LeBron James thinks ‘failure’ is too strong a word if Heat don’t win championship

Former Yankees owner George Steinbrenner used to regard any season that didn’t ended with a World Series title as a failure. Apparently LeBron James does not share that mentality.

When asked if he would consider this season a “failure” if the Heat don’t win the title, LeBron said no while Dwyane Wade said yes.

“The season won’t be a failure,” James said, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “You put too much work into a season to automatically call it a failure, but it would be a disappointment.

“This is our goal. This is what we’ve come together for. A failure is a strong word. We commit ourselves and we dedicate our season, we work hard every day and to automatically say it’s a failure, I think that’s a big word. But I think it’d be a disappointment, because that’s what you work hard for every day.”

Let me help you out for a second there, LeBron. The answer is yes. Yes, it would be a failure if your team did not win the title. Just listen to what Wade said.

“I say yes,” he said. “There’s only one champion. It’s a failure for every other team. If you don’t win a championship, you had a failed year.”

Some teams have much stronger chances of winning a title than others and that’s where expectations become a factor. The Heat took paycuts to form a big three. LeBron celebrated the signings by suggesting the Heat would win “Not one, not two, not three …” but seven titles. Miami was built to win championships. James is 27 and in his eighth season. If they don’t begin winning now, then LeBron will likely fall well short of his promise, and the Heat’s seasons will be failures.