Players
James arrival at the South Florida beach initiated a shift of power from Orlando to Miami. Dwight Howard and the Magic were not impressed naturally. From the very start of the season the Magic players and the coach made it a point to fire a salvo at James.
Their actions however reached a limit on 3 February when the Heat stepped on to the Amway Centre court for the third game of the four game series.
Before that particular game, Dwight Howard led the Orlando Magic players to mock LeBron James’ some pre-game rituals. At first, Howard mimicked LeBron’s imaginary baby powder toss and then went on to ridicule him with a signature team photography ritual,
which James often used to do with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Howard and his men, however, forgot one simple thing. 'You just don’t mess with the King'. In the minutes that followed, James unleashed the most brutal assault the league witnessed all season, tearing the Magic apart with 51 points.
2- Lakers head Coach Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson is the undisputed king of mind games in the league. Secondly, he and Los Angeles Lakers just love to be in the spotlight. However, with James' arrival, the focus of the NBA fraternity effectively shifted to Miami Heat, a thing which apparently
did not go well with shrewd Jackson. So when the Heat were passing through one of their lean stretches during the season, Jackson decided to let his feelings public. In an indirect reference to James, the Los Angeles Lakers' Head Coach said, “I'm not a big
fan of the style that Miami plays; I like to see everybody involved in the game.”
Jackson went on to say that he compared the Miami’s playing style with an X-box video game as they rely much on 1-on-1 basketball. James responded a week later on the court as he marshalled his team and knocked down the Lakers and also swept the season series.
3- Cleveland Cavaliers’ Daniel Gibson
LeBron James and Daniel Gibson used to be the best of friends. Both players had spent four seasons together with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But, when James left the Cavaliers and joined the Miami Heat in summer of 2010, their friendship fell into jeopardy.
So much so that Gibson became of the biggest critic of James. Their first encounter unravelled during LeBron first home coming this season. The King not only returned to hound the building he served in for seven year but also trash talked about his former
friend.
After that particular game, Gibson also told some of the reporters when he said, “I think people, from the outside looking in, might say we were laughing and joking with him, but if you could hear the things that were said, you would know that wasn't the
case, There was nothing friendly about the conversation we had.”
Although the dust settled in the ensuing months, Gibson again rejuvenated the rivalry when he proclaimed that he was the new King of Cleveland. LeBron didn’t take it lightly and the result was an all out war of words on a social networking website. The fiery
messages between LeBron and Gibson also turned down all hope for reconciliation.
Part 2 of this article is continued in Top 10 Enemies of Miami Heat Superstar LeBron James: NBA Special Part 2
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