Generation 23! Season 23! The group ridicule behind James’ ads!

Entering its 23rd season of its career, LeBron James is still standing in the center of the NBA stage. As the historical scoring king, his legend naturally needs no more words. Just this week, Nike launched the 23rd generation signature sneakers for him and also shot a promotional advertisement. In the ad video, a crowned James slowly appeared, and the narrator read:

"People call him the chosen man, carrying all expectations on their shoulders, but he was never defeated. We are all witnesses, watching him defeat all feuds and destroy all idols. He wore the crown and defended it all, and we witnessed greatness, he is the eternal king."

Regularly speaking, this setting is in line with James' professional trajectory and echoes his title of King James since his debut. But unexpectedly, once the ad video was released, it encountered overwhelming negative feedback on social media. To understand why this public opinion reversal occurs, we have to return to James' career trajectory.

Since high school, James has been named "Chosen One". When he first entered the league, he was also regarded as the most likely player to dominate the NBA in the future.

Nowadays, four MVPs, four championships, 21 All-Stars, and unique 40,000+10,000+10,000 data milestones, these achievements are unshakable great achievements for anyone.

But at the same time, James' career path is accompanied by countless doubts.

In 2010, he chose to announce his departure from Cleveland on national live broadcasts and joined forces with Wade and Bosh to form the Heat Big Three. The bold words at the press conference, "More than one, more than two, more than three...", became the fuse for the outside world's ridicule. As a result, the Big Three were defeated by the Mavericks in the finals in the first year of their establishment.

Although he won two consecutive championships in Miami, after returning to the Cavaliers, he led the team to reverse the Warriors' 73-winning victory, and his career also ushered in the most glorious moment. However, since he moved to the Lakers in 2018, except for winning the quarantine park championship in 2020 under the epidemic situation, his subsequent playoff journey ended with disappointment.

In the past four years, the Lakers have been eliminated twice in the first round, once missed the playoffs and once was swept in the Western Conference Finals, and the team's playoff results are bleak.

In this context, when Nike claimed in the advertisement that James "beats all feuds and destroys all idols", the outside world will naturally turn out the achievements of these years to question them. Under Nike's official account, many fans left mercilessly refuted:

"He has a record of 4 wins and 6 losses in the finals, and 1 wins and 3 losses against Curry. Curry has more championships in a team than him. Is this called defeating all idols?"

"Nowski, Garnett, Curry have defeated him hard, and he is more like a clown."

"He has never been chosen. He needs Wade, Bosh, Irving, Love, and Davis to help."

"Lost more than win in the finals, The sued also said that he was never defeated? It was laughing to death. "

There were even religious people accusing the "eternal king" in the advertising copy for touching his own taboo of faith:

"For Christians, only Jesus can use the eternal king, and Nike is challenging the faith." It is obvious that this advertisement not only failed to arouse the feelings of fans, but instead amplified the controversial moments in James' career; but on the other hand, there were still many James' hard-core fans defending him in the comment section.

Borrowing fans' remarks:

No matter how the outside public opinion changes, James is still the only player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds, and 10,000 assists; his signature shoes can last until the 23rd generation, which is already a business influence second only to Jordan; he can still maintain the All-Star level in his 23rd season of his career, which is a legend in itself.

The reality is indeed the case. If all the honor and data are placed on the desktop, James' great nature cannot deny it. However, there is still a big gap in the image of this formerly chosen man and the "eternal king" compared with the ups and downs of reality.

This is also the root cause of the controversy in Nike's advertising. It is obvious that this advertisement wants to arouse the fans' feelings for James, but what the fans see is a superstar who is gradually reaching his later years of his career. His dominance is no longer as unsolvable as the peak. His honor book does have enough glory, but there are also too many regrets.

For young fans, they are more likely to watch the younger generations such as Curry, Jokic, Antetokounmpo, and Doncic write a new chapter. And James is no longer the arrogant new king, and now he is more like the old king who is about to end his curtain call.

Rationally speaking, this is not a controversial negation, but rather an inevitability of the changing times.

Of course, when we arrive at the 23rd Generation Signature Shoes and the 23rd season, James is still making history. Nike chose to launch a new sneaker advertisement for him at this node, which is enough to reflect his commercial value. However, when the "eternal king" in the advertisement is ridiculed by the outside world, behind this may not only be James' failure, but also the end signal of an era.

The king will grow old, and the legend will eventually come to an end. The chapter that belongs to James is nearing its end, and the story of the basketball world continues.