LeBron James should’ve shaken hands with Dwight Howard and Orlando Magic

May 31 09

Breaking NBA news mixed with analysis …

Their News: "It’s hard for me to congratulate somebody after you just lose to them," he said. "I’m a winner. It’s not being a poor sport or anything like that. If somebody beats you up, you’re not going to congratulate them. That doesn’t make sense to me. I’m a competitor. That’s what I do. It doesn’t make sense for me to go over and shake somebody’s hand." (Associated Press via ESPN)

Our Very Quick Analysis: I didn’t like it then. And I don’t like it now.

Years ago, the Detroit Pistons stormed off the court after getting swept by the upstart Chicago Bulls in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals. No handshake. No courtesy congratulations. Nothing. Only the classy Joe Dumars acknowledged his opponent.

Those Pistons, led by Isiah Thomas, were nasty. They deserve respect because they banged, bullied, and defended their way to back-to-back Titles during the league’s glory days. Yet, when it was time to act like a champion and respect the Bulls, they fell short.

James’ intentions weren’t malicious like Zeke’s crew, but he still behaved badly. Sure, he was upset. And sure, the result had to sting. Everyone can appreciate that. But being a professional means sucking up the loss and acting like, well, a professional.

Following game six, James absolutely should’ve found Dwight Howard and given him a half-hug. Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkolgu, and all the other Magic players also deserved a handshake, pat on the shoulder, or something. Frankly, sending an email the next day doesn’t cut it.

In Sunday’s post-season address, James justified his actions by essentially saying as a winner he can’t immediately congratulate somebody who beats him. I disagree. Real champions, even though they all hate losing, acknowledge defeat appropriately and learn from it.

For once, James, who has done almost everything right since entering the NBA as a high-profile teenager, is in the wrong.

Was James wrong? Should he have recognized Howard and the Magic after the game? Get at us in the comment box below and return to HoopsVibe The Blog for more NBA tidbits. Photo courtesy of StickWare.

30 Comments: LeBron James should’ve shaken hands with Dwight Howard and (...)

Posted by
LBJ hater
on 08.2.2009

haha this is ridiculous. He is just selfish and disrespectful. End of story. .

Posted by

on 06.16.2009

This is very little. Wow a player didn’t shake hands with the other team. Most teams don’t do that either. .

Posted by
Bballer
on 06.15.2009

LBJ Hater, I’m not sure what you’re smoking, but clearly you can’t handle it. You’re saying LBJ has talent? you fool all 300+ players in this damn league have talent, are you that stupid? I’m no laker fan but I recognize nobody on this planet is at kobe’s level, that’s not rocket science.. talkin about ’don’t see Chauncey Billups or Kobe Bryant acting like a childish baby’ You’ve only known kobe after 4 rings. idiot! do you even remember anything before and during the 3 championships? .

Posted by
dominic
on 06.11.2009

he did the same thing after losing in last years ECF.the rest of the cavs were congratulating the other team while he went stomping off the court mad. he is the best player in the nba , but is a spoiled,coddled superstar. .

Posted by
shawn jones
on 06.10.2009

for lbj hater mvp goes to the best and only the best that is lebron .

Posted by
shawn jones
on 06.10.2009

lebron james was wrong and right becaue every games lebron had good then at the end cavaliers let lebron fight by his self so i would did the same think .

Posted by
memgirl1019
on 06.10.2009

He should have shook their hand he said that he don’t shake hands with people that beat him that’s just childish i think that he has an attitude and he’s selfish and disrespectful everybody in the nba shake hands and show respect for the other team except him , we are not haters he is just disrespectful when he was a rookie he got mad cause he wasn’t in the all star game , it takes time to be selected as an all star he is just SELFISH .

Posted by
LBJ hater
on 06.9.2009

Yes , I am talking about the MVP of the league, I think he should be stripped of his title because of his sportmanship. If you could read, I said he had talent, but I also think talent goes hand in hand with respecting the sport and others playing it. So once again I will say he is the MVP. Most Valuable Piece of Shit. You don’t see Chauncey Billups or Kobe Bryant acting like a childish baby that got his candy taken away. Thank you. .

Posted by
ISAIAH
on 06.8.2009

they should pick up A.I SO LEBORON CAN HAVE HELP ON THE TEAM .

Posted by
Mike Senga
on 06.8.2009

LBJ hater...the mvp of the league is ’a piece of shit’ to you? You might have been watching a different league. .

Posted by
LBJ hater
on 06.7.2009

I think Lebron James is a piece of shit. Rude, unsportmanlike, and just plain childish. Grow up and get off your high horse. Its unfortunate that people look up to someone like that. Yes he has talent, but to me his attitude alone makes him a loser. .

Posted by
Mike Senga
on 06.6.2009

All I know is if Dwight did that after losing, no one would care. Meantime he’s superman, next shaq, next big thing...etc...etc....All this shows me that something is wrong with the NBA, Isiah and the bad boys walked off the court on the bulls (yes they were better than the cavs, i know) but I mean david stern personaly fines lebron $25000??? this whole thing is blown out of proportion. .

Posted by
Ismail
on 06.6.2009

The king was emotional. Aint easy at times of a player of such magnitude as king james shake hands or even say wats up. He did wat his emotions had on him that time .

Posted by

on 06.4.2009

everyone knows that Lebron is a great player. nobody questions that fact. but with the SUPERSTAR STATUS he has, alot of kids see him as a great icon or even an idol or a basketball god. that’s why he should act right. being run by emotions is not an excuse. everyone is a competitor. everyone wants to win. still, he should have shaken hands with Dwight. that’s the real sportsmanship. watch the April game with boston they had. the Cavs were clowning all the time as if they could beat eveybody. look i’m not a Cavs hater, i am just sayin’ that it’s not right to act like that. .

Posted by
pingusun
on 06.4.2009

win or lose you shake hands and enjoy the battle. running off like a scared chook with its head cut off is selfish and low. hmmm if he decides to go play for new york I wonder if he will say goodbye to cleveland or just run off for those $$$$$$$. "no comment no comment I’m such a competitor I can not talk about clevelands lose of a player like me" .

Posted by
ethan
on 06.4.2009

i dont understand these lebron haters this man is the second best player ever to step on the floor and he loses one of the biggest games of his nba career and he has too mich passion to thank his usa team mate and good friend for kicking his a-------out of wot everyone thort to be a dream championship series where lebron wood become immortal no doubt. the man was averaging freakish numbers imagine wot he wood of done to kobes boys. and people are disrespecting a true champion of this game both on and off the court. i agree lebron may of done the wrong thing but it wasnt out of disrespect to his opponentsit was out of his competitve drive. give the best of all time respect he is the one hoo has been hated for being too good why hate him for losing .

Posted by
Real Rashad McCants
on 06.3.2009

Superman will save the day like he dethrow the king!!! .

Posted by
jmw
on 06.3.2009

If next year Cavs will win, I hope no one congratulate him. LBJ sucks .

Posted by
Kierra Pearson
on 06.3.2009

i understand lebron should have given the Magic a handshake out of respect but when ur in the heat of the moment it doesnt occur to you rite then and there and i agree wit mike lebron has been sensational since he frist got to the NBA and now that he made one little mistake everybody’s jumping all over him.It’s not like he didnt say congratulations he sent them an email later that day and when things are going so rite for you and your team and your number 1 in the east and then all of the sudden your stripped away by the number 3 seed thats gotta hurt and for all those thinking he’s lucky he’s not....HE"S GIFTED (the next michael jordan) and as far as im concerned he did the rite thing i’d be mad to if somebody beat my a-------and then im getting yelled at by ppl cause i didnt shake there hand.he’s human ppl he can only do so much...leave him alone! .

Posted by

on 06.3.2009

and the UNSPORTSMANSHIP AWARD goes to........LBJ .

1 2 Next >

Post your comment:

No profanity or inaproppriate remarks. All i.p. addresses will be saved and abuse/hate posts will be reported to providers and authorities as part of the anti-spam act of 2003, thank you for posting comments on the articles only.

	About Oly Sandor
Daily take on NBA Oly Sandor is an NBA analyst and sports journalist based out of Vancouver, Canada.After years of the free-lance game, Oly Sandor is bringing his unique brand of NBA analysis exclusively to (...) More

LeBron James should’ve shaken hands with Dwight Howard and Orlando Magic

AboutOly Sandor

About
Oly Sandor