Lebron and Delly: The Destination and the Journey

            Which is more important—the journey or the destination? If you’re a Cavs fan, we’re watching both in the NBA champions.

LEBRON JAMES—THE DESTINATION

            Lebron is the best player on the planet. He can do it all—score, run the offense, pass, rebound, block shots and make steals. He is the team leader—leading a battered Cavs team in hopes of a NBA championship. He’s consistently scoring around 40 points a night and constantly knocking on the door of a triple double.

            In isolation, he brings up memories of Larry Bird doing the same things for the Celtics. His athleticism to the hoop is reminiscent of Jordan. His passing and team leadership has been compared to Magic Johnson. Lebron might be so good that he’s better than these players. He is the Destination—the point where every NBA player hopes to be: the most dominant player on the court playing for a championship.

            Lebron represents where we all want to be—at that point where we’ve found our talent, developed it to a razor’s edge, and now use that talent to lead and impact those around us. Lebron is the Destination.

MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA—THE JOURNEY

            Delly is the underdog—the guy people wrote off. He’s not supposed to be on that court guarding that guy. He’s only in his second NBA season, and he finds himself in the starting lineup given the task of guarding MVP Stephen Curry. In the last two games, he’s outplayed Curry seven out of eight quarters. He’s made the big plays—finding the offense board, hitting key free throws and finding the loose ball.

            There have been points where Delly has been great. He is an emerging player—finding his game, figuring out his style and learning how to handle himself on the court. He is the Journey.

            Delly represents where most of us are at in our lives. We’re trying to find ourselves. Sure, we have an idea, but we’re just not sure what we can become. But, he is unlike us in that he fearlessly tackles the task before him. He shows us what hard work and determination can accomplish. He shows us to forget about the naysayers and just play the game. Delly’s play is a metaphor for life—dive for the loose ball, take the big shot and be willing to define the game!

            How good can he become? Honestly, we don’t know. We do know he can bring big game to the big game. He can make the tough play when the game is on the line. As he matures, he’s going to also miss the big shot. It happens to every NBA player. As we watch, we can see he’s developing into a good player. But, we also see greatness piercing through. Whether Delly will develop the greatness to meet the fans’ hopes is yet to be known. But, he is good enough to give us that hope!

THE MAGNIFICENT DUO

            Lebron and Delly make a great pair. They spark each other and they spark their team. They’ve given a city hope—a hope for a championship that has been too long in the making. Lebron is the consummate basketball player—the best on the planet. He is the Destination. Delly is a young player finding his legs and showing us flashes of greatness—the underdog that pulls above his weight. He is the Journey.