OT: LeBron as a Public Figure

[ItsThatEasy]

LeBron is looking more and more like some unholy combination of Michael Jordan level greatness and Magic Johnson level off the court success.

The guy is undeniably one of the best players to ever touch a basketball but his moves off the court are really unprecedented.

He took his childhood friends and made them businessmen (no posse comments please).

They had some bumps and bruises along the way (The Decision was their idea) but as of now the things LeBron is doing are truly amazing:

Lifetime Nike Deal worth $1 Billion
Received $30 Million from investing in the Beats/Apple deal.
Producer of Survivors Remorse, now in its 4th season on Starz
Producer of Cleveland Hustles, picked up CNBC
Producing an HBO documentary about Muhammad Ali
Currently developing a film with New Line Cinema about a guy pretending to be an NBA draft pick
Owner of Uninterrupted, a company he signs other athletes to, even his rival Draymond Green
Minority shareholder of Liverpool (Only active pro athlete to do so)
Actively speaks on social issues and does not shy away from controversial issues
Has been a model citizen off the court throughout his entire career

Somehow someway I'm more excited about this guys Post-NBA career than his current quest to catch Jordan on the court.

20 years from now LeBron's finals record will be in the back of people's minds, he's truly a mogul and I just think it's cool to watch it happen.

[Manute Lol]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

[ItsThatEasy]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Ehhh, you could've done better.

Anyways, I like to acknowledge greatness when I see it.

I grew up watching Magic Johnson run Los Angeles after his playing career and always thought it was cool, so I admire LeBron's off the court moves.

[phanman]

He really has been a model NBA superstar and has given the future generations a blueprint on how to play the game right and be great citizen off the court as well. Like he stated in his Barkley tirade, he has never gotten in trouble and has had to deal with superstar status even BEFORE he stepped onto the NBA hard court. To add the OP I do believe he was one of the first players to receive a shoe deal before he played an NBA game too.

[bmurph128]

LeBron is looking more and more like some unholy combination of Michael Jordan level greatness and Magic Johnson level off the court success.

The guy is undeniably one of the best players to ever touch a basketball but his moves off the court are really unprecedented.

He took his childhood friends and made them businessmen (no posse comments please).

They had some bumps and bruises along the way (The Decision was their idea) but as of now the things LeBron is doing are truly amazing:

Lifetime Nike Deal worth $1 Billion
Received $30 Million from investing in the Beats/Apple deal.
Producer of Survivors Remorse, now in its 4th season on Starz
Producer of Cleveland Hustles, picked up CNBC
Producing an HBO documentary about Muhammad Ali
Currently developing a film with New Line Cinema about a guy pretending to be an NBA draft pick
Owner of Uninterrupted, a company he signs other athletes to, even his rival Draymond Green
Minority shareholder of Liverpool (Only active pro athlete to do so)
Actively speaks on social issues and does not shy away from controversial issues
Has been a model citizen off the court throughout his entire career

Somehow someway I'm more excited about this guys Post-NBA career than his current quest to catch Jordan on the court.

20 years from now LeBron's finals record will be in the back of people's minds, he's truly a mogul and I just think it's cool to watch it happen.

Not to mention "The Wall" on NBC and how much he gives back to his community.

It's amazing how much he has accomplished and use his insane influence to help other people in the community. His post career will be fun to watch.

[Hero]

Good points. I hope he continues empowering others, speaks out even more on important issues and contributes to society.

He's definitely built from a different mold from most of these guys.

[bushybrah_]

As much as I hated him for leaving the Heat, I can't deny he's one of the GOATs and truly appreciate everything he's done for the game. Doesn't hurt to say he played for and helped bring my city 2 titles.


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[bmurph128]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Lol is that an appropriate response? It's nice to see a thread talking about how incredible a human being LeBron is rather than bashing him for something. But I guess you had to be "that guy"..

[Zenith]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Probably fewer pairs then the amount of groin kicks warriors fans have defended.

[ItsThatEasy]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Lol is that an appropriate response? It's nice to see a thread talking about how incredible a human being LeBron is rather than bashing him for something. But I guess you had to be "that guy"..

Gotta get those And 1's

[Mylie10]

I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

[shawn_hemp]

I'm not a fan of LeBron off the court to be honest.

He tries to act like some racial social justice warrior who defied the odds and now empowers young impoverished youth to do the same when in reality he won the genetic lottery and was driving an Escalade in high school because he can control a round object that much better than everyone else.

Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes. Sure, they help people, but they help the donors as well.

Once you have money it's easier to make money because you can take more risks.

And LeBron had a shoe deal before he ever played an NBA game

[ItsThatEasy]

I'm not a fan of LeBron off the court to be honest.

He tries to act like some racial social justice warrior who defied the odds and now empowers young impoverished youth to do the same when in reality he won the genetic lottery and was driving an Escalade in high school because he can control a round object that much better than everyone else.

Charities are really just a way to not have to pay as much taxes. Sure, they help people, but they help the donors as well.

So what about the impoverished youth who actually do feel empowered by him?

They should not feel empowered anymore?

[shawn_hemp]

It's hard for me to explain why I don't like LeBron off the court without delving into racial issues and it's really never fun to get into that on the internet

[Manute Lol]

How many pairs of LeBron's game worn underoos do you own, guy?

Lol is that an appropriate response? It's nice to see a thread talking about how incredible a human being LeBron is rather than bashing him for something. But I guess you had to be "that guy"..

Your standards for what constitutes an "incredible" human being are depressingly low. LeBron seems a decent enough fellow, and I can even forgive him for being a shameless egoist because he is correct about his status as the best basketball player on the planet, but let's not pretend that there's anything exceptional about him besides the fact that he's really good at basketball and really rich. He's not Kareem, or Bill Walton, or Pop. Every time he opens his mouth about non-basketball-related matters what comes out is mind-numbingly uninteresting.

[ItsThatEasy]

I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

Funny how people said the same about Ali during his career and now he's viewed as a national hero.

Bringing visibility to social injustice has no downside.

Wrong or right you start a dialogue and people are forced to talk about things they otherwise wouldn't.

[shawn_hemp]

I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

Funny how people said the same about Ali during his career and now he's viewed as a national hero.

Bringing visibility to social injustice has no downside.

Wrong or right you start a dialogue and people are forced to talk about things they otherwise wouldn't.

That's the gist of my stance in a way.

Ali actually had real social injustices to complain about.

I'm in the group that would proclaim that the current generation of athletes, do not.

But whatever keeps their name in the press right?

[ItsThatEasy]

We make fun of athletes for going broke after their careers. Yet when a guy comes along and shows athletes how to be successful and save money off the court we discredit that success because "he's an athlete, he hit the genetic lottery".

[Manute Lol]

I know its just me, but I don't care for players or entertainers getting to political. Of course it depends on the issue, but for the most part, I'd rather they just stick to the games.

Funny how people said the same about Ali during his career and now he's viewed as a national hero.

Bringing visibility to social injustice has no downside.

It did for Ali, who went to prison for his beliefs. Comparing LeBron to Ali just shows your lack of historical perspective. LeBron's desultory comments on social issues are less than insignificant compared to Ali's.

[shawn_hemp]

LeBron hit the genetic jackpot though

I don't like how he feels the need to be more than a basketball player.

But I also don't see athletes as role models because you don't know them on a personal level.