Would LeBron care more if he didn't already have millions?

• Fly4Fun

  

  Early in his career LeBron stated one of his life goals was to be the first billionaire athlete.
  
  Watching the game tonight it just seems as if James doesn't care. Would he care more if he didn't already have millions and him earning big money solely depended on winning championships?
  
  Hell, would all of Sports be different if the Championship teams won considerably more money than other teams.
  
  I saw this article earlier and hearing some comments and watching this game tonight I couldn't but help think of it.
  
  http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2010/04/on-playoff-money.html
  
  One of the all time great winners, Bill Russell, commented that the play-offs were about the ultimate prize... the money that goes to the winner. He doesn't say it's about being the best team, it's about the money.
  
  Would LeBron and/or the Cavs show more effort if they weren't well paid and had to earn that money in the play-offs?
  
  
  
  
  This is not an excuse thread. The Cavs sucked... the Celtics want it more. They earned the W's so far; this series could actually already be over. I just think it's extremely frustrating to watch such a good athlete not care about getting his ass kicked. There is no way in hell I could handle an ass kicking like this without giving a shit or at least looking agitated or pissed. How are people that good at sports not even remotely competitive about getting EMBARRASSED!
  
  It's not even a killer instinct. He lacks any motivation for this game... as does practically every Cavalier out there.
• Non

  

  it almost looked like he was paid off tonight
  
  I don't know how else to explain it
  
  this was a pivotal Game 5 and he went through the motions basically
• thedynasty1998

  

  Interesting question, and I never would have said it before, but one has to question Lebrons motivation and drive at this point. Its no longer premature to start judging Lebron on his playoff success, and through this postseason he has been disappointing.
• wildcats20

  

  Um...
  
  Kobe has millions.
  The Celtics Big 4(now) have millions.
  The Magic players have millions.
  
  
  What I mean is these guys are all millionaires, yet you don't see any of them giving up like Bron and the Cavs have tonight.
• wes_mantooth

  

  He wants to be a billionaire....a championship would help with marketing...one would think.
• Fly4Fun

  

  wildcats20 wrote: Um...
  
  Kobe has millions.
  The Celtics Big 4(now) have millions.
  The Magic players have millions.

  Yes... but those teams haven't shown a complete disinterest so often in 1 series.
  
  I'm giving them a complement by saying they have the drive to actually want to win a championship.
  
  I'm not so sure LeBron has that competitive edge...
  
  I'm posing the question does he have his priorities straight as far as basketball success goes? Does he actually care about championships or is it really more about the fame and money (and yes, you can have those without winning it all; it won't last as long though).
• wildcats20

  

  That's basically what I meant lol
• Non

  

  We'll see.
  
  That's the great thing about this scenario.
  
  This would be one of the biggest flops of all-time. Can't sugarcoat it.
  
  The Cavs had the best record and they had the MVP and a deep team.
  
  Celtics were supposedly too old.
  
  Now the Cavs have to win two straight and LeBron has to bounce back after playing like a loser in Game 5.
  
  Game 6 will tell us what we need to know.