The situation and now decision surrounding LeBron James and NBA Free Agency has taken over all social media platforms.
Take a look at your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account, and you are guaranteed to see something related to LeBron James, or where Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh will end up, other recent free agent signings, or even the NBA Summer League.
Although there isn’t a large quantity of actual news (barring #BacktoCleveland this morning) during the the free agency period compared to speculation, there is a large quantity of speculation and theory that takes a life of its own on social media. Anything from a framed jersey in the background of a photo, to the font and color scheme of LeBron’s website, to the opinion of an owl (after all, owls are wise) were what people turned to in hopes of gaining some insight into the mind of LeBron James.
Day-to-day the story changed: LeBron will stay in Miami. Oh wait, now he’s going home to Cleveland. Now he’s on a plane to Brazil. On and on.
Because of his uncertainty, the entire NBA was at a standstill waiting for his decision as other teams were hesitant to make a move until they knew for sure where the King would land.
To some extent, all of this was to be expected. LeBron James is the greatest basketball player in the world and the current iconic athlete of this generation. When his services become available every team hopes that they can pursue him even if the realistic chances are slim. His every movement was monitored, documented and magnified on social media in hopes of finding any sign of which team he was leaning towards. Fans and the media were at a frenzy trying to figure out where he would go and social media was the lighter fluid being poured on the speculation fire.
Even during the FIFA World Cup, NBA free agency has dominated the headlines because the best player in any sport rarely changes teams during his prime. In recent weeks the World Cup was the focus on social media for good reason. Twitter was all over the place with the hashtag #TimHowardCouldSave and the massacre that Brazil suffered (7-1) at the hands of Germany. With Team USA being eliminated from the competition and the hysteria of Brazil’s defeat dying down there’s not much to keep American fans interested in the World Cup. So, they turn to the next big thing going in sports: a 6-foot-8 kid from Akron, Ohio.
During this time every team and respective signing(s) has been put under a microscope. Fans are always curious to see what combination of players under what system may mesh well. TV pundits and broadcasters hold fairy tale conversations where players are pawns on the grand chess board that is the NBA and virtually assemble super teams. And social media fuels it all by giving life to sometimes totally false rumors, breaking news, and even influencing what the media reports and how players and teams react by acting as the barometer of the opinions of fan bases.
Needless to say, this summer’s biggest sports storyline is Lebron’s return to Cleveland and the ripple effects it will have throughout the NBA. When comparing Lebron’s legacy to any other great player before him it cannot be argued that Lebron is the most iconic American athlete during the social media era. How his career has been impacted by these mediums is incalculable but should not be overlooked.