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LeBron James to Greece in 2010: Why It’s Not Impossible By C.Y. Ellis
08.1.2008 - Updated on 08.2.2008
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I’m normally the first to call shenanigans when faced with an unfounded rumour, but here’s one worth humouring for a nanosecond or two. For those who haven’t heard, the word coming from Greece is that Athenian powerhouse Olympiakos, who recently lured Josh Childress across the pond, are planning to make a run at LeBron James in 2010.
Pointless story, right? Well, yes. Probably.
I suppose my background offers me a little more insight into the situation than your average bear. You see, I used to be Greek. Now, however, I bathe daily and have two visibly distinct eyebrows. I jest, but it’s such a perception of Greece as a second-world nation populated by hunter-gatherers and soccer hooligans that has helped ensure that until recently only bench-warmers and has-beens have signed deals in the Mediterranean, and even then only when all viable options for staying Stateside have been exhausted.
I may have opted to make my home outside of my homeland, but that’s not to say that it’s completely without its charms. Modern plumbing may not be one of them (in most bathrooms, toilet paper has to be tossed in the trash; flushing it will clog the system), but with the kind of cash Olympiakos is purportedly prepared to proffer, King James may manage to overlook the deficiencies in the country’s, uh, thrones.
I imagine that most of you out there doubt that the club is ready to pony up the sort of paper necessary to tempt LBJ. If my time living in Greece taught me anything, however, it’s that wealthy Hellenes are, almost without exception, passionate to the point of eccentricity. Consequently, I wouldn’t put anything past the Aggelopoulos (an-ghell-op-oo-loss) brothers, the billionaire owners of Olympiakos and two of the biggest hoopheads in Greece, a country where basketball is the national sport and "friendly" discussions thereof regularly lead to felony assaults.
Talking of which, it’s difficult to convey the place hoops holds in Greek culture with mere words, but a brief anecdote should give you some idea. Last week, I stayed in the Piraias suburb of Athens at my aunt’s place, a small, square house about five minutes from the “Peace and Friendship Stadium” in which Olympiakos play. Seeing the spotless interior of the house, I asked my aunt why they hadn’t painted over the numerous graffiti that scarred the front of the building. She pointed out that some of the scribblings had, in fact, been covered with whitewash, although the largest one was left untouched. I again asked why that was.
She explained that fans of Panathinaikos, a rival club, had painted their motto on the house, but before they could get rid of it an Olympiakos group had covered it with their own. Being Olympiakos die-hards themselves, they decided to leave the façade as it was. Not only was my fifty-five-year-old aunt fan enough to leave her home adorned with a crudely-drawn Olympiakos logo and several curse-filled exhortations, but she was also able to name Scoonie Penn, Qyntel Woods and Roy Tarpley as former players. Before I could retrieve my jaw from the lemon-scented floor of the cramped kitchen, she went on to detail the various reasons Josh Childress would have difficulties adapting to Euroleague defences. Then she cooked calamari. With six million more like her in the city, it’s no wonder Greek club owners are willing to dig deep to bring big names on board, even knowing that they’ll likely never recoup their investment.
A life away from the U.S. of A. may be a tough sell to a bona fide superstar, but the opportunity to make a tax-free $40 million for thirty-odd games would force LeBron to consider setting up shop in the birthplace of democracy. Even in a country where gas will set you back over seven bucks a gallon, LeBron can leave his Hummer idling all day and still be swimming in Scrooge McDuck-type cash. Hell, he could dip the truck in platinum and have enough left over to bribe the government to rename the country "The People’s Republic of LeBronia".
If you were expecting a grand conclusion at the end of all this, I apologise. I honestly don’t know if Olympiakos has a serious shot at signing LeBron, and I don’t know if any amount of money would convince him to head to Europe. What I will say, however, is this: It’s no longer a question of if a top-ten player would ever leave the league for a blockbuster payday abroad; it’s a matter of when.
- CYE |
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Posted by
George Laz
on 08.14.2008 | This is very unlikely, but it is very much worth it to Lebron James, the greeks would treat him like god, and he will be making HUGE headlines by making such a move, international basketball affairs vs. euroleague and NBA will be more spectacular... writer of this article however, you showed some idiotic sense of logic. Greece is not a second world country, you clearly haven’t visited lately, their ahead of the US in fashion, have an extremely sophisticated tourism industry, and have a per capita close to breaking the top 20 in the world... that’s not third world not to mention the life expectancy is longer there... and just because you have a unibrow doesn’t mean all greeks are plagued with your uh... genetic lacking. . | Posted by
jbc
on 08.3.2008 | well.. nba just like the euro league is professional.. Business...when money talks and its all about money then go go go europe, say sign for a year or two say at 30m annually tax free the goodbye nba.. just a year or two... . | Posted by
Mario
on 08.2.2008 | The Euro league is the new NBA by 2010. David Stern better go back to the drawing board, if he doesn’t want to lose his biggest stars. Most players want to play with the best and obviously that’s the NBA. But we all know money talks and the greedy walk with it. So they wouldn’t mind playing with second-tier talent. As much as LBJ wants to partner with Jay-Z on the NETS, if a Euro league team throws him $30 million or more in tax free cash, he’ll take it, because he is that type of guy. These billionare owners over there get what they want 90% of the time, I can’t wait to see how this plays out . | Posted by
J.M.
on 08.2.2008 | As a frequent traveller, I can tell you that Greece is by far my favorite country to visit and the people are the warmest, friendliest and easily among the most beautiful I have seen. Their passion for basketball (and life in general) is something to behold and is a clear indicator that basketball has become an international sport that does not revolve exclusively around the NBA. Sooner or later, Americans are going to have to get used to that fact. . |
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