Lebron James Network

Like any other NBA team would, the Miami Heat revolves around the decisions and playmaking abilities of LeBron James . They go as far as he'll take them, which explains why a team with LeBron averaging 18 points is really bad compared to the team where LeBron is averaging 28 points per. There's a huge difference if this team reverses roles between James and Dwayne Wade because the team led by LeBron is always better than the team led by Wade. After last year, it's assured that this team is going to continue being led by LeBron. The Heat, like any other team in a similar position, is just better when they're being led by the league's top all-around player. When you have someone who is capable of averaging 35 points but chooses to dish out assists instead, you have an asset that you want to utilize to the fullest. In order to embrace Heat culture, each player is going to have to complement their team's best player by making the adjustme...

Dwight Howard has kicked off his "Forgive Me for Everything Tour" with the latest in a long, sordid line of reasons to absolutely detest him. And this one's another classic. If The Onion were parodying the things D12 might say, it couldn't make up the stuff spewing from his mouth to Ric Bucher 's ears. It was the most painful indication yet that this guy is nowhere close to embarking upon the kind of successful mea culpa campaign that warmed so many fans to ex-villain LeBron James . Here's the best (or is it worst?) part (via ESPN staff ): "I don't have any regrets, you know. I think everything happened the way that it was meant to happen," Howard said Saturday in an interview with ESPN The Magazine senior writer Ric Bucher . "I really just wish some of the lies and some of the things being said didn't come out the way it did, you know." No regrets? Really? You wouldn't just be saying that to make yourself l...

(Courtesy of @KingJames) When Miami Heat superstar LeBron James says he likes something, a lot of people seem to fall in line with him. Lucky for the Oregon Ducks. James tweeted a photo of himself wearing Oregon gloves and a picture of one of the helmets and tweeted it out to his more than 6 million followers. S/O to Oregon for the fire!! Best uni's in the Nation #Nike Not like Oregon needs any help with its popularity. Its multitude of uniform combinations have made it one of the most popular college football teams in the country. Add the fact that it has some pretty exciting athletes and a uptempo style and it's hard not to share James' affinity for the program. James, who was at Nike's headquarters in Beaverton, Ore., Monday to check out some of the new gear, was actually a tight end in high school and earned a scholarship offer from current Ohio State coach Urban Meyer. Of course, James decided to skip college altogether and make a living in the NB...

LeBron James may already be the best player on the Miami Heat , but he still has some work to do before we can crown him the greatest Miami Heat star of all time. At the very least, he'll need to play out the remainder of his contract and pick up his player options in 2014 and 2015. Longevity is no small accomplish when talking about what a player has meant to his team. Alonzo Mourning played 10 seasons for the Heat in two separate stints. Tim Hardaway gave the franchise five seasons. But more than any other player, Dwyane Wade remains the face of the Heat. Beyond playing in Miami for nine seasons, Wade has never played for another club. He also helped the organization win its first title by averaging 34.7 points per game against the Dallas Mavericks, and almost single-handedly willed his team to victory after falling in a 0-2 series hole. Wade's 2006 Finals performance was one for the ages. For what it's worth, Wade also deserves a great deal of the credi...

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It wasn't too long ago that the basketball public could at least entertain the possibility that the title of the league's best player was a matter up for debate. LeBron James has since eliminated that mere possibility; even if his overall performance over the last half-decade weren't enough to definitively make his claim as the NBA 's finest, James swelled in the face of every obstacle faced in the last year. Playoff opponents were conquered, the championship was won and James was unquestionably the best in the business every step of the way. But LeBron can't hold such an honor forever. Another player is destined to unseat him atop the league hierarchy at some point, and candidates hardly come more qualified than Kevin Durant. It is, frankly, tough to even find demerits on Durant's résumé. Beyond his incomprehensible commitment to the game and right-way attitude, Durant makes efficient bulk scoring seem far simpler than it is. His range is unimpeach...

By Tom Ziller - NBA Editor Dwight Howard interpreted the backlash from LeBron's "Decision" all wrong. The Hook helps set him straight. Like SBNation.com on Facebook. Sep 18, 2012 - Dwight Howard admitted over the weekend to ESPN's Ric Bucher (who gets inordinately high-quality interviews, I might add) that he was so wishy washy over his decision to leave the Orlando Magic last season in part because he didn't want to make the same mistake that LeBron James had made in 2010. That mistake, apparently, was the simple act of leaving Cleveland. As Andrew Sharp notes , Dwight is wrong: everyone hated LeBron for the way in which he left, not the act of leaving. That mistaken analysis by Team Dwight led to Howard trying to convince himself he should stay when he clearly didn't want to ... which made everything worse. But that mistake pales in comparison to these other 23 lessons Dwight learned from the LeBron backlash. 1. Charity...

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Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers has his priorities in order. He mentioned the Miami Heat incessantly during a Q&A with Bob Ryan ( via celticsblog.com ) at a recent community event in Boston. Rivers has good reason to be consumed with the reigning NBA champs. LeBron James and Co. present the largest hurdle for Rivers’ aging team. Last season the Celtics went up 3-2 on the Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, only to drop Games 6 and 7 and miss out on a trip to the NBA Finals. In 2011, the Celtics lost to the Heat in the East semifinals. Ryan asked Rivers about the Los Angeles Lakers, the latest super team to step the forefront. It was obvious Rivers is aware the Celtics have work to do on their own coast before considering a matchup with the Lakers down the line. “Honestly, I don't care about the Lakers ... I have my eye squarely on Miami," Rivers said. "I come up to my players during the year-they're in the facility now-I bring up Miami every sin...

If you go through the streets of Miami any sun-parched day of the week and tell those who partake in watching professional organized basketball, don't tell them that LeBron James belongs to the Miami Heat . The chances are likely that you will get into an argument and you will have your face eaten. Alright, that won't happen. However, there is a stigma in one of the NBA 's most flourishing markets surrounding this Heat team's ownership of Jamesâ€"a stigma that's thanks to Dwyane Wade . You could easily cite Wade's claim of "handing over the reins" of the team to James, but it makes no difference to a fanbase that has embraced Dwyane Wade basketball over nearly the past decade. Wade is more to this city than just a basketball superstarâ€"he is the city. The lack of success in the sporting community amongst the Dolphins, Hurricanes, Panthers and Marlins has caused a lot more eyes in Miami to be driven to the allure of Wade splitting do...

When LeBron James decided to take his talents to South Beach, his critics tried to paint him as an underachiever who would never realize his full potential. Despite the hostilities LeBron and the Miami Heat had to endure, "King James" put his doubters to shame during the 2012 NBA postseason, delivering multiple clutch performances on his way to his first NBA championship and Finals MVP award. During the summer, he led Team USA to a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics. At this point, it's safe to say LeBron's decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers was the right move for his career. As good as LeBron is right now, there's still room for improvement in his game. His teammate Dwyane Wade certainly thinks so, and he shared his thoughts during a recent interview with ESPNChicago.com. "The sky's the limit," Wade said. "He's been very good. He has three MVPs. I don't know statistically how much more he can do, but I think just his d...

*There will be a live chat at 1 pm. today. Bring your questions! The tears streamed down Dwight Howard 's face. LeBron James had just won his first NBA championship, and it deeply affected Howard in several ways. He cried because it provided another reminder that his own hopes of winning a ring had thus far fallen short. He also cried because it showed a clear path toward redemption. It was only two years ago that James earned near universal scorn for hosting a one-hour show called "The Decision," in which he announced that he'd be leaving the Cavaliers to take his "talents to South Beach." The pressure increased when he boasted at a Miami Heat pep rally about "winning multiple championships." But when the Heat fell to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals , James couldn't escape scorn for his disappearing acts in the fourth quarters of games. But that plot line soon faded away once James improved his late-game play and ...

There are a zillion considerations that could fill an entire article of their own when putting together any list like this, but I'll try to standardize how I look at the players without complicating things too much. My scenario for considering the value of these players in helping a team contend is: I can add two good players to a squad whose remainder is 10 average players that cover all the positions, and our goal is to play together for 10 years in a modern-style league and to contend for and win as many titles as possible. The two good players will use their best 8-year stretch throughout the hypothetical decade (considerations allowed for freak injuries, forced to be a backup for too long, baseball sabbaticals, etc â€" and we're talking abilities & intangibles here, not their stats), with two random seasons from their career that don't fall in the 8-year stretch thrown in at two random spots. So you get the best 8-year stretch of two players, plus two oth...

LeBron James may be preparing to leave Miami. After winning his first NBA championship and headed down a road of greatness and success with the Miami Heat , James may possibly preparing for his departure. James is under contract to the Heat through 2015-16, he has an early-termination option in his contract for the 2014 offseason and a player opt-out clause for the 2015 offseason. A new agency only would collect on a new contract. A source close to James said the 2014 opt-out clause was not a consideration in the move and the impending agency switch should not be taken as the precursor to an eventual opt-out by 2012 NBA Finals Most Valuable Player. In 2005 James changed agents, signing with Leon Rose and William “Worldwide Wes” Wesley . The move to work with these agents of the  Creative Artists Agency was instrumental in his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and join Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in South Beach. And James has decided to put his off-the-court ...

When you think about it, the Miami Heat possess a top-10 player at potentially three different positions. Because not only is LeBron James the definitive top small forward in the league, but he could also be recognized as a top-10 point guard if he was listed as one in the starting lineup before every game. This had been the standard for LeBron's career, since he essentially was the Cleveland Cavaliers offense, and was fortunate to also be gifted with being a distributor as well as a scorer. This past season, however, James began adjusting all over the court. He spent time at every position and eventually found success playing at power forward. His speed forces the larger defenders into playing off of him, which ends up leading to James getting open jumpers and a better field of vision, since the pressure from the defender would be limited. James spent as much time playing at the 4 last season than we've seen in the first eight years of his career. Not only that, but he...