Attitude

To paraphrase Charles Barkley, any knucklehead knows how to act when you win. For me, the true character of an athlete is how they are when they lose.

Take the case of NBA future Hall-of-Famer LaBron James. His Lakers are in the hunt for the last spot in this year’s playoffs. They are currently three games out. He is trying to reach the Finals for an unprecedented ninth straight year. Not just the playoffs. The finals. Those plans were dealt a tough blow when they lost Friday night to the league leading Milwaukee Bucks, led by their own superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo.

At the end of the game, players usually dap (congratulate) each other for a good game. This could be because they were teammates on other teams, homeboys that grew up together, have the same agent or whatever. I actually love this part of the event. It shows the true camaraderie among players. Naturally, Giannis was looking for Bron-Bron, superstar to superstar.

As the game was ending, James had already walked off the court and down the tunnel to the locker room. No dap, no nothing. Just left.

When I think of the greatest players that have played the game, I always check their attitude more closely when they lose. I never remember guys like Jordan and Magic gripe and cry when things didn’t go their way. They were guys that took their losses like the stand-up guys they were. 

There is one other point that you need to be made aware of. Before the trading deadline, the Lakers tried to craft a deal that would have brought fellow superstar Anthony Davis over from the New Orleans Pelicans. However, part of the deal would have included getting rid of most of the guys that LaBron is actually playing with now. So, you can understand how some of the players would feel a way about that even if the league is strictly business like Michael Corleone.

Having said that, it does not give James the right to act like a petulant child. If the Lakers don’t make the postseason, there is enough blame to go around. It’s important to note that before James was out 17 games due to a groin injury, the Lakers were the number five seed in the West. If you want to be considered one of the greats, you take the good with the bad.

Win or lose.