LeBron James is the most UNDERRATED star athlete,and is certainly not a crybaby

I will begin by refuting the points you made in your opening argument. "LeBron James is the most underrated player in basketball. " LeBron is the face of the Cavaliers franchise, the main component of their entire roster. Throughout the course of the 2007-2008 NBA season, even after the major blockbuster 11-player trade midway through, LeBron has been leading a one-man team, taking full control of the franchise, pioneering them towards the playoffs. Many NBA analysts have discussed and acknowledged this, even if it was at the expense of his team's woes. LeBron led the NBA in scoring this year, averaging a whopping 30 PPG. He became the youngest player to reach 10,000 career points, and the fastest to do so in 368 games. He was named the All-Star Game MVP in his fourth consecutive all-star game appearance, was named Eastern Conference POM (player of the month) in January and February, and nearly singlehandedly led the Cavs to the #4 seed in the playoffs. Just how do I know this? Not from my school textbooks, but from watching ESPN, where sports reporters and NBA analysts discussed his performances, and praised him on his accomplishments. If they do not believe he is underrated, and they do not express the fact that he is underrated, how can he be underrated? You claim he is the most underrated player in basketball. I can name a few players who are more underrated than him, starting with Steve Nash, the 34-year old point guard of the Phoenix Suns. This man is in the light of his prime, winning back-to-back MVPs in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, bringing the Suns to the Western Conference Finals in those two years. Nash has continued in his stride the past two seasons, but this year was overshadowed by the tight race of the Western Conference, and his faltering Suns. His age also comes into factor; he averages 16.9 PPG, and 11.1 APG, a double-double per game, at age 34. How many mid-thirty year old point guards can say that? Nash is also a philanthropist, and formed the Steve Nash Foundation in 2001, which aims to support children who have been subject to abuse, illness, and poverty, and brings them educational, recreational, and empowermental advantages. How often do you hear about that? Then take Gilbert Arenas. He was disregarded in the 2001 NBA Draft for the most part, taken in the second round by the Golden State Warriors. The next year, he proceeded to win the Comback Player of the Year Award and adorned MVP honors in the Rookie-Sophomore game. He averaged 29.3 PPG in 2005-2006, and 29.7 PPG in 2006-2007. He has taken pay cuts over the past few seasons to let the Wizards have enough money to sign other players, and has his heart and soul in Washington. However, he has been consistently underrated due to his recurring injuries, and missed most of the 2007-2008 season, as well as playing through an injury in 2004-2005. LeBron has never been severely injured in his 5-year career, thus hasn't had opportunities to have his status lowered via this way. "Everyone from the national media and even fellow Clevelanders are out to get him or say something bad about him. " I believe your statement here is an exaggeration. Plenty of sportswriters, reporters and fans adore and respect James' stellar play, and compliment him on his achievements. However, as always, criticism is given to even those who are great. This criticism is simply to speculate upon his mistakes, as any player is subject to. Deshawn Stevenson's quote that James was "overrated" was most likely based on jealousy, I'll give you that. However, I have not heard a jealous criticism to date. Also, Clevelanders are least "out to get him" than anybody; they worship him. I have been to Cleveland (visiting my good friend for his Barmitzvah), and during my stay there I saw a plentiful amount of posters depicting James, most of them with the "We Are All Witnesses" tagline. Here is a poster I saw hanging on Quicken Loans Arena, following Cleveland's NBA Finals loss to San Antonio: . http://lebrontalk.com... He is the face of Cleveland sports, and they would mourn if he was traded or signed with another team. Based on the fact that at least two players are more underrated than LeBron James, if he is underrated at all, then LeBron James is NOT the more underrated star athlete. I await your rebuttal.