Defining Moments

Watching the Cowboys/Redskins game the other day, I got a laugh out of Al Michaels' comment that "LeBron has brought his talents to the Potomac," meaning of course that LeBron was attending the game.  It occurred to me that we may never be rid of the "... bringing my talents..." variations as long as LeBron is still a public figure.  This is a good thing, I think.

Thanks for the tip...

Then it occurred to me that the "...bringing my talents..." line was a sort of defining moment for LeBron.  A moment that we all--at least those of us that were really looking--could get a sense of his personality.  Who he really was.

That made me wonder whether there were more of these televised moments that became Personality Defining Moments for NBA athletes, or could at least be interpreted that way. (Note: Of course I could include all pro athletes, coaches, movie stars, entertainers, etc. but who am I, Bill Simmons?)

And of course, there are... I'll never be able to come up with an exhaustive list, but here are the first few that popped into my head:

-Ron Artest thanks his psychiatrist after the Lakers win the 2010 NBA championship.  Yes, this gets the nod over the Motor City Melee.  It tells us more about who Ron Ron is.

-Mark Madsen dancing on stage at the Lakers' championship celebration.  If you don't think this defines Mark's personality, well then, you'd just be wrong.

-Michael Jordan's Hall Of Fame induction speech.  Ignore for a moment the somewhat understated applause and somber faces of former teammates and peers.  Jordan was outed to the world a year ago.

-LeBron's "The Decision" special.  Again, ignore for the moment that there's a coattail analogy to be made regarding Kobe Bryant here.  Ignore that his favorite teams are the daring and creative duo of the Yankees and Cowboys.  Look at what he's doing, listen to what he's saying, and tell me you don't know much more about him than you did six months ago.


Truly, these are just the tip of the iceberg.  I'll continue to revisit this idea from time to time as this blog trudges along.  And all two of you who read it are encouraged to send me suggestions.