“What should I do? Should I not be a role model?”: When LeBron James emulated Charles Barkley in an infamous Nike commercial defending his decision to join the Miami Heat

Nike tried to restore LeBron James’ image following his move to Miami by putting out a commercial titled, ‘What should I do?’ 

LeBron James had one of the swiftest turnarounds in NBA history when it comes to the public’s perception of him. July 7th, 2010 and ‘The King’ was one of the most beloved superstars to have graced NBA hardwood. His ‘come-up’ story is one that is truly remarkable, making it nearly impossible to hate on him. 

However, come July 8th of that same year, almost everything would change for LeBron James and the way he was perceived by the general public. His decision to leave his home state team of the Cleveland Cavaliers to join the glitz and glamor of South Beach immediately left a sour taste in NBA fans’ mouths.

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In all fairness, LeBron had given the city of Cleveland 7 incredible years of relative postseason success, including a trip the NBA Finals. However, after realizing that the talent just wasn’t there to get him over the hump, he teamed up with a top 3 shooting guard and power forward in the league. 

LeBron James and his ‘What should I do?’ commercial. 

Given the fact that Nike agreed to pay LeBron James $13 million a year at the start of their contract, it’s safe to say that the company was banking on him to be their most profitable star. And well, he was, alongside Kobe Bryant of course. 

However, with his decision to take his talents down to South Beach not being received well by the public, Nike had to do something to keep James in a positive light. 

So, they rolled out quite the iconic 90 second long advertisement where the now 4x champ asks the audience, ‘What should I do?’ He asks us several questions ranging from whether or not he should accept his role as a villain to if he should, like Charles Barkley in the 90s, admit that he isn’t a role model.

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The advertisement aired in November of 2010, during the early stages of his career with Miami Heat. In terms of pure public perception, it didn’t seem to alter it all too much as the hate he received was quite significant even after having rolled out this advert.