Comment on Source for Paper 3

This comment is in response to a Forbes article from 2004 on the impact of NBA player Lebron James on his team and the estimated amount of money that would receive from his sponsors during his first five years in the NBA. It discusses immediate impact that James would have on his franchise, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in terms of ticket sales, attendance and the overall value of the team. The numbers are staggering and make James seem like a "steal" for what the Cavaliers were paying him.

However, without the media hype surrounding James going into the NBA, it is doubtful that he would have had as much of an impact on his team. He was one of the first high school basketball players to have some of his games nationally televised. In these televised games, James put on a show and lived up to the hype. Consequently, by the time he got to the league, people had seen him and couldn't wait for another chance to watch him play. This might have all changed if he had mediocre performances in those televised games. Because he played well the media attention boosted his stock to monumental levels. If he had just played his high school games in Ohio in front of the sold-out gyms, without the TV coverage, he would just have been known as this great high school basketball player. The media made note of his nickname "King James." By the time James came into the league, he was already "King." He was on top and there was no where else to go but down. But, James lived up to his billing and his stock remained top notch.