LeBron James Shakes Hands, Speaks to Media This Time
It’s been a year since LeBron James’ perceived p.r. gaffes. One occurred in the summer when Jordan Crawford dunked around LeBron and Nike confiscated the dunk tape. The other was when LeBron left the floor after his team lost to the Magic in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals without shaking hands and speaking to the media. LeBron said he regretted not speaking to the media after the loss but he didn’t regret not congratulating the Magic. It seems to me that LeBron was not being truthful about his feelings when he said that.
Following Cleveland’s Game 6 loss to the Celtics in Boston that knocked them out of the NBA playoffs, LeBron stuck around and made a specific effort to seek out several Celtics players. LeBron embraced many of them and shared private conversations with guys like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Kendrick Perkins amongst others. Whether it was for the media’s benefit or because LeBron knew it was the right thing to do, it’s clear the James realized congratulating his opponents was something he had to do. After the game was over, James also spent almost 10 minutes answering questions from the media, many of which dealt with his future.
LeBron said he didn’t regret not congratulating the Magic after Game 6 last year but his actions this year indicate contradict that. The Celtics deserved LeBron’s respect and attention for thoroughly beating his team. The Celtics were simply better.
Photo Credit: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images; Elsa/Getty Images
