LeBron James shows Michelle Wie - it has nothing to do with hype

LeBron James shares the same birthday as Tiger Woods. And now, like Woods, James is looking to add “champion” to his resume. But this week, with Michelle Wie, another well-promoted youngster in Michelle Wie, failing, James has taught us all something valuable.

It all has nothing to do with the hype.

Now that James, 22, has helped carry his Cavaliers to their first NBA Finals, and possibly the first world title in Cleveland in more than 40 years, one can truly say the young man was much more than his press clippings.

Because regardless how much Michelle Wie has been hyped, LeBron has seen double. ESPN was televising his high school games, for gosh sakes. And much like Wie, many more people had heard of him than had actually seen him play or could form an opinion of him. He was high on the pedestal before making his first shot in the NBA.

And somehow, he’s lived up to it all. And then some. James’ 48-point explosion in Game 5 of the Easter Conference Finals was the type of thing that took the hype to the next level. Comparison’s to Magic and Michael Jordan were in the air. And no one flinched. At this stage, Lebron James can at least be mentioned in that rarefied air.

There’s still work to do, of course. James somehow has to lead Cleveland past the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals, and Tim Duncan, Tony Parker form as good a team as the NBA has ever seen, and they could really care less about LeBron’s destiny.

But in the end, that’s what it’s about - LeBron’s destiny. Maybe the Cavs fall to the Spurs in four, but it won’t be looked at as a failure by James. It will be just another building stone for him. Another piece for a resume that’s starting to scream greatness.

Like Michelle Wie, the world expected everything from Lebron James on the field of play. Unlike Wie, however, James has done everything one could ask to measure up to those expectations. For NBA and sports fans, he has been a pure delight since he was ushered into the NBA with all the quiet and calm of a royal wedding.

And most of all, James has shown us that it’s not about the hype. It’s about the individual. While calls of “overhyped” now follow Wie, those words are not even whispered now in the presence of James.

Is media hype ultimately unfair to an athlete? Yes, in many cases it appears that way, though there are positives to it as well. Michelle Wie may not own a professional title, but one look at her bank account will tell you that she’s done all right with her unchecked popularity.

In the end, it comes down to the individual. It is interesting that James shares the same birthday as Tiger, as Woods is one of the few who was more hyped than even King James. And now for both of these great athletes, that hype is little more than a footnote to their careers.

And the lesson to Michelle Wie is unmistakable: It’s about performance, not hype. Either you can’t live up to expectations, and the hype dies, or you become like Woods and James, and the hype becomes the soundtrack to your success.

–WKW