The LeBron James one-and-done spite tour

LeBron James is a ghost hunter.

He has spent 15 years building one of the greatest resumes in the history of professional sports. If he retired today, his legacy as one of the top five players of all time could not be reasonably debated. Yet, at 33-years-old, LeBron James still has a lot left to give.

Somehow, he also still has a lot left to prove.

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Since he entered the league straight out of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in 2003, LeBron has had no equals. He’s been forced to chase ghosts because the rest of the league has spent the past decade-and-a-half chasing him.

There’s no Russell to LeBron’s Wilt. There’s no Bird to his Magic. It was supposed to be Carmelo Anthony, but that potential rivalry was more hype and hope than reality. It could have been Dwyane Wade, but the pair of superstars chose to combine their powers rather than fight against each other. The past three NBA Finals against the Warriors have provided us with proof that it takes one of the greatest teams ever assembled to give James a true and worthy rival.

His lack of a living, breathing, on-court foil is yet another way James can be compared to the biggest ghost he has spent his playing days chasing. The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, if you will, of his career. That world-destroying ghost is, of course, Michael Jordan.

Just like LeBron, Jordan had no direct individual rivals for the duration his career. By the time his prime aligned with a true championship contending roster in Chicago, Magic and Larry were just about done. When Kobe Bryant was hitting his prime, Jordan’s career was winding down. Just like LeBron, it took an entire team to stop Jordan. And once he conquered the Bad Boy Pistons, the only thing stopping Jordan was himself.

James may never be able to shake the comparisons to Jordan. No matter how many points, rebounds and assists he piles up, no matter how many championship rings he earns, no matter how many MVP trophies will end up on his mantle, there will always be a debate about his career vs. Jordan’s.

Some say a perfect 6-0 record in the NBA Finals is a better accomplishment than making the NBA Finals more times and falling short of a championship in some years. Others will point to the fact that making the NBA Finals means not losing earlier in the playoffs, which could be argued is the better accomplishment. Some will slight LeBron for winning his first title in Miami after leaving Ohio for South Beach. Others will say Jordan was able to build the same level of star-studded team around himself in Chicago.

The beauty of sports debates like this is that there are no right and wrong answers, especially when comparing players from different eras who never got the chance to go head-to-head. The ongoing debate over the greatness of Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell proves that sometimes these arguments can be impossible to settle even when careers overlap. We can look at stats, we can compare pace, and usage rate, and efficiency, and team success, and use the eye-test all we want but we’ll never have a definitive answer. It’s amazing and frustrating all at the same time.

That’s why LeBron needs to stop chasing ghosts and start busting them. He needs to think outside the box. He needs a radical idea. He needs to cross the streams. To truly cement his own unique legacy and separate himself from Jordan, LeBron needs to do something unimaginable, something that’s never been done before, something that could potentially blow up the world.

There’s been endless speculation about whether James will stay in Cleveland or leave the Cavaliers (again) in the 2018 offseason. And if he leaves, where should he go? Where should one of the greatest players of all-time choose to spend the last chapter of his career?

The answer is that he should spend it in as many places as he possibly can.

To truly cement his legacy and prove what type of difference one man can make on a basketball team, LeBron James should spend the rest of his NBA career as a one-and-done mercenary hopping from team to team each offseason. He should commit to spending one year and one year only with each team, giving them a single-season window to win a title while he’s in town.

We’ve never seen anything like it before. There have been ring-chasers in the past, players at the end of their playing days grasping onto contenders and fringe-contenders in hopes of capping their careers with a title, but most of those players have been over the hill. LeBron is still one of the top players in the league. He can still carry a team. And there are no real signs of him slowing down.

LeBron wouldn’t be the one ring-chasing, the teams would be. The city wouldn’t be the draw or destination, LeBron would be. The strategy would completely flip the league on its head for seven (or more) years.

He’s basically been treating Cleveland like this since his return. His one-year deals have made the Cavaliers focus on the now and forget about the future as long as he’s been there. He’s been holding them in hostage in the nicest, first-championship-in-52-years type of way. They’ve built teams around him, turned their back on a 25-year-old Kyrie Irving and completely retooled in a last-ditch effort to contend again this season. This could happen every year in a different location for the rest of his career. It would be bonkers.

Houston can’t get past Golden State in the West? Hello, LeBron.

The Thunder takes another step forward, but needs the final piece to bring a title home to Oklahoma City? Welcome to the Sooner State, Mr. James, we hope you enjoy the year you spend here.

The final piece to complete The Process? Three billboards bring LeBron to Philly.

It would be so much fun. LeBron could play out a video game create-a-player career mode in real life. He’d take control away from teams and prove how much power a true one-of-a-kind sports superstar truly wields. He could completely control the league like no other player has ever done before. It would be chaos. It could blow up the world. But it could also work.

If he chooses his destinations wisely, he could spend seven years on seven teams and reach seven more NBA Finals. It could be unprecedented. If he chooses really wisely, he could win a few more championships while he’s at it. He could completely disrupt the Warriors’ dynasty along the way. He’d avoid jersey-burning hatred by making his intentions known ahead of time. One year, that’s all anybody gets. Enjoy him while he lasts.

Next: Hawks fans taunt Cavaliers with ‘LeBron will leave you’ chant

Teams close to a title now could fight it out to sign LeBron in the next few offseasons while teams currently in the tank could prepare for his potential arrival in the later seasons of his final years. LeBron could slowly transition into a small-ball center to help extend his prime (and add to his legacy of versatility). He could close it all out by signing with whichever team drafts his son.

It’s completely unique. It’s probably crazy. It’s what needs to happen. Welcome to the LeBron James end-of-career one-and-done spite tour. Hopefully coming to a city near you.