SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - There is no doubt LeBron James is a great player -- one of the best ever. He could have done the Jazz a world of good (not that we were in the running).
But LeBron is going to Miami, not Salt Lake, and the expectation is that he is all they need to win another NBA championship.
It is an expectation built on the unprecedented hype surrounding the player. At one point Thursday before he made his announcement, there were more than 7,000 news articles found about LeBron by Google. Then Thursday night, ESPN devoted an hour-long show in prime time just to hear LeBron say he's going to catch some rays on South Beach.
Tal Harry knows that the hype has as much to do with LeBron's "image team" as his skill. Harry is a partner in the Richter 7 ad agency in Salt Lake City. He said, “"Lebron really is the king -- not only on the court, but he's also the king of the endorsement deals."
Even so, he lacks a championship ring. "I think there really is a danger to too much over hype," said Harry. “"You do increase your awareness, but you also put a big bull’s eye on your back in terms of people getting sick of it and expecting way too much in what you can deliver."
There can be a backlash to all the hype – especially if he fails to bring a championship or two to Miami.
