LeBron James’ New Contract Leaves No Question About Who Rules NBA Landscape

LeBron James sat there with a smile on Thursday, stole thunder from the Rio Olympics he chose to skip and undercut his own league’s major schedule unveiling.

That’s how it is when you rule the way James does.

James announced his re-signing with the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers on his UNINTERRUPTED platform, and it was a reminder of how unparalleled James’ platform is right now.

James agreed to a three-year, $100 million deal—he can opt out before the third year—and will be the highest-paid player in the game for the first time at $31 million in 2016-17, according to NBA sources.

Yes, James rules.

BREAKING NEWS: @KingJames announces on UNINTERRUPTED he will sign a new deal with the @Cavs.https://t.co/CXZ5qFK5o6

— UNINTERRUPTED (@uninterrupted) August 11, 2016

His closest rival in overall skill and greatness, Kevin Durant, has been branded the new villain for jumping to the Golden State Warriors. His closest rival ex-teammate, Dwyane Wade, was disrespected and disappointed upon James’ exit from Miami and wound up making a poor-man’s-LeBron move home to Chicago.

His legacy rivals, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan, have retired from the game in relatively underwhelming fashion. Bryant didn’t play a single playoff game in his final four years, and Duncan didn’t reach the conference finals in his farewell season.

His lifetime rival, Carmelo Anthony, is putting his body through the Olympic wringer in hopes of getting that token, almost guaranteed victory that James doesn’t need because he’s gotten it time and time and time again in the NBA.

His only real current rival, Stephen Curry, is off the grid, licking his wounds from a terribly disappointing playoff fade.

Seven months ago, things were quite different.

It was then that Curry’s Warriors rolled into Cleveland and left with a 132-98 win. A worried James was forced to admit, “Tonight was an example of how far we’ve got to go to get to a championship level.”

Because of how ho-hum it had become for James to be great and for his teams to appear in the NBA Finals—and …

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