Michael never acted like this. Michael never referred to himself as “Michael.” Michael never had a half hour special where he ripped hearts from chests, while shilling in front of children in Greenwich, Connecticut. Michael also won championships. A lot of them.

I was young when Michael was in his prime. And actually, I didn’t root for Michael because I was a Celtics fan and because I rooted for underdogs as a child even more than I do now. Michael was not an underdog. He was the true alpha dog. I feel like I missed out on a good deal by not being old enough to appreciate Michael in his prime. But I know that he is the best professional athlete of the last 30 years.

However, he existed in an age before the dreadful TMZs and Deadspins of the world. And before anyone and everyone could feel important by publishing their opinions on the World Wide Web. Michael was an avid, epic gambler. If he was still playing basketball on a high level today, he would not be nearly as revered as he was. The microscope has become a telescope. It sees everything. It hears every misspeak. It chews people up and spits them out, only to become funny pop culture references 5 years later for people like myself and Dave Machado.

Perhaps if LeBron James existed twenty years ago, things would have been different this summer. He assuredly would not have had an hour long television program given to him to announce where he would play basketball. Perhaps we wouldn’t have heard all of the self-aggrandizing nonsense he’s spewed. Perhaps he would not have ruined his reputation. Not tarnished. Not damaged. Ruined. That’s how I feel about LeBron James.

As recently as three months ago, I loved LeBron James. I was offended when people compared Kobe Bryant to LeBron James. LeBron James’ skill set is far beyond where Kobe’s was at 25. Heck, it’s past Kobe’s now. Kobe can’t pass like LeBron James, can’t rebound like LeBron James, can’t run the floor like him, can’t block shots like him, can’t muscle up like him. Kobe can score. And defend a little bit. But that’s it, really. And Kobe Bryant is an alleged rapist. I’ll never be able to look past the summer of 2003. Just as I had started to root for Kobe, Eagle Co. Colorado happened. And that was it.

LeBron James had his Eagle Co. moment this summer, albeit not to the extent that Kobe did. There is something about overt narcissism that I find undesirable. Confidence and cockiness are all fine. LeBron James has every right to be cocky. Michael was cocky. Kobe is cocky. But Kobe never had an hour long show dedicated to him. And Kobe has never turned his back on LA. And Kobe has never built something just to let it crumble. And Kobe has always wanted to be the alpha dog. Kobe always wants the ball late. Kobe wants to be Michael. LeBron James does not. LeBron James wants to be LeBron.

In the September issue of Gentleman’s Quarterly, there is an extensive interview with James. Here are a few samples of who LeBron James is:

– (on Akron, Ohio) “It’s not far, but it is far. And Clevelanders, because they were the bigger-city kids when we were growing up, looked down on us. … So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

-(on Cavs owner Dan Gilbert) “I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron. My mother always told me: ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of that man.”

-(on himself) “I love our fans. Cleveland fans are awesome. But I mean, even my family gets spoiled at times watching me doing things that I do, on and off the court.”

Do you know who doesn’t refer to himself in the third person? Who doesn’t talk about how spoiled his family is to be able to know him? Who doesn’t bad-mouth the city that hung an enormous billboard with his likeness and called him “King?” That would be Kobe Bryant. Kobe might yell at teammates, preen like a peacock, and have a disdain for assists, but Kobe Bryant is driven by one thing: Being the best basketball player ever. I thought LeBron James was the same way before this summer. I was duped. LeBron James cares about marketing himself. LeBron James looks at heavy hands (in having lots of rings) as a means to market himself further. Kobe looks at it as necessary to being regarded as the best basketball player ever. Neither is terribly noble, but you don’t play professional basketball because you want to build schools in Namibia. You play it to win titles and if you have the skill-set, to be the best ever at it. Kobe has the right frame of mind. LeBron James is just busy trying to frame his next photo-op.