Channel: Zach Lee

Category: Sports

Tags: oscarthe big orobertsonnba in the 60'snba storiesoscar robertson highlightswilt chamberlainjerry west highlightsnbabill russellsdcwilt chamberlain highilghtsnba historyjerry westoscar robertsonzach lee

Description: Back in 2010, LeBron James shocked the nation with his decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers and team up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to form a ‘big 3’ on the Miami Heat. Not only did this move enrage fans over the sheer level of dominance that the Heat would have over the rest of the league, but there was also anger over the fact that LeBron thought he was so important as to need his own television special in order to make his free agency decision. Afterall, no player in the history of the game, including the greatest player of all time in Michael Jordan, had ever done this. For that matter, being one of, if not the best player in the league at the time.. It was expected that he did what MJ did, or Magic did, Bird, Russell, or what a majority of the greats who came before him had all done. Remain with the same team for his entire career.. That sentiment being especially true for LeBron at the time considering he was playing for his ‘hometown team’. This is because even though unrestricted free agency had been a thing since the late 80’s.. The overall perception was that it never really applied to the game's best players. Role, bench, or players who were considered more easily replaceable, were free to go as they pleased with minimal backlash. However someone of LeBrons caliber, whose name alone generates hundreds of millions of dollars per year to an organization, utilizing the right to play with whoever he wants, wherever he wants, was unheard of. In actuality though, LeBron's decision to leave in 2010 was one of the most monumental moments in NBA history.. As it was the first time a star player truly decided to choose their own future in the league. See, since its inception the NBA had been ruled in a way that the owners of the team held all of the power. There were rules in place that gave owners the rights to a player before they even entered the NBA based upon the territory in which they grew up. And if they wanted to play in the NBA.. there was no other option except to play for whatever owner held the territorial rights to them. So when it came time for contract negotiations, there wasn’t much negotiating to be done. The owners simply told the players what they would be willing to pay them, and that was that. Either they took the offer, or found another way to make a living. Things continued this way throughout a player's entire career. The only way they could wind up on another team would be by getting traded. Even If they were let go from one team.. They still had no right to go and play for another team. For all intensive purposes, the players were the property of the owners. Sure, they got paid.. But even then their salaries sometimes failed to match up to that of the mailmans. Considering the not so great pay on top of the non existent health care, and lack of any type of pension, combined with a schedule that would cause even the most in shape players of today to break down… at the time only those with a true love for the game dared to consider it as their main source of income. It was during those tough times however, that the players came together and stood more united than they had ever been. Calling for change that over the years would lead to most of the new freedoms that players enjoy today. And if there was one player in particular who spearheaded that call for change, it would be Oscar Robertson, aka the man who paved the way for LeBron James.