It's never enough to just be LeBron James.
It's not enough for James to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals in the NBA Finals. The Golden State Warriors are up 2-0 not because of, but in spite of, James.
And yet the knives are being sharpened, waiting to stab James after yet another finals loss. Some, like Phil Jackson, have even implored James to change his game and play like a man possessed, as Michael Jordan once did.
James brushed all that aside when asked about the need to "take over" games.
"I think for me to go out and be who I am and play as true to the game and as hard as I can and try to lead this team, that's who I am," a frustrated James said at a press conference Tuesday.
"Not anybody else. I'm not Michael. I'm not Ali. I'm not nobody else that's done so many great things for sport. I am who I am, and if I'm able to go out and put together a game like that, it wasn't because I was possessed. It's because I worked on my craft all season long and that's the result of it."
For someone who's been in the public eye since he was a teenager, conversations about James have always leaned on drawing comparisons to the past, rather than discussing what he's actually doing in the moment. His accomplishments - of those are many - are always contextualized instead of appreciated.
And although James isn't perfect, he's going to keep true to himself.
"Phil's a great coach. Mike's a great player. But I am who I am," James added.
