LeBron sums up his mental space with Theodore Roosevelt reference
LeBron James has some words for his critics. They’re not his words but they do a fair job in describing where James is in his career.
LeBron James, when speaking to the media about the criticism he received for passing the ball to Kyle Korver in the final minute of Game 3, said he’s not concerned about criticism. After stating that he’d do the play in the same way if he had a chance to do it over, he directed the media to take a look at a famous Theodore Roosevelt quote from his speech, “The Man in the Arena”.
Per the Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt:
"“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”"
James has referencing this quote since at least 2014.
James, in directing the media to read this quote, could be said to have been passively taking a shot at them. He wasn’t doing it rudely but with a sort of brutal honesty. He’s on the court, giving his all and doing what most people recognize as putting a myriad of teams and lineups on his back and getting to the NBA Finals year after year, even if he doesn’t always come out as the victor in the championship series.
He nonetheless is a three-time champion and has fought for the championship eight times, the most Finals appearances for any player since Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar starred with the Los Angeles Lakers. His streak of seven straight NBA Finals appearances in only bested by Bill Russell and Sam Jones of the 1960s Boston Celtics dynasty.
His feats are all the more impressive, and put in a better perspective, when noticing that James has played against the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors dynasties in six out of his eight Finals appearances. While he’ll possibly go to 1-2 against both franchises, he has a chance to even up the record by the end of his career. He’s gone 1-1 against teams he was expected to beat but teams that were the creme of the crop in the Western Conference, the conference that’s the creme of the crop in the NBA.
So while he may deserve criticism for failures and even understand it, he’s not worried about the criticism. He’s worried about “great devotions”, “great enthusiasms” and spending himself “in a worthy cause”. He’s worried about competing for championships every year and giving his all on the court, playing his way.
He can’t be bothered by people who haven’t striven to have success regardless of the possibility of failure, those who haven’t striven to be the greatest of all-time. He’s content because even if he fails at reaching the mountaintop, nobody can deny that he gave his all in the attempt.
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