I for one am not the biggest fan of Lebron James. He spurned the Bulls during the Bron Bron sweepstakes, made a super team which lost the purity of basketball and says things that generally sounds inauthentic. His celebrations are obnoxious and he can't stop complaining after every call. As I write this, Lebron again made himself hated by whining about names that were being said to him. He wanted everyone to forgive him after he said he was going to come back to "The Land" even though he basically gave a big eff you to the city he loves so much years earlier.
If you take that aside for just a second, you cannot be anything but impressed by how dominant his career has been. In the past 6 years (where he has made the NBA Finals each year) he has played a total of 563 games not to mention the additional all-star games and Olympic games he has participated in, averaged close to 37.5 mins/game, with a stat line of 27 pts 7 reb and 7 ast. Within those 6 years he has won 2 NBA championships, a gold medal, 2 MVPs, 3 NBA 1st team defensive team, 6 time all NBA team, 2 NBA Finals MVP. He has reinvented his game each year as he realized players are becoming more athletic and stronger than him. No player comes close to his accomplishment, no player comes close to his dominance in games and no player has meant more to his team then Lebron in those 6 years. Name 1 player that has matched his production and success in the same 6 years.
From a purely basketball standpoint, you cannot hate Lebron James. What he has done for the game is unbelievable. Everyone will say, including myself, that Michael Jordan is the greatest and I agree, but Jordan did not do the things Lebron is doing right now during this 6 year stretch. If Jordan stayed in the NBA, then who knows but the "The Kid from Akron, who shouldn't even be here" has truly transcended the game to another level.
Even though I will always cheer against Lebron, when I grow old and talk to my kids about basketball, I will have to say I was honored to be able to watch Lebron in his prime because I witnessed a stretch in sports that I probably will never see again.