The Los Angeles Lakers’ current situation is the result of prostrating to a stat-chasing “king“. Here’s why:

In an effort to receive sympathy, King James is publicly criticising his teammates and setting them up for failure on the court.

Have you ever noticed that the unhappiest athletes are the ones who get to pick their own teams and teammates?

Kevin Durant grew weary in GS and then demanded a trade after teaming up with his friends in Brooklyn.

Dwight Howard melodramatically forced his way out of Orlando, but was just as unhappy in LA & Houston.

LeBron suffers from the same insatiable narcissism.

He is the only player I've seen who handpicks his teammates and jumps from superteam to superteam while receiving nearly universal sympathy for having "no help."

But doesn't he improve his teammates?

LeBron lacks adaptability. He likes to portray himself as a selfless, team-first player, but nothing could be further from the truth. Dominating the ball and racking up assists doesn’t equate to selflessness.

Adapting to the team around you by allowing your teammates to operate in areas where they are skilled and comfortable is how you improve your teammates, regardless of whether you end up with an assist on the stat sheet.

Is that what LeBron is doing with the Lakers?

LeBron publicly criticized his team after the season opener, saying they didn't have any good shooters.

Then why does he keep employing the same drive-and-kick strategy when there are no adequate shooters on the team to pass the ball to?

Since Westbrook is constantly chastised for his shooting woes, shouldn't he be doing more playmaking instead of spotting up at the 3-point line?

But here’s the problem:

Allowing russ to thrive as a playmaker would require LeBron to forgo his stats in favor of the team's success, something he’s never been willing to do

The drive-and-kick offense that James likes to run benefits his personal stats, but it isn’t making his teammates better. Instead, it sets up his teammates fail and receive scorn from the media and fans.

Remember that the next time he casts a disapproving glance at the players he picked to play on his team.