Fast Break Article 2/28/13

   Today’s topic is about Lebron James and Michael Jordan. Mainly, it’s about their mental toughness. Michael Jordan won 2, 3 peat championships. That takes focus and mental toughness. Does Lebron have what it takes to even do a two-peat? 3 peat? 4 peat? Please feel free to comment and follow me on twitter @CJ_H_12.

   Mental toughness. You need this to win a championship. It doesn’t have to be an NBA championship either. NFL, you have to be ready to be focused and ready for the game. One bad game and your season is over in the NFL. NBA requires mental toughness too. We see players with extreme mental toughness: Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Bill Russell, etc. We see players with weak mental toughness: Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, etc. Jordan was able to focus and be mentally tough so much, that he won 6 championships. Kobe was so focused and tough, he won 5 championships. Russell was so focused and tough, he won 11 championships. Wilt was weak and scared of losing. Malone always closed up in the closing minutes.

   Does Lebron have what it takes to be like Jordan, Kobe, and Russell? Or, will he end up being like Wilt and Malone. In 2011, he was weak mentally. He had so much pressure, he closed up and choked. In 2012, he was strong mentally and played his best against the best. What separates the mentally tough and the extreme mental toughness, is the ability to win over and over and over. Does Lebron have what it takes? Will he be able to repeat and win again?

    Yes. Lebron is skilled, strong, and focused. With all the pressure of winning a championship gone, he can relax and focus during crunch time. With the help of Dwyane Wade (Extreme mental toughness) and Chris Bosh (sort of mentally tough), I expect Lebron to win 4, 5,6 championships.

   Only time will tell if my prediction is correct. Hopefully, 5 years from now we can laugh about how people actually questioned his mental toughness. Until then, we have to wait.