Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • PodBean
  • Subscribe To My Pal Sammy Newsletter
  • ABOUT
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

My Summer Lair

Think NPR's Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: My Summer Lair with host Sammy Younan: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.

  • Home
  • Podcast
    • My Summer Lair
    • Space Station Oddity
  • Set The VCR
  • New Book Alert
  • True Sammy Stories
  • Toggle search form

The Decision: 10 Years Later

Posted on July 10, 2020 By Sammy Younan

On July 8, 2010 ESPN handed LeBron an hour of prime time television. You don’t need a crystal ball to know where this is going…but it helps.

10 years later LeBron James’ Decision has been durably prophetic. He came into Jordan’s NBA house wearing 23 throwing chalk dust into the air and asked to be recognized as a king…in the absence of any significant championship achievements. Umm, yeah not gonna happen.

If an NBA player wants to leave one team for another team that’s great. Free agency has only been around since 1988; this isn’t some ABA afros era CBA clause. Free agency is a modern condition and fans and franchises are used to this turbulent process. And I mean it’s in the name agency means action or intervention, especially such as to produce a particular effect. Athlete empowerment via free agency is good for the NBA and for players and sometimes it’s good for the fans and franchises.

While a cozy narrative The Decision wasn’t athlete empowerment. This was narcissism and selfishness: a Twitter trailer of who we’d all become. Like the way, we justify douchebag Twitter behaviour in the name of justice or a taking moral stance. It’s never been about those things.

As a franchise player from Ohio LeBron could have overhauled the Cavs into a storied franchise on par with the Celtics, Lakers, and the Bulls. He could. He did not. The Last Dance opened and closed with young “hair Jordan” shortly after being drafted — expressing his vision to transform the moribund Bulls into a prime NBA destination. Six championships later Jordan succeeded; he fulfilled his goal and delivered on his destiny.

Michael Jordan did The Work. He could. He did.

Back then LeBron James overestimated his value and his contributions to the NBA and to pop culture. It’s the equivalent of Hanson thinking they’re on par with Prince or Bowie.

Currently, The Decision stands as an ancient media hieroglyph depicting unfulfilled promise; a rejection of potential; arrogance, and ultimately cowardice. It is a systematic failure on par with Apollo 13 (in spite of these failures like those undaunted astronauts LeBron was also able to “go home”).

Look when a president leaves the White House his reputation begins an earnest renovation and ultimately a restoration. He’s slowly classified as “he wasn’t that bad.” A lot of the bad is completely overlooked in favour of emphasizing the good. (W. Bush is currently going through this process and it’s so disturbing: dude started 2 endless wars. 2! There’s not a lot of good to rebut that.)

However no amount of time; no reputation renovation can salvage The Decision’s ongoing fallout. Universal criticism is warranted for LeBron James (and ESPN): past tense and present tense because that’s where we’re at and why we’re forced to acknowledge it 10 years later. We’ve seen what it has become.

The ultimate legacy of The Decision is that it helped LeBron perfect his infomercial executions cleverly deflecting away from his legion of failures on the basketball court. The Decision is LeBron’s version of Jordan’s “getting cut from his high school basketball team” mythology. The failure of that tv special made him better.

LeBron learned how to control his narrative; unable to win he instead learned how to spin. The primary problem with LeBron controlling the narrative is that he cannot (and should not) be trusted. The spectacle should solely be on the court not off the court: after all, it is called a court for a significant reason: you will be judged by how you play.

And leading up to The Decision LeBron James was found wanting; he was considered a failure. He had seven years in Cleveland yet he failed to deliver championships (plural) how could they be considered great years?

This isn’t even about being compared to Michael Jordan rather it is appreciating the one universal standard for all NBA franchise players. That standard is the same for Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, etc. the onus and pressure is completely on them to deliver consistent greatness.

It’s no different than when Brad Pitt or Tom Hanks is signed to a movie…are there other actors in the film: sure. If the film becomes a box office failure is it those other actors’ fault? No, it’s the responsibility of Tom Hanks or Brad Pitt to deliver a box office hit. LeBron James had no hits when he left Cleveland to go to Miami. We’re not handing out cookies for self-esteem encouragement or valuing participation awards. One simple wonderful NBA standard — deliver consistent greatness — and it does not deviate from era to era.

The Decision’s cataclysmic failures include shifting narrative production from the mainstream media to the player.

(In the old days the mainstream media shaped the American agenda. The editors and producers dictated the issues. Having grown up with that — recognizing the valid potential for control — I have to say that’s a far better system than social media where there is no accountability or trust of any kind.)

Anytime somebody parrots the benign talking points “LeBron has never been in a scandal” or “he opened up I Promise a school for at risk kids” they’ve bought into the narrative that he has craftily been able to sell. We’ve deviated from on court success which is what should be driving marketing and fashioning the ultimate player narrative. NBA mythology is based on what you’re done, not who you are.

That’d be like memorializing Curry as a great NBA player because post-Warriors championship he refused to go to the White House as long as Trump is President. That’s not a thing. It’s not even cool.

Because it was so poorly executed; clearly not well thought-out or well-organized The Decision remains a cautionary tale in this era of outspoken athletes and having a platform. Having a platform is good; what is not good is issuing a terrible product no matter the stance.

Mediocrity is not inspiring. You gotta be good if not great at the gig. The best narrative is winning. Winning is timeless.

And so here we are 10 years later.

-28-

Photo Credit: The Cleveland Plain Dealer. (And if you can’t read the fine print above, it states, “Gone. 7 years in Cleveland. No rings.”)

NBA Tags:ESPN, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Michael Jordan

Post navigation

Previous Post: Under-Review: The Victory Machine: The Making & Unmaking of the Warriors Dynasty
Next Post: NBA Playoffs 2020: Game 7!

More Related Articles

Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 6 (The Last Dance Podcast) Garbage Time - NBA
Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 1 (The Last Dance Podcast) Garbage Time - NBA
Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 2 (The Last Dance Podcast) Garbage Time - NBA
The Agents Are Free NBA
Jordan Ain’t No Joke Episode 3 (The Last Dance Podcast) Garbage Time - NBA
NBA Playoffs 2018: Round 1 Garbage Time - NBA
  • #SetTheVCR: August 18-24, 2024
    by Sammy Younan
    Night Always Comes and like a TV Gambler you seek bold TV Recommendations without going Eenie Meanie. Once again #SetTheVCR is here to help, always cooler than Devo.
  • #SetTheVCR: August 11-17, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    This week’s TV recommendations are all locations from The Kingdom to Magic City to Alien: Earth. When it comes to Sammy Suggestions for #MustSeeTV I’m a #SetTheVCR Rainmaker.
  • #SetTheVCR: August 04-10, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    If your Hobby is to Pickup dope TV Recommendations like an American Prince this week's #SetTheVCR is funner than a Clown in a Cornfield.
  • #SetTheVCR: July 28 – August 03, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    From a Red Eye to Area 51 this week’s TV Recommendations will make you put up your Twisted Metal. I dunno what that means, either, though I do know it’s #SetTheVCR time.
  • #SetTheVCR: July 21-27, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    OPEN Happy Gilmore 2 is the TV Pick. TEXT This week’s TV Recommendations range from a Holy War to a Code of Silence. And Happy Gilmore is back…with a (golf) range like that it can only be #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: July 14-20, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Welcome To The Summer I Turned on The TV enjoying an Apocalypse and many Home Runs. With these recommendations #SetTheVCR is for TV Rif Raf and Amateurs.
  • #SetTheVCR: July 7-13, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    #SetTheVCR is your Institute for TV Recommendations: from Trainwrecks to Jaws I drop it like it's hot!
  • #SetTheVCR: June 30 – July 6, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    New Sandman means new TV dreams for this week to let your Old Guard down and enjoy TV Recommendations just like Sinners. It’s #SetTheVCR so let’s get Lost Together.
  • #SetTheVCR: June 23-29, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    Here's a Countdown of TV Recommendations. For those who're Young Werther or those with an Ironheart this is #SetTheVCR.
  • #SetTheVCR: June 16-22, 2025
    by Sammy Younan
    TV Recommendations for a Magic Lover you can watch week down by The Waterfront just watch out for Sharks. I'm not a Liar...look it's #SetTheVCR.
  • Morning Tea: Happy UFO Day 2025!July 2, 2025
    What's popping in popular culture? My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan steeps some seriously serious tea which prompts reflections.
  • Trial By Trailer: The Running Man (A Remake…)July 1, 2025
    Trail By Trailer is judging a book by its cover or in this case...a movie by its trailer. Are you 100% IN or is it a Hard Pass?
  • #CouchWorthy: Barbara Walters: Tell Me EverythingJune 22, 2025
    Exploring the pioneering career of Barbara Walters. Delving into her influential role in broadcast journalism and the challenges women face in achieving success.
  • #CouchWorthy: Bono: Stories of SurrenderMay 29, 2025
    Bono: Stories of Surrender is a vivid reimagining of his one-man stage show Stories of Surrender now streaming on Apple TV.
  • #CouchWorthy: Super Team CanadaMay 16, 2025
    Super Team Canada follows six lesser known and underrated Canadian superheroes, tasked with saving the world.
  • #CouchWorthy: Murderbot: Season 1 May 15, 2025
    Murderbot a private security cyborg hides its acquired autonomy, while completing dangerous assignments is simultaneously drawn to humans.

  • Batman: Detective Comics Vol. 1: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    Under-Review: Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: Overture
    by Sammy Younan
    My Summer Lair host Sammy Younan reviews Batman - Detective Comics: Gotham Nocturne: OvertureL Volume 1,
  • New Book Alert: California Bear
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Music Was Just Getting Good
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: The Ascent
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?
  • New Book Alert: Fantastic Four by Ryan North Volume 2
    by Sammy Younan
    New Book Alert is just that: A useful Yo for a fresh book. from your pal Sammy. What Are You Reading?

Copyright © 2025 My Summer Lair.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme