Spontaneity is a strong suit for LeBron James, as was illustrated again on — and briefly off — the Bradley Center floor Friday night in the course of helping extend the Heat's winning streak to 21 games, one short of the second longest in NBA history entering Sunday's tilt against the Toronto Raptors.
When the Heat forward wasn't improvising against Milwaukee Bucks defenders, whipping back into turnaround jumpers or sweeping under the net for a reverse jam, he was instinctively stepping onto the scorer's table and hurdling rows in pursuit of a wayward ball.
It is possible to make James pause, however.
That occurred before Friday's contest when he was posed a question: Which five non-NBA players does James, the man everyone wants to watch, most enjoy watching?
The first two flowed quickly.
"Adrian Peterson."
That's the Minnesota Vikings running back who returned from a serious knee injury to win the NFL MVP award.
"Messi."
That's Lionel Messi, the FC Barcelona forward whom FIFA named the world's best soccer player four years running.
That's where the thinking started.
"Coming off the top of my head with it, now you put me on the spot," James said.
Tick. Tick …
"Brady."
That's the New England Patriots quarterback who, while without a Super Bowl title since 2005, remains among the NFL's premier passers.
"Um, Djokovic, actually. I've been kind of intrigued by his streak going on as of late."
That's Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, whose latest win streak — 22 matches until a semifinal loss Saturday in Indian Wells, Calif. — pales next to his longest, 43 in 2011, the third longest in men's singles history.
"And if I had to pick one more guy, um, I don't know, man," James said. "I don't know. I mean, I said Brady, Peterson, Messi, Djokovic, and probably Tiger. Yeah, Tiger would be it. I grew up watching Tiger and seeing his dominance, and being able to see him get back on top as well."
That's Tiger Woods, recent winner at Doral for his 76th PGA Tour victory.
What's notable, other than that James neglected to mention anyone from his two favorite teams, the scuffling Dallas Cowboys or the aging New York Yankees? Well, the variety, in terms of sizes, shapes, sports and backgrounds.
What attracts him?
"First of all, it's the winning attitude of those guys," said James, who knows Brady and Peterson well and has met the other three. "And then it's the excitement that the game brings them. You know, I think for sure you see the excitement in Messi every time he's out there. He's like a little kid running the fields and just being able to kick the ball. I just think the will to win and try to be the best in their respective field."
James' interest in Messi is, well, interesting, and not just because James is a minority partner in Liverpool FC of the English Premier League. As he noted, "There's not much soccer playing where I grew up. But I have a great deal of respect, especially a physical respect for their conditioning, too, just the fact that they can just continue to run and run and run and run."
Others are starting to run with comparisons of James and Messi — an entertaining current ESPN.com piece did just that — partly because James has separated himself from his sport, on and off the floor. In the just-released, fourth annual ranking of the Most Powerful Athletes, Horrow Sports/Bloomberg has four NBA players in its top 25: James (first, a spot ahead of Woods), Kobe Bryant (seventh), Kevin Durant (11th) and Dwyane Wade (25th).
But why extend a comparison to an Argentinian soccer player, rather than a contemporary North American? That's partly because North American sports are currently short on signature, singular starpower. When Michael Jordan was soaring to the top of the NBA, Wayne Gretzky was a transcendent figure from a niche sport, unparalleled for years until Mario Lemieux emerged; Sidney Crosby isn't in that airspace. Over Jordan's stretch of dominance, other male athletes — Jerry Rice, Mike Tyson, Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Sampras — were equally dominant for healthy periods.
Now, who is in James' current class? Floyd Mayweather, Jr.? Woods, if emotionally and physically healthy?
"Maybe Djokovic," Heat forward Shane Battier said. "What Djokovic is doing is pretty damn impressive. He's had to battle (Rafael) Nadal and (Roger) Federer. Aside from that, there's no one I can equate him to in football, not in baseball really, either. (Miguel) Cabrera to an extent."
Battier is a Detroit Tigers fan, and Cabrera is an elite hitter, but that's a stretch. When Cabrera appeared at the Battioke charity event last month, he moved through crowds without much notice. It was hard to imagine Barry Bonds or Alex Rodriguez doing so in their primes.
So it's Messi?
"Yeah, I think Messi is more appropriate," Battier said. "Those two guys are unparalleled in their fields. It's Messi and everybody else, and it's LeBron and everybody else. Everyone likes watching Messi. I don't care if you've never watched a soccer game in your life, that guy is special."
Something the NBA's most special player clearly sees.
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