In changing times, LeBron remains constant

Dave McMenamin, ESPN.com

Close

• Cavs and NBA writer for ESPN.com
• Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14 and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09
• Syracuse University graduate

CLEVELAND -- The world's changed since LeBron James made his first trip to the NBA playoffs back in 2006.

Pluto is no longer considered a planet. Britney Spears is no longer married to Kevin Federline. "We ain't ready to see a black president," one of the more poignant lines from Tupac's***t, "Changes," no longer rings true.

The NBA's changed in that time, too, of course. David Stern, the commissioner largely responsible for turning the league from a mom-and-pop operation to an international force, retired to make way for his longtime protg, Adam Silver. The league introduced, and subsequently scuttled, a new composite leather ball. Basketball luminaries such as Shaquille ONeal, Allen Iverson and Jason Kidd have moved on, opening up the door for a new wave of superstars who go by names such as Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

What hasn't changed in that time is James' place in the game. From Cleveland, to Miami, back to Cleveland. From No. 23, to No. 6, back to No. 23. From Beijing to London. From headband to unfettered hairline. From chalk toss to not. From a Finals loss to San Antonio, to a Finals loss to Dallas, to a Finals win over Oklahoma City, to a Finals win over San Antonio, to yet another Finals loss to San Antonio, James has kept constant as the gold standard in his craft.

"It's part of my drive," James told ESPN in a wide-ranging sit-down interview this week. "I've been at the top for a long time and I plan on being here for a long time as well. It's part of my drive. It's part of my hunger. When you get to this position -- I feel like I'm the best. It's just how I feel about my game, how I feel about my knowledge, my IQ of the game -- you don't really want to go down."

With a whole region at his back, LeBron James embarks on the 2015 playoffs.Gregory Shamus/NBAE/Getty Images

He was in his third season and just 21 years old when he had that first taste of the playoffs a decade ago, registering a 32-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist triple-double while playing all 48 minutes in a win over the Washington Wizards.

Now a 12-year veteran and 30 years old as the Cavs open up the first round against the Boston Celtics on Sunday, James isn't the exact same guy who made that memorable postseason debut. He played a career-low 36.1 minutes per game this season, missed a career-high 13 games because of rest and injury, while averaging his least amount of points (25.3) and rebounds (6.0) per game since his rookie season.

Then again, he's not that far off, either.

James will most likely finish in the top five in MVP voting for 2014-15, marking the 10th straight season he will have done so. He will tie Bill Russell for the second-longest such streak in league history, putting him only behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was voted in the top five for the league's most coveted individual honor for 12 straight seasons from 1969-70 to 1980-81.

And any talk about his body betraying him or his athleticism beginning to atrophy must take into account that he finished eighth in the league with a PER of 26.01 (making him the oldest player to rank in the top 10 and the only player in that group, other than Chris Paul, older than 27 to do so) and was 16th in the league in total dunks with 88 (more than Blake Griffin's 84 and Andrew Wiggins' 79).

"I do know one thing that Father Time is undefeated, but right now I'm not facing that wall," James said. "I'm just going to try to maximize my career, maximize what I can do individually and for my team as long as I got the opportunity to do it."

While 11 of the 13 teammates James had for that initial playoff run back in '06 are now out of the league (only injured center Anderson Varejao, who is still with Cleveland, and Washington reserve big man Drew Gooden remain, while another, Damon Jones, is still around, albeit as a player development coach for the Cavs), he has a new supporting cast headlined by the 23-year-old Kyrie Irving and the 26-year-old Kevin Love that could help bring him even greater postseason success than he had in his early 20s.

"I'm very excited with the position that we're in," James said. "I'm never pleased. I can never be pleased until the end result. And I'm never satisfied. I demand excellence out of myself. I demand excellence out of the people around me. And so, I think the process is still going to be a long process even though we're in the position that we're in today."

By stringing together so many days over the years without a drop-off in his on-court dominance, records started to fall like dominoes this season. He passed legends in Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Charles Barkley, Iverson, Ray Allen and Patrick Ewing on the all-time scoring list. He edged out Mark Price for the Cavs' all-time franchise lead in both assists and 3-pointers. He eclipsed Scottie Pippen as the league's most prolific passer from a frontcourt position, topping Pippen's all-time assists mark for a forward.

He's accomplished so much, yet looks at basketball in terms of what's in store rather than the trophies and awards he's stored up.

"I love the game," James said. "I love the game and I still have so much to give to it. I feel like I would be cheating the game. I'd be cheating the game gods if I gave it up right now, or if I gave it up next year. I got too much to give. Too much knowledge, too much actual game on the floor, and I got a lot to give to my teammates.

"I feel like at one point if I just can't give what I know I'm capable of giving to my teammates, or to this franchise, then I'll start to think about what's next. But right now, the way I'm playing, the way I'm seeing the game and my ability to go out there and dominate the game still and also the competition -- that feeling of knowing that you're going to compete versus the opposition every night -- I love that."

And he would love to deliver a championship to Northeast Ohio and the city of Cleveland before he's through.

"Every day, I have that vision," James said. "Every day when I work on my game I have that vision. Is it promised? No. Nothing in life is promised. But that's what I work towards."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-cavaliers/post/_/id/708/in-changing-times-lebron-remains-constant