Photo Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Udonis Haslem Reveals The Ugly Part Of Playing With LeBron James: “The Fire Is On Your Ass”
LeBron James is one of the greatest players of all-time, but the Los Angeles Lakers superstar is also held to a much higher standard than the rest of the league. Every year, a LeBron-led team is expected to make the Finals at the very least, and anything less than that becomes unacceptable, and only means higher scrutiny.
This is also why playing with LeBron can be considered as a blessing and a curse. On a regular, you receive the privilege of learning under an all-time great while being in a great position to compete and win a championship.
On the other hand, being with LeBron accelerates your responsibility to produce when needed and perform at a higher level. When you couldn’t, you’d likely be traded or get a beating from the fans and the media.
Fans know about it, and they all see it – it’s obvious that playing with LeBron is not for everyone. Miami Heat veteran Udonis Haslem, who played with LeBron during his 4-year run in South Beach, has seen everything up-close and can unequivocally attest to that perception.
“If you can handle LeBron coming to your team, it works out for you and it can be successful.”
“The problem is: Everybody can’t handle it. When LeBron comes to your team, there’s winning expectations instantly. No waiting, no four or five-year process; there ain’t none of that. The pressure is on and the fire is on your a**. If they don’t win, if y’all don’t win, he ain’t the one that’s going to be out of there, it’s you. That’s what a lot of people can’t handle.”
