“The conventional wisdom, though, was that James needed to “grow up” as a player and a teammate in order to win games and the affection of fans. But James was compelled to grow up long ago, way back in his late teens—to become the savior of a unlucky franchise, a torchbearer for several multinational corporations, and the public face of an entire sport. Maybe what we’re remembering now is what sentimental sports fans have always known—that we like our athletes most when they play the game the way that we swear we’d do it if we had the chance. At twenty-eight, it seems, LeBron James is finally old enough to act like a kid.”

Continue reading Ian Crouch on LeBron James’s transformation: http://nyr.kr/XLBY8g

Photograph by David Santiago/AP.

(Source: newyorker.com)