LeBron James: ‘This is a No-Excuse Season for Me’

This week’s issue of SI features a terrific piece on LeBron James as he edges towards a third MVP award, and yet another pressure-packed trip to the Playoffs. Here’s an excerpt: “Tranquil moments are few in the chaotic life of LeBron James. He steals them when he can, sitting on his patio in Coconut Grove, Fla., and admiring the waves on Biscayne Bay, biking across Rickenbacker Causeway with friends to Key Biscayne, watching basketball on television and flipping the channel when the announcers utter his name. Forward Shane Battier, in his first year with Miami, sounds as if he could lead a seminar at Duke deconstructing the James phenomenon. ‘He is a global icon, a basket-ball monolith, the most prevalent and recognizable athlete of our generation,’ says Battier. ‘And he’s one of a kind, because he’s the first to rise to prominence in the Information Age, which is why he’s such a fascinating sociological observation. He’s accountable every single day for every single thing, from how he plays to what he tweets to what he says in the pre- and the postgame interviews. He has a camera and a microphone on him wherever he goes, and then when he [goes out to] dinner, there’s a camera phone on him. This is what he signed up for. There is a price to pay. He understands that. But I don’t think a lot of guys could handle it.’ James isn’t just coping, he is completing one of the finest all-around seasons in the NBA’s modern era. At week’s end he was averaging 27.1 points with 7.9 rebounds and 6.2 assists while shooting 53.1 percent. Larry Bird never shot 53.1 percent. His player efficiency rating of 30.6 leads the league by more than four points, and he is holding opposing small forwards to an anemic efficiency rating of 10.4, according to 82games.com. The 6-foot-8 James is the Heat’s best ball handler, passer and post scorer, but he also covers everyone from point guards to centers, sometimes in the same game. ‘We are asking him to play at an MVP level,’ says coach Erik Spoelstra, ‘and at a Defensive Player of the Year level.’ James is attempting fewer three-pointers than ever while making them at a higher clip (36.2 percent). He is grabbing more rebounds in part because he is spending more time inside. His game log is a litany of near triple doubles. The NBA has not witnessed such a balanced and prolific individual assault since Michael Jordan in 1988–89, two years before his first title. Of course, James did not move to Miami and incur a nation’s wrath so he could enhance his efficiency rating. He went for rings, presumably fistfuls of them. ‘No, not a fistful,’ James says. ‘I don’t need a fistful. But I need one. I need to get one first. I have short goals — to get better every day, to help my teammates every day — but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It’s all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing.’ As the 27-year-old James leans forward in the booth, the playoffs are two weeks away and still he is logging 35 minutes a night, even though it’s clear the Heat will likely be the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and many of his peers are resting. ‘It’s my choice,’ James says. ‘I’m looking for opportunities to get better, and if I sit out, I can’t get better. This is a no-excuse season for me. I’ve put everything into this season.'”