Mark Madden: Nikola Jokic showed dominance, but LeBron grabs headlines

LeBron James got his backside handed to him by Nikola Jokic in the NBA playoffs. Denver eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games.

James, 38, was very good. Jokic, 28, was utterly dominant.

But, in the immediate aftermath, James pondered whether he’d retire. The media swarmed like piranha. James’ future was the topic. Not Jokic’s brilliance.

James knew exactly what he was doing. It doesn’t take much to prod the national media in James’ direction.

Nobody’s allowed to be better than James. Jokic is clearly superior, as MVPs in the prior two seasons indicate. (He was runner-up to Joel Embiid this year.)

But winning doesn’t matter. Stats don’t matter. James is a star. Every national sports show will budget time to talk about James, inventing narratives if necessary. The perception is viewers and listeners want to hear about James.

Do they? At any rate, it’s self-fulfilling. It’s about ratings, not what’s newsworthy.

It’s not just James. It’s anyone thought to be a true top-of-the-line star in any sport. Aaron Rodgers leaps to mind. Tom Brady, certainly. (If only Brady was dating Kim Kardashian as was briefly rumored. It would have been media Armageddon.)

Tiger Woods is the Babe Ruth of this con. Or maybe the Tiger Woods. Woods’ bum leg will keep him from ever winning again. But his sporadic tournament appearances merit shot-by-shot coverage, and he’s given a chance even though he has none. Woods is talked about constantly before, during and after. Even when he misses the cut.

On ESPN, former NBA player J.J. Redick mooted why James always gets discussed, and not Jokic. Stephen A. Smith looked at Redick like he was insane.

When Alan Hahn suggested on ESPN that James was showing his age, ex-player Kendrick Perkins fairly exploded: “You have to really be out of your mind if you think LeBron James showed us Father Time is catching up to him.”

Or perhaps Hahn noticed what James just did in Game 2 of the series vs. Denver, namely go 0 for 6 from 3-point range while missing layups and dunks.

But James isn’t allowed to fail. That’s the narrative.

James is still very good, by the way. Just not near as good as Jokic. (Did you know James played hurt in the playoffs? He might need foot surgery. What courage! Pretty handy excuse for losing, too.)

James is awesome at manipulating the media, not least because he doesn’t have to try very hard.

But there’s no way James is retiring. He’s not remotely considering that.

James is absolutely going to play with his son for at least one season. Bronny arrives in the NBA in 2024-25 after his required season of college ball. Does anyone think James would quit before that? No chance.

James threw out the hook, and everybody bit.

BTW, it won’t matter if Bronny is good enough or not. He will play in the NBA.

I prefer sports talk that revolves around current events, not force-feeding star power. Jokic is the story in the NBA. However temporarily, James is old news.

But James won’t allow that. Nor will ESPN and its ilk.

Jokic will have to settle for winning the NBA championship. Maybe everybody will talk about Jokic then.

Or maybe not.