LeBron James is a man that cares about his legacy.

Endlessly chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan, James never makes an uncalculated move. All of his moves — from Cleveland to Miami, back to Cleveland and to Los Angeles — were in pursuit of another bullet point on his G.O.A.T. resume. He’s been the MVP, the hometown hero, the champion and the humanitarian, but in the minds of many, he’s never quite caught the other No. 23. After all, three rings are less than six.

Judging from the Lakers’ series against the Portland Trail Blazers, James has a decent chance at No. 4. The Lakers are firing on all cylinders after a porous first nine games in the NBA Bubble. The supporting cast is carrying its weight, Anthony Davis is the dominant big man he was brought on to be and James himself is as dominant as he’s been in quite some time.

But suddenly, it doesn’t matter. After a 17-year long pursuit of victory and championships — and glory — James is willing to sacrifice it all. 

After the tragic and maddening shooting of unarmed Kenosha, Wisconsin resident Jacob Blake by police, James has seemingly decided that another diamond-studded championship ring wouldn’t look as good on his finger as it would before those seven senseless rounds were shot. 

James, along with Laker teammates and Clipper foes, pleaded to their peers to boycott the remainder of the NBA season in a players’ meeting Wednesday night. This comes after three games were postponed Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks chose not to play their game against the Orlando Magic. As of the writing of this article, it remains unknown whether the season will continue.

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