His time, his team.
Of course, as the Cleveland Cavaliers keep trying to forget . . . and everyone else keeps trying to remind them . . . it won't be long before LeBron James has his choice of teams, like President Lyndon Johnson looking for his helicopter on an airfield full of them during a tour of Vietnam in the 1960s.
"Mr. President, this is your helicopter," offered a soldier, helpfully.
"Son," LBJ announced, "they're all my helicopters."
King James is royalty, as opposed to a mere president, but the teams that want him in 2010 can just unload salary and take a number because that's then and this is now.
Despite speculation about New York, Brooklyn, Jay-Z and package deals with Chris Bosh, James feels great about being where he is, with his best team and a record that suggests it's as good as the lordly Lakers and Celtics.
But then, James always feels great about being wherever he is. Being LeBron means anything seems not only possible, but inevitable. It's not even presumptuous to announce your goal as "global icon."
It's more like, what could go wrong?
Having won nothing in the NBA, he's already so big, he isn't merely known by a single name, like Michael, Magic or Kobe. They don't have to use LeBron's name at all.
State Farm just ran a series of "1.18.09" teasers, showing an unnamed celebrity, whose face you can't see, that is nonetheless recognizable as James, telling a news conference he's going to "my first love."
It ended there, leaving viewers to guess what he's about to say. The Cavaliers? The Knicks?
Sunday, the appointed day, the payoff ran -- LeBron announcing he was joining the Cleveland Browns.
It's barely even fanciful. James was an all-state wide receiver as a high school sophomore in Ohio before giving up football. At 6 feet 8, 250, he might well be able to play several NFL positions too.
But the very best part of being LeBron is, he loves every minute of it.
While in high school, James told ESPN the Magazine, "LeBron stays humble just by being LeBron." You may question how humble that is, but James is levelheaded far beyond his years.
In high school, James was the one having the time of his life while all the grown-ups jockeying for position around him stressed over the Hummer, the retro jerseys, the suspension, the lawsuit restoring his eligibility for the state tournament, which his team, of course, then won.
