About That LeBron Gold Guarantee

As a full-blooded American, it’s probably not my place to make fun of LeBron’s gold guarantee (which I realize is, like, sooo last week, but bear with me). After all, dude’s on the cover of Time, which is like running for President. And as Daily Basketball notes, there are a few weaknesses at play in the Redeem Team’s march toward re-glorification.↵
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↵To paraphrase, there’s the pressure to win and everyone gunning for them; the lack of depth in the front court; that All-Star team-like quality to the team, which, even if it’s much diminished, still has nothing on the Greek team’s years of retreats and sky-diving lessons. Oh, and the rest of the world is better, something that, while it comes as no surprise anymore, still alters the landscape. This is not 1992 all over again, even if the team might be.↵
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↵All that said, does LeBron really need to go reassuring our nation that USA Basketball will in fact bring home gold? Those scouting-report style bullet points miss the forest for the trees. This team is still heavy with All-Stars, most of them insanely dominant guys who play well with others. They are the overwhelming favorites, which makes this guarantee into a show of insecurity, not swagger. If we’re being primed for a rocky road, fine. But getting your biggest name to pull a Chad Johnson seems either grossly misplaced, or some weird Nike-fuelled plot to play up the whole field and lower expectations for our national hardwood superheroes.↵
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↵Or maybe, sometimes a guarantee is just a guarantee. One that, in this case, is hard to argue with.↵