I always say that I am extremely lucky to have been born in an era where I was able to watch some of the greatest athletes to ever play. In my 22 years of age and 15+ years watching sports, I’ve seen the likes of Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps, Lionel Messi, Derek Jeter, Barry Bonds, Floyd Mayweather, Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James, Usain Bolt, Ronaldo etc. After carefully following their careers for years, I’ve been able to pick up different things from different athletes. Both good and bad traits. With that, I’ve also been able to compare and contrast different athletes from different eras and even different sports. I’ve always seen glimpses of Kobe Bryant in Cristiano Ronaldo, Tom Brady in Michael Jordan but my favorite comparison will always be LeBron James and Lionel Messi.
The more I learn about each player, the more I can see the same repetitive traits. Now, my research does not consist simply on statistics and accomplishments. For those of you who have followed my work for a few years now, you know that stats have never been my favorite way to track a player’s achievements. My research involves digging inside a player’s mind and what makes them mentally superior than their rival. Books, interviews, stories told by teammates and rivals have all helped me learn what makes each athlete so dominant both physically and mentally. Of course, dominance does not just come from countless hours in the weight room. It all begins with the mental aspect. With that being said, just what makes LeBron and Messi so similar in my mind?
Team-First Mentality
There’s different types of leaders and different types of star players. Not to say that one is better than the other. That can be left up to judgement. As for King James and “La Pulga” , I’ve noticed a common trend when it comes to difficult situations or games. They are the type of players that do not mind sharing the spotlight as long as the team comes away with the result needed. They understand that sometimes they may not be in the best position to take the decisive shot that can win them the game. In some cases, it’s important to give the ball to a teammate who happens to be in a better position to make the play.
For example, people tend to criticize Messi for not being able to score in the knockout rounds of the 2014 World Cup. What they fail to mention was the fact that it was Messi’s run against Switzerland in the dying moments of the game that left Di Maria all alone on the right side. Messi understood that his run would gravitate the defenders towards him thus leaving Di Maria alone. To be fair, Messi did have enough room to shoot it from the top of the box. We’ve seen him to it countless times. A wicked shot with that magesterial left foot of his that leaves the keeper practically paralyzed. He would’ve been the hero of the game. The savior for Argentina. Instead, he understood that it was his teammate who was in a better position to put the ball away and help the team win. Had Di Maria missed that chance, the media wouldn’t have criticized Di Maria for missing. They would’ve blamed Messi for either not shooting it himself or for not scoring in a decisive game. In the end, Messi did not care for the personal glory. He cared about his team advancing to the quarterfinals of the World Cup no matter who scored. Not many players in the World seem to think the same way.
In LeBron’s case, he’s often been criticized for passing the ball in crunch time. He’s expected to take the last shot of the game no matter if he was doubled or even triple teamed. There’s a certain expectation that the best player on the team has to take the last shot. But what if there’s a wide open player on the corner? LeBron, like Messi, has trust in his teammates when it comes to crucial moments of the game. Trust that players like Kobe Bryant or Cristiano simply do not have in their teammates.
Now it’s not to say LeBron or Messi will shy away from key moments or big shots. Their mentality has just been different. Everyone on the team has the ability to produce in big moments and team achievements will always be more important than any personal praise.
Success
LeBron began his rise to fame in high school. Since his early days at St Vincent-St Mary, King James has been filled with both success and constant media pressure. First overall pick straight out of high school with inexplicable expectations that needed to be met at a faster rate than “His Airness” himself. No matter what LeBron achieves, it never seems to be enough for his haters. He’s been the best player in the NBA for a decade now and some still question his dominance. Eight straight finals appearances that couldn’t have been possible without some historic performances by LeBron in several occasions.
At this point in his career, it’s safe to say LeBron did not only meet the expectations placed on him from an early age, but even exceeded them. How many times have we seen college players dominate in the collegiate level just to flop in the NBA? Or a better question is how many high school students have been labeled as the next big thing just to have them come up noticeably short? LeBron arguably became the best player in the league at the age of 23 and has not given up his throne since.
Messi is no stranger to success either. His personal trophy cabinet is more decorated than most team’s. Everything from individual awards such as the Ballon D’Or, Golden Boot, Golden Ball for the World Cup, UEFA Player of the year to some of the most prestigious club honors including various Champions Leagues, numerous league titles, Spain and European Super Cups etc. Since making his debut in 2004, Messi and Barcelona have only been trophyless in three years (2007, 2008 and 2014). Dominance.
Much like LeBron, Messi began to shine at an early age thus gaining attention worldwide. By 2007, Messi had established himself as an indisputed starter for Barcelona at the age of 19. Messi had not even been alive for two decades and there was already comparisons being made between him and the great Diego Maradona.
Insanely high expectations surrounded Messi all throughout his career. While most crumble and disappoint under these expectations, Messi thrived and exceeded them much like the King himself.
Scapegoat
When your team thrives, you’re the face of every newspaper and Instagram posts worldwide. But when your team fails, you automatically become the scapegoat. Now that logic does not always makes sense, but it is the common trend we see for both Messi and LeBron all throughout the course of their careers. Never mind the fact that each has played on teams that had no business reaching the final stages and were beat by a superior side. The expectations remain the same for both. Because they’re both the types of players that can dominante many aspects of the game and get others involved, more is demanded from them compared to natural scorers like Cristiano or Kobe.
Perfection is expected every second of every game and anything short of that leads to a “___ player didn’t show up” or “____ player would’ve done better”. No human in the history of mankind has been perfect their entire life. Especially not when it comes to playing amongst the best athletes in the World. Coaches and training staff take days and even weeks to review film and go over a game plan to try to eliminate said player of the game or to just limit his contribution to the game. The best defenders in the World study their every move to be able to contain them. That of course is never mentioned. All that is mentioned when the Cavs or Argentina/Barcelona lost was the “disappearance” of said player.
Finals loses
Whenever LeBron or Messi are brought into the GOAT conversation, haters will look past their accomplishments and bring up one thing: loses in finals. The only argument that Jordan fans have over LeBron and the only trophy missing from Messi’s cabinet. Critics seem to genuinely believe that losing in finals is worse than not reaching them in general. When you take a look at the roster that surrounded Messi or LeBron in a lot of those years, you realize that a lot of the times, they had no business in the final in the first place.
LeBron took not one but two miserable Cavaliers sides to the NBA finals in 2007 and in 2018. In both years, the Cavaliers had required legendary performances by LeBron to win their conference but were outmatched by some of the best sides in history. Two years where LeBron and his team shouldn’t have even gone to the finals in the first place. However, instead of celebrating that accomplishment, critics use those losses against him. In his final year with the Heat, LeBron ultimately played 1v5 against the Spurs who took care of business without breaking a sweat. Throughout his career, LeBron has lost in the Finals to Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich’s Spurs, Dirk’s Mavs and arguably the best team ever in Steph Curry’s Golden State Warriors. His three rings came against Durant’s Thunder, Popovich’s Spurs and Steph’s Warriors.
However, critics seem to ignore the difficulty of those accomplishment and look at things in a black and white perspective. Doesn’t matter that you helped your team get to nine NBA finals and lost against some of the greatest teams in history. All that matters to them is that you lost.
Before Messi made his debut with Argentina, the Albiceleste had reached three finals of a competitive tournament since 1993. Since Messi made his debut in August 2005, Argentina reached four finals including a World Cup final in 2014. Argentina were unlucky not to come away with the title in any of the four finals despite going to extra time in three of them. Messi was the central point of attack for Argentina in each of the four tournaments as he would not only contribute with key goals or assists but was often involved in the team’s goals in one way or another.
In fact, Messi scored in two semi finals (2007 and 2016) and had three assists against Paraguay in the 2015 Copa America semifinal. Despite his contributions, it was Messi who received all the blame when Argentina failed to life the trophy year after year. Nevermind the fact that in 2014, Argentina played without an injured Di Maria and a half injured Kun Aguero against the best german side in recent years. Nevermind the fact that Higuain missed three clear cut chances in three straight finals that could’ve won the game. Nevermind the fact that Arturo Vidal had also missed his penalty in 2016 meaning Messi’s miss kept the score tied and it was Biglia’s miss that sentenced the game. Messi has taken an Argentina side which including Martin Demichelis, Lucas Biglia and Enzo Perez to a World Cup final. Much like LeBron, all the critics see are losses in finals.
Chasing The Legacy of All Time Greats
The hardest opponent a player can have is one that doesn’t play anymore. Both Messi and LeBron have battled to make a name for themselves against some of the all time greats. LeBron has been chasing Michael Jordan’s legacy since the media named him his successor. As for Messi, the void left by the great Diego Armando Maradona as not just the greatest player in Argentina’s history but in the history of the sport has been a difficult one to fill. The never ending comparisons between the two and their heroes are often cause of discussion. Those who watched Maradona and Jordan play will have a difficult time recognizing that someone else has some in and replaced their heroes as the greatest of all time. Unless LeBron wins another six rings, his critics will say he’ll never be “Like Mike” and until Messi sings and cries during the national anthem, some fans in Argentina will continue to say he’s no Diego.
The greater you are, the more they’ll criticize you. A negative person can find something bad in every situation. A true admirer of the sport will realize that what Messi and LeBron have done in their respective sports is something that we might never see again. Stat-watchers or glory hunters will disagree but for those of us that watch sports for the artistic side of it will realize that these two have perfected their craft while making it look effortless. The best to ever do it but whose careers are often questioned by those with a low appreciation to the game. Perhaps the future generations will learn to appreciate them more than we have.
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